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NAACP1stNiagaraPartnershipOffersLoansAndHope
BYKendraBaker|NOV21,20136:59AM

ThuNov28,20137:00am8:00am

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(1)Comment|PostaComment|EmailtheAuthor Postedto:Business/EconomicDevelopment

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TheGreaterNewHavenBranchoftheNationalAssociationoftheAdvancementofColoredPeople (NAACP)andFirstNiagaraBankhavecreatedaprogramtohelpthecommunityobtainnotonlyloans andmortgages,butmostofall,theysay,hope. About25peoplegatheredWednesdaymorningattheGreaterNewHavenNAACPbranchofficeat545

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WhalleyAve.tohearabouttheprogressofthepartnerships$5.35millionSmallBusinessUrban LoanFundProgram.

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AtRiskforHD barista BranfordEagle BusinessNH ChrisVolpePhotography Crosscut CTCapitolReport CTEnviroHeadlines CTLocalPolitics CTMirror CTNewsJunkie CTWatchdog DesignNewHaven GothamGazette ILoveNewHaven JosiahBrown KarmanTurn LaVozHispana LaurelClub MediaNation MiddletownEye MinnPost MyLeftNutmeg NHRegister NHReviewofBooks NHV.org OneWorld OnlyInBridgeport OralHistoryProject RedditNH SeeClickFix SmartpillDesign St.LouisBeacon Thenewprogramgiveseligiblesmallbusinessownerstheopportunitytoobtainloans,providedby FirstNiagara,ofupto$150,000,ormicroloansofupto$25,000.

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JamesRawlings(pictured),presidentoftheNewHavenNAACP,saidtheprogramhastwogoals:to challengeandaddressissuesoftheeconomicinfrastructurewithintheareasurbansetting,andto bringhopetothestreetsofurbanAmerica. FirstNiagarapartneredwiththebranchin2012andpledged$7.5millionoverfiveyearsinloans, mortgagesanddownpaymentassistanceforhomebuyers. Whatthispartnershipisabout,beyondthedollars,isbringinghopetoeachandeverypersoninour streets,whofeelthattheyreleftoutoftheAmericandream,whohavelosttheirhomesthrough economicdownturn,whoarechallengedintheeducationsystem,whohaveallthechallengesthatwe knowabout,saidRawlings. Rawlingssaidhehopesthecommunitywillrealizethatthesmallbusinessloanprogramwillbring economicequityandcanhelpthemmoveforwardintheirlives.Theprogramisdifferentfrom traditionalloanprograms,hesaid,becauseitssensitivetothecommunitysneeds.

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Creditscoresandother,whatwewouldcall,barrierstoaccesstodollarshavebeensoftened,said Rawlings.Undertheoldformula,they[smallbusinessloansormicroloans]werenotas approachableastheyareunderthisnewprogram.Sensitivitytoourcommunityneedsistheimportant pieceofthewaythisprogramhasbeendeveloped. ApplicantsfirstpreapplytobescreenedforeligibilitybytheNAACPEconomicDevelopment Committee.Next,applicantsmustsubmitabusinessplanthatdemonstratesthebusinessobjectives andfinancialviability.Finally,afterNAACPsscreening,eligibleapplicantsarereferredtoFirstNiagara Bankforcreditunderwriting.

