North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Funding to Moon Hill Brewing Co in Gardner

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) – the economic development arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce – recently provided an Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) loan of $50,000 to Rick Walton, owner of Moon Hill Brewing in Gardner.  The ERF program, funded through contributions received by local community banks and credit unions, was launched by NCMDC to assist small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Moon Hill Brewing Co. began in 2006 at the brewpub, Gardner Ale House, a long-time staple in the community.  Both are located at 74 Parker Street in Gardner and together serve as the only full-menu brewpub in North Central Massachusetts and Worcester County.  Moon Hill offers 14 craft  beers that can be found on tap at the Gardner Ale House as well as in many local pubs and restaurants.  This loan helped to retain 25 full time jobs and 70 part time jobs.  Moon Hill Brewing, following COVID guidelines, is open for business.  For more information visit www.moonhillbrewing.com/.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project. 

 

Chamber’s Economic Development Arm Closes Out a Successful Year

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Employees reviewing loan filesThe Chamber’s economic development affiliate, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC), completed its fiscal year on September 30, 2020. The NCMDC works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging microenterprises, small businesses, and community projects in North Central Massachusetts with loans and technical assistance.  The NCMDC provided a total of 47 loans in FY2020 totaling $1,130,401. These included 31 conventional microloans totaling $852,500 and 16 loans under the SBA’s Payroll Protection Program for $277,901. The average size of the loans was $24,051 with the smallest loan at $2,607 and the largest at $54,177. Our conventional microloans were leveraged by another $495,626 in financing from local banks and credit unions and $188,249 in equity from borrowers, and helped retain 169 jobs and create 22 new jobs.  Our PPP loans helped retain another 47 jobs by covering critical payroll and operating expenses to businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.  During the year, the NCMDC also provided over 1,200 hours of direct technical assistance to start-up and existing small businesses and hosted several successful workshops and forums in partnership with the Chamber. The NCMDC also launched an Economic Recovery Fund to provide emergency loans with $415,000 in contributions and secured grant funding from the state and the Mass Growth Capital Corporation to assist with its efforts to provide technical assistance to small businesses.  The NCMDC is certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) program and is a micro-loan intermediary for the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information on the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, please visit www.choosenorthcentral.com.

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides Funding to Three Downtown Fitchburg Businesses

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) recently approved three loans totaling $55,000 to Strong Style Coffee, Bion Greek Kitchen and Mi Rinconcito Salvadoreno in Downtown Fitchburg.

 

Strong Style Coffee, owned and operated by Kimberly Jones on 37 Boulder Drive in Fitchburg, is a coffee shop that serves as a comfortable space where patrons can be creative and productive during the day and relax and enjoy events and entertainment at night. They offer coffee, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and have a lunch menu, as well as beer and wine.  Their loan for $25,000 was used to re-finance business debt, and were a referral from NewVue Communities where Kimberly also worked on the financial plan for the loan application. Check out information on their upcoming events on their social media pages, at

https://www.facebook.com/strongstylecoffee/ or on Instagram at strongstylecoffee.

 

Bion Greek Kitchen received a $20,000 working capital loan to assist with operating expenses during the pandemic. Gregor and Violet Labovitis initially operated the business out of their home before eventually growing sales enough to open a physical location on 356 Main St., in Fitchburg. For more information visit their website at bion-greek.square.site or https://www.facebook.com/BionGreek1/?fref=tag.

 

Mi Rinconcito Salvadoreno is a start-up Latin American convenience store on Main St., Fitchburg at the site of the former Shack’s Clothing store. Owner Idelfonso Guzman and his wife Carmen decided to open the store after finding there were no reasonably close options for genuine Latin American oriented groceries in the area. The store opened on July 1, 2020 and features groceries, snacks and other novelties. For more information visit their store on 444 Main St., Fitchburg.

 

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.

North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation Receives Federal Loan to Recapitalize Microloan Program

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation has received a $500,000 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration to bolster its micro-lending program and expand its lending efforts to support small businesses in the region. The loan must be repaid over a ten year period. Grant dollars the NCMDC received from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were also used to help support the SBA’s requirement for matching funds for a Loan Loss Reserve. 

With these funds, the NCMDC can continue to provide SBA loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses in the region.  The U.S. Small Business Administration provides funds to specially designated intermediary lenders, which are nonprofit community-based organizations with experience in lending as well as management and technical assistance. These intermediaries administer the Microloan program for eligible borrowers. This is the third such SBA loan that the NCMDC has received since being approved as an SBA Microloan Intermediary in 2015. These loans have allowed the NCMDC to grant nearly $1,000,000 in SBA microloans to start ups and expanding businesses.

“Access to capital is a major issue for many small businesses, who are struggling to survive amid the unprecedented economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation. “This infusion of much needed capital will help shore up our lending capacity and allow us to continue to support small businesses who need financing but are unable to secure it through traditional means.”

