Access to Capital

Tips on finding funding and avoiding predatory lending during COVID-19

With state-mandated lockdowns and business closures, small business owners across the country are struggling to pay employees, rent, overhead costs and more. Now more than ever, it is important to be wary of predatory lenders as you seek out capital to keep your business afloat. Our guide to avoiding predatory lending includes guidelines for applying for PPP and EIDL, a checklist to determine if a loan is predatory and an outline of the Small Business Borrowers' Bill of Rights.

This document has been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Burmese, Khmer, Hmong, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Bhutanese, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Thai, Lao, Tagalog, Samoan, Tongan and Marshallese in partnership with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific Americans Community Development with a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The Five Main Credit Scoring Factors

Your credit score is an important part of your loan application. But it takes more than on-time payments to build a good credit score. Five factors help explain how credit agencies evaluate the information in your credit reports when calculating your personal credit score. The better your score on each of these factors, the higher your overall credit score. These five main factors include:

Black History Month: Funding and business assistance opportunities for Black entrepreneurs

Small business owners know that one of the greatest barriers to success is a lack of access to capital. For Black business owners, this challenge is heightened, with large banks approving just 29% of loans sought by Black-owned small businesses compared to 60% of loans sought by white-owned small businesses. This is why it is critical that Black-owned small businesses are supported in order to build an equitable economy. In honor of Black History Month, we have compiled a list of funding and business assistance opportunities geared toward Black entrepreneurs. 

Pathways to Entrepreneurial Growth

Business ownership can help people become financially independent, support job growth and strengthen local economies. But ending systemic wealth inequality is not a simple task. Building wealth from within our communities for generations requires resources and education in business planning, financial literacy, access to safe capital and much more.

Grant funding and incentives for childcare providers in Colorado

Tight profit margins and recent workforce shortages have made it a struggle for childcare providers to keep their doors open. This is why access to funding is critical to help childcare providers in Colorado start, maintain and grow their businesses. We have compiled a list of grant opportunities and incentives available to childcare providers in Colorado.

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