1) The borrower must be a small business (defined as a company that employs under fifty employees) or a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the lives of low- to moderate-income people.
2) The business must be physically located in LIFSD’s Investment Area of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
3) The borrower must demonstrate loan repayment capacity based on historical operating performance, and/or pro-forma financial statements that are supported by realistic assumptions.
4) The Minority or Women Owned business, non-profit organization, or community-based organization must be a start-up or existing business, and have been in existence for at least one year and be able to demonstrate a minimum 51 percent ownership interest by women and minority persons who are U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens.
5) The borrower must demonstrate satisfactory credit history and, if a guarantee is warranted, be prepared to personally guarantee any loans.
6) The borrower must demonstrate authorization to conduct business in New York State and that the borrowing entity is in compliance with all Federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations, including filing requirements of the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. If the borrower is not authorized to conduct business in New York State, attorneys and accountants affiliated with LIFSD will provide pro-bono services to assist the borrower in obtaining such authorization.
7) The borrower must submit (where applicable) three years of federal tax filings, personal financial statements of principals, (if a business), brief description of the business or community-based organization, discussion of the use of loan proceeds, the organization’s credit history, and the personal credit history of any business principals.
8) The borrower must agree to mandatory technical assistance. Depending upon the client’s resources, LIFSD may provide technical assistance at no cost, or at reduced rates.
Washington, DC -
The House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the CDFI Fund approved a draft FY 2007 spending bill that includes $40 million for the CDFI Fund. Though this is a significant increase over the $7.8 million requested for the Fund in the President’s budget, it is still disappointing. The CDFI Fund has received $55 million in appropriations in each of the last several years.
The bill next moves to the House Appropriations Committee for a vote before being considered by the entire House of Representatives.
While there is still a remote chance of increasing this number in the final House bill, we will likely be turning our attention to the Senate in the coming weeks as we seek full funding of the CDFI Fund. 62 Senators have already expressed their support for a FY 2007 appropriation of $80 million through the sign-on letter sponsored by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), including both New York Senators. (View a PDF of the full letter here.) If the House and Senate budget numbers differ, the final budget number will be determined in conference to hammer out a reconciliation bill.
