Here at Community Investment Corporation, we provide financing to a variety of stakeholders across southern Arizona. Our loan products and equity funding options are primarily commercial, as our stakeholders are businesses, schools, and nonprofits. In addition, through a local partnership, we offer small dollar loans consumers.
CIC is committed to helping small businesses in Southern Arizona thrive and succeed by providing access to capital through non-traditional financing resources at competitive interest rates with flexible terms. We believe small businesses have the ability to transform both the people they employ and communities they serve.
Small businesses are often underestimated because of their size, but they play a vital role in job creation and the overall growth of our nation’s economy. According to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, small businesses account for 99.7% of U.S. firms, employ over 47.8% of the country’s working population, and employ nearly 1 million Arizonans. These businesses are the backbone of our economy, which is why we provide financing options to ensure their dreams of entrepreneurship come to fruition.
Nonprofits are essential to every community and in Southern Arizona we are fortunate to be surrounded by a host of organizations that are making a positive impact. Focusing on job creation, income generation and the business needs of our borrowers, our bottom line is Southern Arizona’s bottom line. Many nonprofits struggle to acquire financing through traditional means. Our loan team is proud to serve this sector of our community.
CIC’s Rural Lending Program was built on the notion of helping entrepreneurs in rural communities who have been under-served by traditional financial institutions. Our focus is on communities with populations of less than 50,000 and we focus on the following types of applicants:
- Businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees
- Nonprofits
- Federally-recognized Tribes
- Institutions of higher education
Funding for this program is provided through a combination of funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development and internal funds.
CIC is committed to helping schools in Arizona thrive and succeed by providing access to short-term capital through non-traditional financing resources. While public schools receive compensation based on student enrollment numbers, many need extra capital when it comes to expansion, renovation, etc. Because these needs tend to be greater, we offer larger loans to this sector—up to $400,000.
CIC typically focuses on business lending, but we do extend loans to individuals through a partnership we created with a local credit union. Through our “A Better Loan Experience” (ABLE) Program, staff and clients of our nonprofits partners can apply for loans up to $1,500. This program is part of our effort to fight the predatory lending industry in Arizona. For more information, read about our “A Better Loan Experience” program.