In a recent meeting at the Small Business Administration, NCBA discussed the different types of cooperatives and how they relate to the agency’s lending programs. SBA staff determined that worker cooperatives are eligible for loans from intermediary lenders participating in the new ILP program. ILP Intermediaries will be selected this summer, and should be ready to start making loans under the program in the fall. NCBA will continue to assist SBA on this issue, including exploring the financing of all types of cooperatives under SBA’s other lending programs, and looks forward to working with them in the future.

For more information, please contact NCBA’s Director of Public Policy R.L. Condra at rcondra@ncba.coop or 202-383-5480.

via NCBA 

Update: Cooperative Fund of New England is named 1 of 20 community organizations in the nation to act as an SBA Intermediary Lender. 

"Startups, newly established and growing small businesses now have a new source of financing backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration as 20 community organizations have been funded by SBA to start making loans up to $200,000 to qualifying small businesses.  Authorized under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the new Intermediary Lending Pilot Program will provide direct loans up to $1 million to 20 community organizations or intermediaries in fiscal year 2011, which in turn will use those funds to help finance small businesses, mostly in underserved markets."