New Revolving Loan Fund to Provide $1.1 Million to Small Businesses, Here’s How to Apply | Company

A new $1.1 million revolving loan program has launched that aims to help small businesses in Baton Rouge recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund, a partnership between the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, TruFund and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, provides up to $250,000 to businesses, especially those with 50 employees or fewer and revenues of less than $3 million. The loans have a term of 6 to 60 months, with interest rates between 0 and 10%. In some cases, loans are closed within 30 days. When companies repay their loans, that money is used to issue new loans.

The program is targeting companies affected by the pandemic, but Kim Carter Evans, vice president and regional director of TruFund, said companies that have done well are also eligible for loans.

Some businesses have thrived and need access to capital to support growth, she said.

TruFund is a not-for-profit community development financial institution that provides capital to small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Craig Gehring, founder and chief executive officer of MasteryPrep in Baton Rouge, said he got a $50,000 loan from TruFund seven years ago when the test prep business grew so fast he couldn’t keep up with costs.

They took the time to understand our business; they took the time to understand our needs and helped us navigate that entire path, he said. It was a total rescue for the company. At the time of the loan, MasteryPrep had less than $300,000 in revenue; now the company has about $10 million in annual revenue.

Michael DiResto, executive vice president of BRAC, said the goal of the loan program is to create more success stories like MasteryPrep.

You can’t take the opportunity if you don’t have the capital, he said. We hope this drastically reduces the barriers to success.

To apply, please contact Jay Gaudet, TruFund’s Business Development Officer at [email protected] or Juan Nathan at [email protected]. Small businesses can also call the TruFund Louisiana office at (504) 293-5550 or visit trufund.org.