Goldman Sachs offers $4.4 million to help small businesses

Goldman Sachs has awarded a $4.4 million loan to Virginia Community Capital, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community development, in an effort to spur small-business growth.

The loan comes as a part of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program, a $500 million nationwide initiative to support small businesses.

“Goldman is trying to get capital flowing to businesses, particularly in low- to medium-income areas,” said Teri Lovelace, vice president of community investment and impact for Virginia Community Capital.

Virginia Community Capital, which has offices in Richmond and Christiansburg, is dedicated to supporting housing ventures, helping create job opportunities and providing technical assistance to small businesses in low- to moderate-income communities.

The group officially received the loan in April and has already deployed $1.9 million of it.

“To get a New York investment banking firm to deploy their capital in Virginia will be a huge benefit to the state,” Lovelace said.

Of the $4.4 million loan, Virginia Community Capital set aside $200,000 for a loan loss reserve and dedicated an additional $200,000 to beef up its ability to provide assistance and guidance to small businesses. The 24-employee organization recently added a small-business lending manager and a community-based outreach specialist.

The remaining $4 million of the loan will go directly in loans or assistance to small businesses that are growing and creating jobs in low to medium-income areas.

The loan lasts for three to five years and has a low interest rate. Lovelace declined to disclose the rate.

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Small Business