Sponsoring Agency: SOAR Fund
Type of Fund: Loan/Finance
Deadline Available: Not Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy):
Size of the Fund: USD $50,000 to $500,000
The Southern Opportunity And Resilience (SOAR) Fund provides flexible, affordable capital and free business support services to small businesses and nonprofits across the south and southeast to help them navigate and rebuild from the Covid-19 economic crisis.
The SOAR Fund was created by community lenders in the Southern and Southeastern United States to provide economic recovery loans and free business assistance to small businesses and nonprofits at a time when they are facing unprecedented health and economic challenges. The loans are designed to reach the smallest of small businesses and nonprofits – those with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees – and historically underserved businesses, including those in low-income and rural communities and businesses owned by women and people of color. These businesses are critical to providing jobs and resources to communities across the South and Southeast through this recovery.
The fund is aimed at helping small businesses across the South and Southeast. The program will be available to small businesses and nonprofits in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, DC and West Virginia.
Funding Information
• The SOAR fund aims to raise $150 million to provide affordable capital and free business support to small businesses and nonprofits across the South and Southeast.
• Maximum loan amounts for an individual business or nonprofit are $100,000.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a SOAR Fund loan, a small business must meet the requirements detailed below. Please note that the pre-application should be completed and submitted by the owner of the business with the largest ownership interest, and that all owners with more than 20% ownership will be required to attest to the information provided.
The following criteria is the minimum required for a business or non-profit to be considered eligible for a loan under this program:
• The business or non-profit must employ 50 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees;
• The business or non-profit must have suffered a direct economic disruption as a result of COVID-19 in a way that has materially impacted operations;
• The business or non-profit must have been in operation since at least September 2019, unless the business is a for-profit business and meets one of the following additional criteria:
o The business can demonstrate three or more years of operating experience in the industry through previous ownership or management; or
o The business has previously borrowed from the community lender and has had no repayment issues
The community lender will collect financial information from each business or non-profit and its beneficial owner(s) and/or guarantor(s) and underwrite based upon the lender’s credit criteria, which vary based on lender. Lender credit criteria often include but may not be limited to:
• The business or non-profit’s (or its guarantor) ability to pay back the loan in full;
• The ability to make debt payments from revenues;
• The business or non-profit’s (or its guarantor) history of bankruptcy, delinquency, foreclosure or repossession;
• Whether there are any outstanding tax liens or judgments against the business or non-profit, and/or its guarantor(s) or beneficial owner(s)
There is no minimum credit score that is required under this program, but please note that each community lender may set its own credit score limits for the loan applications it reviews.
More information at: https://www.connect2capital.com/p/soar-fund/#aboutsoar