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) is the non-profit economic development arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce with the mission of creating jobs and improving the economy. NCMDC is certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program. The NCMDC works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging microenterprises, small businesses, and community projects in 76 communities in Worcester, Middlesex and Franklin Counties with loans and business assistance.  Since 1996, the NCMDC has granted over $7,000,000 in loans to small businesses to help grow jobs and the economy in the region.

For more information about applying for a microloans or the other loan programs available through the NCMDC, please contact Sandie Cataldo, Economic Development Manager at 978-353-7600 ext 232 or visit https://www.choosenorthcentral.com/lending/.

North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation Accepting Limited Number of PPP Applications

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, the economic development arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, is now accepting applications for the SBA Paycheck Protection Program. Applications are limited to small businesses, sole proprietorships, independent contractors, self-employed persons, and non-profit organizations who are unable to apply through a local bank or credit union and located within our service area. The NCMDC is also limiting its PPP loans to under $50,000. Businesses and entities with an established banking relationship or with requests larger than $50,000 are encouraged to contact their bank or credit union first to apply. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program offers favorable financing for small businesses to help keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis. Portions of the loans are eligible to be forgiven by the SBA when used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. 

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) is a non-profit economic development corporation with the mission of creating jobs and improving the economy. NCMDC is certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program. The NCMDC works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging microenterprises, small businesses, and community projects in 76 communities in Worcester, Middlesex and Franklin Counties with loans and business assistance.  Since 1996, the NCMDC has granted over $6,900,000 in loans to small businesses to help grow jobs and the economy in the region.

For more information or to apply for a PPP loan through the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, please contact Bea Lee, Economic & Loan Administrator at or Sandie Cataldo, Economic Development Manager at 978.353.7600 x232 or via email at .

SBA To Provide Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19) Up to $2 Million in Disaster Assistance Loans

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WASHINGTON – SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza issued the following statement today in response to the President’s address to the nation: 

“The President took bold, decisive action to make our 30 million small businesses more resilient to Coronavirus-related economic disruptions. Small businesses are vital economic engines in every community and state, and they have helped make our economy the strongest in the world. Our Agency will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest disaster recovery loans to small businesses that have been severely impacted by the situation. Additionally, the SBA continues to assist small businesses with counseling and navigating their own preparedness plans through our network of 68 District Offices and numerous Resource Partners located around the country. The SBA will continue to provide every small business with the most effective and customer-focused response possible during these times of uncertainty.” 

Process for Accessing SBA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disaster Relief Lending

  • The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.
  • Any such Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations in designated areas of a state or territory to help alleviate economic injury caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
  • SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with the state’s or territory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance. 
  • Once a declaration is made for designated areas within a state, the information on the application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be made available to all affected communities.
  • SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. 
  • These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%. 
  • SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay. 
  • SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and the SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible.

For additional information, please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail .

Chamber Regional Economic Study

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The Chamber and its economic development arm, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, have commissioned the UMass Donahue Institute to develop a robust data driven economic profile of the region. This economic profile is intended to provide focused data and research for North Central Massachusetts that will be used to support our economic development goals. We anticipate that the data will be used to showcase the region, answer queries about the region, support ongoing projects and help make evidence based decisions.

The customized profile is expected to combine detailed economic, labor market and socioeconomic data, as well as provide analysis on the economic conditions within the region. The project is expected to be completed by October, 2019. ◊

This update is from the latest Informe de Cámara

North Central Mass Development Corp Provides   Financing to Native Joe’s Farmstand in Westminster

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 The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) recently approved a $75,000 loan to Joe Serio, owner of Native Joe’s located at 134 Main Street in Westminster adjacent to Westminster Pharmacy, also owed by Mr. Serio.

Joe purchased the old barn, built in 1825, just next to the pharmacy and renovated it to open Native Joe’s Farmstand.  The farmstand offers Herrell’s premium ice cream, local produce, bedding plants, and a small retail space with garden accessories, gifts and crafts as well as a deck with outdoor seating.  Native Joe’s is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and noon to 8 p.m. weekdays. This loan helped create three jobs and assisted Joe with the cost of designing, renovating the barn and purchasing equipment. This micro loan was a referral from TD Bank.  For more information on Native Joe’s Farmstand please visit them on Facebook or online at www.nativejoefarm.com.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.

Leominster Salon Receives Micro-loan from North Central Mass Development Corp

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The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) granted a micro-loan to Angelica Jimenez for $25,000 to assist the purchase of equipment and the costs associated with starting Angel Salon and Spa in Leominster. Angelica has over 15 years of experience in the industry.  Angel Salon is a professional salon and spa offering services to men, women and families conveniently located at Twin City Plaza, 875 Merriam Ave. in Leominster.

This loan was a gap loan in partnership with Fidelity Bank.  NewVue Communities assisted the new owner with a business plan and financial package.  For more information please visit www.angelsalonandspa.com/.

As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000 for working capital, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.