Loans and Financial Assistance
Through its affiliation with Community Capital Development (CCD), our WBCs have access to several types of loans.

• Term loans (loans for a specific number of years)
  
  
• Lines-of-credit (revolving loans, renewable annually)
  
  
• Contract financing (cash to meet obligations of newly secured contracts; usually short-term loans)

WBC also refers qualified applicants to our partner banks and other non-traditional lending sources.

Loan applicants are assessed based on the “5 C’s of credit”:

• Character (personal and business credit history)
  
  
• Capacity (experience related to operating the business)
  
  
• Capital (the amount of money invested by the applicant)
  
  
• Cashflow (are projections for the business realistic and achievable?)
  
  
• Collateral (what may be used to secure the loan?)

We do not single out credit scores; instead, we look at all of the 5 Cs together to determine the financial strengths and weaknesses of each loan applicant. You may be stronger in some areas than others, and we do our best to focus not only on your financial history, but on your likelihood for financial responsibility in the future.

Orientation

Persons interested in receiving a loan or personal counseling from CCD will first be asked to attend an orientation session. These sessions cover everything you need to know about how you can benefit from CCD’s programs and services.  

For a calendar showing orientation dates click here.  To find a location near you, click here.

Applying for a Loan

WBC staff can help persons interested in applying for a loan to complete a loan package.  A copy of the loan package check list can be downloaded here.  The list includes, but is not limited to, a business plan with financial projections, 3-years of IRS tax returns and personal financial statements for each partner in the business.  

FAQs Regarding Loans and Finance

What do I do if I don't have any collateral or haven't yet worked on improving my credit?
Depending on the size of the loan request, we may refer you to Washington CASH or Count-Me-In—both of which offer small loans with few requirements and a process for increasing to larger loans.

Do I need to apply to a particular loan fund?
Our lenders will review your application and determine the best loan fund to fit your needs. You will receive a commitment letter outlining the terms of the loan, and you can decide if you want to proceed.

How do I submit my financial statements to you?
CCD has electronic forms that it prefers. You will have to enter all of your data in these forms, but we will help you make sure that the forms are completed accurately. Click here for financial history statements and click here for financial projection forms that you will need.  They can be saved on your computer hard drive.

How do you prepare a cash flow statement for a business that doesn't exist yet?
The most important part of preparing your financial projections is that you use realistic and achievable numbers. The most effective way to assemble accurate data is to talk to business owners who will not be competing against you. We have found members of the small business community to be, for the most part, big-hearted. CCD can help you find peers, and can use our experiences with past clients to help you come up with reasonable numbers.

Capacity is about previous business experience. How do I address this in my business plan if I've never owned a business before?
We understand that all entrepreneurs need to start somewhere. We do not require that you have managed a similar business in the past. However, we expect you to demonstrate that you have the capability to handle all of your business needs in finance, operations, and marketing. You can show these capabilities through previous positions of employment, volunteer work, or college studies. We also encourage you to form an advisory team of individuals who have the experience you lack, and to be sure to hire employees that complement your weaknesses with their strengths.

I've seen the guy on TV (attended the conference, read the book) that talked about grants for small businesses. How I do get one?
Let’s be candid here – there’s a lot of misinformation being circulated about grants. Certainly, nonprofit organizations may compete for grants and the governments (federal, state and local) may occasionally need a product that doesn’t exist (Small Business Innovative Research grants are what we hear about most), but these are very restrictive and difficult to obtain. Click here to read the attached article from BusinessWeek and you’ll see that grants are an urban myth. And yes, CCD may be listed as a source of grants, but we have never distributed them.