Lending & Impact Investing

As a US Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), NALCAB lends to nonprofit organizations that promote economic mobility across the United States. We help communities build affordable housing, invest in small businesses, and strengthen financial capability. We engage in intermediary lending to small business lenders to support the growth of Latino business owners while also providing secured and unsecured loans to affordable housing developers, including acquisition, pre-development, construction, and bridge financing.

LENDING 

Loans for Nonprofit Lenders and Affordable Housing Developers – Exclusively for NALCAB Member Organizations

NALCAB provides flexible loan products to support nonprofit organizations engaged in small business lending or affordable housing and community facility development. These loans are designed to help organizations expand their impact, access capital, and move projects forward at any stage.

Since becoming a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Intermediary in 2019, NALCAB has deployed more than $22 million in financing across the country. This includes affordable housing projects serving families between 30 and 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and small business lending programs where over 80 percent of loans served Latino-owned businesses.

Types of Loans Offered

Commercial Real Estate Loans
Up to $1.2 million per member for the development of affordable housing or community facilities. Financing is available for all stages of development, including land acquisition, predevelopment, construction, purchase, rehabilitation, mini-perm, and permanent financing.

Small Business Lending Capitalization
Loans up to $600,000 to capitalize or expand nonprofit small business lending programs.

Rural Nonprofit Capacity Building
Loans to support small business lending and affordable housing development in eligible rural areas.

Program Features

• Loan terms ranging from 1 to 10 years
• Below-market interest rates, depending on risk
• Flexible amortization, including interest-only or amortizing options
• Unsecured predevelopment loans available when take-out financing is secured
  

Eligibility

• Applicants must be active NALCAB member organizations
• Eligible uses include affordable housing, community facilities, mixed-use properties, and small business loan fund capitalization
• Applicants should have experience lending to CDFI target markets
  

How to Apply

To begin the process, contact the NALCAB Lending & Impact Investing Team at impactinvesting@nalcab.org to schedule a meeting. Our team will walk you through the application steps and discuss your organization’s eligibility and lending needs.

Loans are available only to current NALCAB member organizations. To learn more about membership, please contact membership@nalcab.org.

Small Business Loan Guarantees (SBLG) 

NALCAB’s Small Business Loan Guarantee (SBLG) program supports nonprofit lenders by backing loans that fall “just” outside of traditional lending criteria. This product is designed to help member organizations increase their ability to serve small business borrowers who are close to qualifying but need extra flexibility to access the capital they need.

With the support of Kaiser Permanente and the Wells Fargo Open for Business Fund, the SBLG program gives lenders the confidence to say “yes” more often, strengthening small business ecosystems and expanding opportunity in the communities they serve.

This product can help NALCAB member-lenders:

• Improve loan volume.
• Support more small business borrowers.
• Be a solution to your community’s small business lending needs.

The SBLG will guarantee the lesser of:

• *50% of loan principal up to $10,000 for small business loans
• *50% of loan principal up to $75,000 for real estate secured loans
  

Eligibility For Member Lenders:

• Be an active NALCAB member
• Be a nonprofit lender or CDFI
• Have at least 1 year of small business lending experience
• Track record of lending experience to communities that need it most
• Board-approved, fair lending policies and procedures
• Have collection and servicing procedures in place
  

Eligibility For End Borrowers with SBLG:

• Must be in business for over one year; no startups
• Annual Revenues under $1M
• Demonstrate ability to repay loan
• Just miss qualifying under lender’s guidelines

For more information, contact the NALCAB Lending & Impact Investing Team at impactinvesting@nalcab.org to schedule a meeting

IMPACT INVESTING

Escalera Community Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of NALCAB, was created in 2016 to provide asset management services. Escalera is currently the managing member of the NALCAB Catalyst Fund I, LLC, and the Acceso Loan Fund.

The Acceso Loan Fund was launched through a historic $10 million grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to NALCAB in 2019, supporting growth-oriented lending to small businesses nationwide through a network of Latino-led nonprofit business lenders. The Fund is designed to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses—expanding revenue, creating jobs, and contributing to local and national economic growth.

NALCAB, LiftFund, and ten other Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the NALCAB network share equal ownership of the Fund. Through this collaborative model, the Acceso Loan Fund provides loans ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to eligible small businesses, which are evaluated and referred directly by the participating CDFI partners.

This initiative was made possible through Wells Fargo’s Diverse Community Capital program and remains one of the program’s largest investments to date. Today, the Acceso Loan Fund continues to play a key role in supporting Latino and diverse entrepreneurs as they grow and strengthen their businesses.

For more information, contact the NALCAB Lending & Impact Investing Team at impactinvesting@nalcab.org to schedule a meeting