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ParentsAvailabletoHelp PatDillon PeaceNews PechaKucha PlannedParenthood Police PromotingEnduring Peace PublicAlliesCT PublicLibrary PublicSchools PublicWorks RainbowGirls RegisterCalendar REX ROOF SAMA SCSUEvents ShareOurVoices Shubert SolarYouth SoulOEttes SquashHaven UnitedWay UrbanDesignLeague UrbanResources Initiative Ward25Blog Ward26Blog WestvilleRenaissance WestvilleSynagogue WorkforceAlliance YaleEvents YeshivaNHShul YeshivaOfNH YouthContinuum PaulMcCraven(pictured),seniorvicepresidentatFirstNiagaraBank,saidthebankandNAACP workedtogethertocomeupwithcriteriathattheyconsideredfair,andwouldalsoprovideasecond lookatpeoplewhomaynotexactlyfitintothatcriteria.Hesaidheispleasedwiththefinalcriteria. McCravensaidheisalsopleasedthatasystemwasabletobesetupinwhichtheloanapplications willgothroughadifferentchannelsothatapplicantsaregiveneveryopportunitytohopefullybe approved. Inordertobeeligiblefortheprogram,applicantsmustmeetthefollowingtermsandconditions: createapositiveimpactontheGreaterNewHavencommunitythroughjobcreationorurban revitalization,demonstratetheabilitytorepaytheloanandmeetFirstNiagarasunderwritingcriteria, andbelocatedinoneofthe14communitiesservicedbytheGreaterNewHavenNAACP.

IthinkitsgreatthattheFirstNiagaraBankhasagreedtominimizetheirunderwritingcriteriatomake iteasiertomakesomeloansandputthemonthestreets,saidWilliamKilpatrick(atrightinphoto), chairoftheNAACPEconomicDevelopmentCommitteeandtheretiredcityparkingauthoritychief. ThatwilleventuallymakeadifferenceinjobcreationandhelprevitalizeNewHavenandthe surroundingcommunities. Thesmallbusinessloanprogramispartofatwoprongeffort,theotherprongbeingtheNAACPand FirstNiagarasmortgageprogram. Iwanttosetthebenchmarkforthesmallbusinessloanandmicroloan,saidRawlings.Wealready haveinplaceastandard.Thestandardisthesuccessofourmortgageprogram. BridgetteRussell,managingdirectorofNeighborhoodHousingServicesofNewHavens HomeOwnershipCenter,builtthemortgageprogramin12months. Russellreportedthatninepeoplehaveclosedonmortgages,onepersonisclearedtoclose,andfive

othershavebeenpreapprovedandarestilllookingforproperties. Wehaveahostofothersthatwereworkingwith,andIdsaytheresprobablyagood30inthat pipelinethataremovingtothepointwheretheycanactuallygetthatpreapproval,saidRussell. Themortgageprogramhasahomebuyereducationcomponentinwhichpeoplearecoachedand counseledintermsofcredit,savingsandoverallbudgeting.Thesmallbusinessloanprogramwill alsoprovideapplicantswithassistance. Wewantedtomakesurethattheprogramhadthetoolstobesuccessful,saidKilpatrick.Itwas importantthatwehadasystemofprogramthatcouldprovidethetechnicalassistancethatsneeded, inmanycases,foraloanapplicanttobesuccessful. HartfordEconomicDevelopmentCorp.(HEDCO)willprovidetechnicalassistanceforapplicantsto helpensurethattheirbusinessandloanapplicationshaveachanceofbeingapprovedand succeeding.HEDCOhasalsobecontractedforservicingandloanrecommendations. Thisissomethingforourcommunityjobs,newbusinesses,saidDoriDumas,firstvicepresident oftheNewHavenNAACP.Weneedyoualltospreadthewordaboutthiswonderfulprogramthatwe thinkwillbenefitNewHaven,ourcommunity,andthereforeallofus. Rawlingssaidtheprogramwasputtogetherinawaythatmakesitportable.Heencouragedother NAACPbranchestofollowtheNewHavenBranchslead. WewantotherbranchesoftheNAACPacrossthenationtopartnerwiththebanksintheir communitiesandtohavesimilarCRA[CommunityReinvestmentActs]programs,hesaid.Thatsthe wayitshouldbedone.
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postedby:ThreefifthsonNovember21,20139:11am
Peoplebeware.Banksareessentiallycrimesyndicatesandareouttogetyou.Thesesmallbusiness loanprogramsarenothingmoretheycashcowsforthebanks.

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