ACCESS Riverdale Community Loan Fund Presentation for The Social Economy Centre, OISE November 8, 2006 Susan McLean

What is the ACCESS Riverdale Community Loan Fund? ACCESS Riverdale is a loan guarantee fund created by investments from socially minded individuals, organizations, and businesses. Our Goals are: 1. To help promising local entrepreneurs  Gain access to financing  Overcome barriers to financial growth 2. Make a contribution to the community

What is the ACCESS Riverdale Community Loan Fund? ACCESS Riverdale helps small and emerging businesses facing financial barriers in the communities of east Toronto to meet their need for credit by securing loans up to $5000. Our Catchment Area:

What is the ACCESS Riverdale Community Loan Fund?  The loan fund is used to guarantee loans through Alterna Savings.  Individual loans are made using a character based lending decision.

A brief history of ACCESS Riverdale…  Access Riverdale was formed in 1999 as a project of the Riverdale Community Development Centre (RCDC).  In 2005 the government terminated their funding, Access received charitable status at approximately the same time.  Access Riverdale is now a 100% volunteer organization.

Some ACCESS Riverdale Statistics…  The loan fund value is $165,000  Funds currently leant out ~$35,000  Since inception Access has leant out $390,000 and helped 75 small businesses  The loan repayment rate is approximately 97%

ACCESS Clients …  have been running a business less than two years  may have no credit history in Canada  May have a poor credit record due to unemployment or illness  purchase inventory  strengthen their marketing  acquire a key piece of production equipment are typically entrepreneurs who: typically use their loans to:

Investing in/ Donating to ACCESS  receive between 0- 2% interest  investments can be made for one - three year terms  receive periodic updates on the loan fund and can participate in events Investors  receive charitable tax receipts  receive periodic updates on the loan fund and can participate in events Donors

How does the loan approval process work ? Whether a loan is approved or declined is the decision of the Loan Review Committee. The Committee consists of volunteer loan reviewers. The members share the objectives and values of the loan fund.

How does the loan approval process work ? The applicant submits a completed loan application form and supporting documents including business plan and cash-flow, business documents and licenses, leases, training certificates etc. The applicant is then interviewed by two committee members (ideally at the location of business)

How does the loan approval process work ? The interviewers will focus on four aspects of the application: 1. The commitment, reliability, and character of the applicant; 2. The relevant skills and abilities of the applicant; 3. The viability of the business and the reasonableness and potential benefits of the requested loan; 4. The capacity of the applicant to manage loan payments based on current and future income.

How does the loan approval process work ? The committee seeks to reach a consensus on decisions about loan applications. If the loan is approved, the loan funds are disbursed through Alterna Savings.

Loan Follow Up The committee will assign a contact who will follow-up with the loan recipient on a quarterly basis. We are also piloting a mentorship program for loan recipients in partnership with CESO (Canadian Executive Services Organization)

Other projects: “ACCESS Light” “ACCESS Light”- currently piloting a program to provide loans for lighting retrofits for small businesses in conjunction with the Cool Shops Program of the Clean Air Foundation and Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Questions? For more information, please visit our website at: or leave us a phone message at: