As point person for Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance’s Small Business Help Desk, Tracy Joseph says that one of the most common questions she receives from current and aspiring small business owners has to do with what funding opportunities are available to them. The answer varies based on a variety of factors, but can include the EDC Revolving Loan Fund, pitch competitions, grants and resources offered by Huntington Bank and Metro Community Development.
It can also include Kiva, a crowdfunding platform that allows entrepreneurs to raise a zero-percent interest loan to help take his or her business to the next level. Currently, there are two Flint & Genesee business owners utilizing Kiva.
La’Asia Johnson has just a few days left to meet her $15,000 goal while she expands the Elle Jae Essentials skincare boutique into a larger retail space in Flint’s University Avenue corridor. She hopes to open by mid-June. The loan secured through the campaign will assist her expansion efforts in addition to providing marketing and programmatic support.
“I want this business to be the next Black-owned Lush,” says Johnson. “I hope to offer DIY experiences and an educational hub, where we teach people about the benefits of more natural ingredients and how to create safer skincare, haircare and beard care items for you and your family. I don’t want it to just be transactional – I want this to be an experience.”
According to Joseph, both Elle Jae Essentials and Howe Art Supplies and Gallery – a Swartz Creek business currently crowdfunding a loan of $10,000 to support expansion, purchase inventory and retain employees – are endorsed by Flint & Genesee Group.
“As a Kiva trustee, Flint & Genesee Group vets these businesses,” says Joseph, business support manager at Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, a division of Flint & Genesee Group. “We support and encourage them. And after they’ve been funded, work with them to ensure they make their payments.”
Because these businesses have the backing of a Kiva trustee, they have the added benefit of LISC Flint’s investment in the Kiva Loan Match Fund. This means that LISC matches incremental loan amounts as they are made to a Kiva borrower. So when an individual lender contributes $25 toward a campaign, LISC provides an additional $25 towards the loan goal. Please note that a borrower must reach his or her campaign goal to access the Kiva loan funds.
“After the last two years, it’s more important than ever to support small businesses,” said Shaina Tinsey, assistant program officer for LISC Flint. “Contributing to a Kiva loan is such an easy way, tangible way to show that support. This isn’t a donation. This is a loan, and when you’re paid back, you can always roll that repayment into supporting additional small business campaigns in the future.”
Interested in making a contribution? Click here for the Elle Jae Essentials campaign, which ends May 3, and click here for the Howe Art Supplies and Gallery campaign, which ends May 19.