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Boonville —
Central Missouri Community Action, a nonprofit organization with a presence in Cooper and Howard counties, is ready to issue micro loans and will conduct a series of classes on microenterprise to help boost small business in the area.
The loan program is available to people whose income is less than 80 percent of median income, who reside in or will locate their business in the nonprofit’s eight-county service area, and who do not have access to traditional bank financing.
The agency officials will check the feasibility of the plan and help develop it, counsel the potential debtors on collateral, market research, cash flow projections, financial statements and bookkeeping before submitting the plan to their loan officials.
"There's nothing like it in the area," said Trina Almond, development and communications director at the Boone County office of Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) in Columbia.
Micro-lending has been in the United States from the 1970s but has been slow to catch on. With the recession and unemployment, experts say there is an untapped potential for micro loans, which have seen growing popularity in developing countries. Micro loans in the United States aim to give financial services to people with poor credit or financial standing, and CMCA's loan program is paired with financial education classes.
The difference between CMCA and bank loans is that the agency will give loans to people with low income, bad credit or shaky financial positions, said CMCA's executive director Darin Preis.
The agency's loans will vary from a couple hundred dollars to $5,000 with the median loan being $2,500, which is much lower than the traditional small business loans issued by banks and Small Business Administration.
Accountancy firm Gerding, Korte and Chitwood, which has an office in Boonville, has donated $2,500 to help set up the loan pool. The firm's personnel will teach free accountancy classes as part of CMCA's educational program.
"The program will foster small business enterprise by people who never thought they had a second chance," said Bob Gerding, one of the owners of the firm.
The collateral will also be creative, said Teri Roberts, CMCA's financial education coordinator.
It can be grandma's antique furniture or even horses. The collateral will be appraised and registered with the Missouri Secretary of State's office.
"Banks are conservative," Roberts said. "We are ready to stick our neck out further than the banks."
Want to read more? Grab a copy of the Boonville Daily News e-edition after 3 p.m. today.
Central Missouri Community Action, a nonprofit organization with a presence in Cooper and Howard counties, is ready to issue micro loans and will conduct a series of classes on microenterprise to help boost small business in the area.
The loan program is available to people whose income is less than 80 percent of median income, who reside in or will locate their business in the nonprofit’s eight-county service area, and who do not have access to traditional bank financing.
The agency officials will check the feasibility of the plan and help develop it, counsel the potential debtors on collateral, market research, cash flow projections, financial statements and bookkeeping before submitting the plan to their loan officials.
"There's nothing like it in the area," said Trina Almond, development and communications director at the Boone County office of Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) in Columbia.
Micro-lending has been in the United States from the 1970s but has been slow to catch on. With the recession and unemployment, experts say there is an untapped potential for micro loans, which have seen growing popularity in developing countries. Micro loans in the United States aim to give financial services to people with poor credit or financial standing, and CMCA's loan program is paired with financial education classes.
The difference between CMCA and bank loans is that the agency will give loans to people with low income, bad credit or shaky financial positions, said CMCA's executive director Darin Preis.
The agency's loans will vary from a couple hundred dollars to $5,000 with the median loan being $2,500, which is much lower than the traditional small business loans issued by banks and Small Business Administration.
Accountancy firm Gerding, Korte and Chitwood, which has an office in Boonville, has donated $2,500 to help set up the loan pool. The firm's personnel will teach free accountancy classes as part of CMCA's educational program.
"The program will foster small business enterprise by people who never thought they had a second chance," said Bob Gerding, one of the owners of the firm.
The collateral will also be creative, said Teri Roberts, CMCA's financial education coordinator.
It can be grandma's antique furniture or even horses. The collateral will be appraised and registered with the Missouri Secretary of State's office.
"Banks are conservative," Roberts said. "We are ready to stick our neck out further than the banks."
Want to read more? Grab a copy of the Boonville Daily News e-edition after 3 p.m. today.
