The Philadelphia Business Builder program provides a pathway for small businesses with higher credit risks to obtain bank financing; typically these requests are denied because of the high risk of loan defaults.  Loans of up to $50,000 can be used for working capital, inventory, equipment purchase, or capital improvements.

The goal of the Philadelphia Business Builder program is to address the gap between the readiness of borrowers to obtain bank loans and the willingness of banks to make loans to small businesses with lower credit scores. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE LOAN?

• All businesses that have been in operation for at least six months with annual revenues less than one million dollars in the City of Philadelphia. 

• The business must be located in an area that is predominately low- or moderate- income OR predominately minority.  If you are unsure if your business qualifies, click the link to access the Federal Financial Institutions Education Council’s (FFIEC) Geocoding System.

                  USING THE FFEIC GEOCODING SYSTEM

                  You will need the following information about your business: Street Address, City, State, and Zip Code.

                  Once you have entered your business' information, the next screen to appear will be the Results page.

                  At the bottom of the page Click Get Census Demographic.

                  On the Demographics page, you'll find that your business qualifies if the Tract Income Level reads Low

                  or Moderate or Tract Minority % is greater than 50% in the area.

• The Credit score requirement for this program is 630-660. Those with scores lower than the requirement will be referred to Consumer Credit Counseling Services of the Delaware Valley for credit repair counseling. 

PROCESS OVERVIEW

PRE-APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

All applicants must receive pre-application Business Support Services. These will include either credit counseling (provided by Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley) and/or business counseling (provided by either Philadelphia Development Partnership or Temple University Small Business Development Center.)

If the support service decides your application is ready to go to the bank immediately you will not have to undergo credit counseling or business counseling.

LOAN PROCESS

Inquiries and initial assessments may begin with either a participating lender or with a Business Support Services Provider. Formal application begins at the bank upon written referral from either the credit counseling agency and/or one of the business planning agencies.

LOAN INFORMATION

Click here to download the full Business Builder Loan Fact Sheet

PARTICIPATING BANKS

Six banks have committed to lend $23.25 million through this program over a four year period to support economic development in the City of Philadelphia.  The participating banks with this program are Beneficial Savings, Citizens Bank, Commerce Bank, PNC Bank, United Bank, and Wachovia.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES

For borrowers with lower credit scores or those who need assistance with their business plan or financial statements, there are technical support services available through the Business Builder Loan Program.  If your credit scores are below the minimum required score of 630, this does not automatically exclude you from applying for the loan.  The technical services are available to work with you to raise your credit scores and get your application ready for the banks.  Listed below are the community partners, the services they provide, and their contact information.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley

Service:  Credit assessment and counseling

Primary contact:                  Bernie Harris

                                          Small Business Program Manager

                                          Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley

                                          1515 Market Street, Suite 1325

                                          Philadelphia, PA  19102

                                          Tel:  215-620-4744

                                          Fax:  215-563-7020

                                          E-mail:  bharris@cccsdv.org

Philadelphia Development Partnership

Service:  Business assessment, training and counseling.

Primary contact:                  Earl Boyd

                                          Manager of Entrepreneurial Development

                                          Philadelphia Development Partnership

                                          1334 Walnut Street, 7th floor

                                          Philadelphia, PA  19107

                                          Telephone:  215-545-3100

                                          Fax:  215-546-8055

                                          E-mail:  eboyd@pdp-inc.org

Temple University Small Business Development Center

Service: Business assessment, training and counseling.             

Primary contact:                  Cherrill Wilson

                                          Incubator Manager/Business Consultant

                                          Temple University Small Business Development Center

                                          Beech Building, Suite 200

                                          1510 Cecil B. Moore Avenue

                                          Philadelphia, PA  19121

                                          Telephone:  215-204-2375

                                          Fax:  215-204-3821

                                          E-mail:  cherill@temple.edu

CONTACT US

If you are involved with an organization that promotes or assists with the development of small businesses and would like to set up a meeting to receive distributable information to your clients, please feel free to contact us. 

For more information please call Shante Antrom-Gowans at 215.851.1740 or e-mail at sgowans@gpuac.org