The North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission (North Central) hosted a Banker’s Breakfast on Tuesday morning at the DuBois Country Club where financial industry experts shared information on a myriad of lending and business assistance programs designed to help business and industry thrive in the six-county region.

Bankers, attorneys, and economic development professionals learned about eligibility and lending requirements and processes from North Central, Pursuit, The Progress Fund, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania. Attendees also learned how PennWest Clarion University’s Small Business Development Center can assist existing and start-up businesses through consultation and training.

“We had an amazing turnout for this event with about 55 in attendance,” North Central Loan Program Director Jennifer Hibbard said. “Our presenters provided a wealth of information to our audience of bankers and economic development professionals on products that offer financing solutions and services that assist with business start-ups and expansions.”

North Central Loan Program Director Jennifer Hibbard welcomed the near-capacity crowd and discussed the Small Business Lending program, which fills the gap between private lenders and owner equity and does not compete with traditional bank financing, but complements it as part of a financing package. The commission administers 10 revolving loan funds which feature fixed, low-interest financing that can be subordinate to bank financing. To be eligible, businesses must be located in Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean or Potter counties, be for-profit, and an existing or start-up business in manufacturing, commercial, service, recycling, hospitality and tourism, agriculture, warehousing/distribution, technology, health care, construction, child daycare, or research and development.

The program will fund 50 percent of a project cost or $400,000, whichever is lower, and requires one full-time job to either be retained or created within three years of closing for every $75,000 borrowed from North Central. Funds can be used for real estate, machinery and equipment, or working capital and offer repayment terms that will typically match the term of the participating bank. North Central is also a designated certified economic development organization that can access loans from the PA Industrial Development Authority, which is a statewide lending program.

Pursuit Assistant Vice President and Senior Business Development Officer Steve Meredith discussed the organization’s 15 lending programs that are designed to help finance project funding gaps. Pursuit currently operates in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington and offers four main lending programs in Pennsylvania. Meredith discussed the State Small Business Credit Initiative fund, which is designed for established businesses that have been in operation for at least a year who need working capital, equipment purchases, leasehold improvements, technology upgrades, and debt refinancing.

Under the program, loans are available for up to $500,000, feature a fixed 7.75 percent interest rate and payback terms are six years for $10,000 to $100,000 loans and 10 years for loans between $101,000 to $500,000. Pursuit charges a 3-percent closing fee that is financed into the loan. To be eligible, businesses must be in operation for two or more years, located in Pennsylvania, and have at least two employees. Businesses must show a break-even or positive cash flow and the owner’s personal credit score is 640 or higher. Annual revenue for the business needs to be above $120,000.

The Progress Fund’s Small Business Lender Eric Neice discussed flexible loans that are designed to serve businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries that offer loan amounts ranging between $50,000 and $2 million. He said start-up businesses must have a business plan and financial projections, a minimum FICO score of 650, are they can be flexible with collateral. Neice highlighted recent loans in the six-county region, including helping an employee of Paesano Pizza in Brockway purchase the business and building and Mudbeards Bikes and Boards in Ridgway to purchase real estate.

PennWest Clarion Small Business Development Center’s Business Consultant Corry Riley discussed how the university can help existing and start-up businesses grow and prosper by offering no cost, confidential consulting services, no cost, low cost virtual seminars and webinars, and tools and resources in the form of databases, guides, forms, and templates.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania’s Vice President of Business Development John Sider discussed the R&D Investment for Manufacturers program. The program helps manufacturers with established cash flow for new product development or process improvement and would result in job creation. Under the program, manufacturers can borrow up to $250,000 for new products or processes that would boost business. The loans feature a 5-year term, with no collateral required and features an interest rate of Prime +2.

Ben Franklin’s Spark Grant program provides up to $10,000 to help manufacturers create new innovative products or services to help them grow and develop or implement processes that would improve operational efficiencies or improve marketing and sales. Funds can be used for product or process development, including salaries, prototype materials, and software purchases. Plus, the Innovation Adoption Grant assists manufacturers with partnering with colleges, universities, and labs for new product development and testing up to $25,000 per project. All loans from Ben Franklin require a cash or in-kind dollar-for-dollar match.