Building Community,
one business at a time!

802-479-0167
Fax: 802-479-2867
P.O. Box 342
107 N. Main Street, Suite 7
Barre, VT 05641
[email protected]
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Application Process
Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for a Community Capital loan if you meet the following criteria:
Your business meets our requirements for income eligibility or job creation/retention. Please fill out the applicable Family Income Statement and send it in with your application.
You have had difficulty obtaining some or all of your financing needs through a conventional source of credit such as a bank or a credit union.
All owners of the business and the business itself are current with or have an approved workout plan to pay state, local, and federal taxes.
None of the owners have been convicted of a felony within the past three years.
You can demonstrate site control; that is, you have documentation that shows you have control of your business site (via a lease, purchase & sales agreement, letter of intent from a landlord, property tax bill, etc).
Application & Business Planning Assistance

Community Capital strongly encourages all applicants to work with a business counselor to help you develop, refine and review your business plan and application. There are many free business planning resources located around the State. Click here for a list of Resources.
Business Loan Application Form

Community Capital has two business loan applications.
If your business is a start-up or has fewer than 2 years of sales or if you are purchasing an existing business, click here.
If your business has more than 2 years of sales, click here.

For assistance in completing these forms, please contact one of the counselors listed under Business Planning Assistance or contact a Community Capital Loan Officer.
Application Process & Timing

Community Capital will not begin underwriting your request until all of the necessary documentation has been received. Please review the Business Loan Checklist, which is the first page of our application forms.

Underwriting is performed by Community Capital Loan Officers. Final decisions are made by the Fund Manager (for loans $5,000 and below) and a volunteer Regional Loan Committee (for loans above $5,000). Regional Loan Committees are composed of four business professionals in your region and a Community Capital board member. Committees generally meet once a month. Please contact a Community Capital Loan Officer for more information on Committee timing in your region.

As a general rule of thumb, Community Capital Loan Officers require that applications be complete at least 2 weeks prior to a Regional Loan Committee meeting. Please note, however, that applications are reviewed in the order that they are received.

Once a decision has been made on your loan, you will hear from a Community Capital Loan Officer within three business days of the decision. A Letter of Commitment will be issued to you that spells out all of the conditions, terms, and requirements of the loan. You are required to accept and return the Letter to Community Capital within 10 days of its issuance.

The amount of time that it takes from the loan approval to your loan closing depends on your ability to and timeliness in meeting Community Capitals conditions.
Cost of a Community Capital Loan

Community Capital charges interest rates that are higher than what a conventional bank or credit union would charge for a commercial loan. However, our rates are still reasonable and we provide a lot of additional benefit to your loan (see Post Loan Technical Assistance). Our loans are priced based on the risk we take. Loans are priced two to four points above Wall Street Journal Prime and are fixed for the life of the loan at closing. For information on interest rates and other costs associated with applying for and receiving a loan from Community Capital, click here.
Questions

Contact a Community Capital Loan Officer directly to introduce yourself and get answers to your questions about applying for financing with Community Capital. Good luck!