Cascadia's Borrowers
Cascadia's goal is to provide low income people with the opportunity
to create jobs and prosperity for themselves through self-employment.
With the help of funding from socially concerned investors, Cascadia
has made it possible for many entrepreneurs to succeed economically.
In so doing, Cascadia has been instrumental in creating or preserving
more than 1025 jobs since it made its first loan in 1985.
We support our borrowers in many ways including helping them
with publicity. Check here regularly
for upcoming events, sales and information about our borrowers.
Who
can get a Cascadia loan?
Cascadia makes loans to small businesses based in Washington
or Oregon that can not yet qualify for traditional bank financing
and support services. We target our loan programs to low-income
entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on low-income women, minorities,
and displaced workers from timber and fishing industries. We
also lend to businesses which are located in distressed urban
or rural communities; to those businesses which have a high potential
for job creation in communities of high unemployement; and to
businesses which act to restore or preserve the environment.
Businesses to which we have lent include:
|
Organic Farms |
Child Care Facilities |
|
Retail Stores |
Worker-owned Cooperatives |
|
Recycling Companies |
Non-profit Organizations |
|
Dry Cleaners |
Value-added Wood Products Manufacturers |
|
Restaurants |
Machine Repair Shops |
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Cascadia's
Loan activity to date: 1985 - 2000
|
Total dollars loaned |
nearly $14 million |
|
Total number of loans |
300+ |
|
Loan size range |
$300 - $150,000 |
|
Median loan size |
$22,000 |
|
Jobs created or preserved |
1025 + |
|
Percentage of businesses continuing to operate |
more than 80% |
|
Total loan fund dollars lost |
1% |
Since 1985, percentage of total
loans to:
- Low income individuals 64%
- People of color 21%
- Women 39%
* Borrowers may belong to more than one category
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Successful
Borrowers
The success rate for Cascadia borrowers--that is, borrowers
remaining in business--exceeds 80%. We have lost only 1% of the
dollars we have lent to date.
Although Cascadia's loans are typically considered high-risk,
this risk is mitigated by the time-intensive technical assistance
we provide each borrower. We monitor our borrowers closely to
detect and solve potential problems before they become insurrmountable.
We recruit pro bono legal counsel and other specialized technical
assistance from qualified professionals to supplement the technical
assistance our loan officers and in-house business consultants
provide. This helps ensure that Cascadia borrowers are offered
every opportunity to succeed.
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Recent Cascadia loans
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Map
1901 NW Market
Street, Seattle, Washington 98107
Phone (206) 447-9226 Facsimile (206) 682-4804