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On May 8, 2020, the Jackson County Office of Economic Development established the All In Jackson Fund in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Additional partners rallying to assist the fund include the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce, Jackson County TDA, SCC and WCU Small Business Centers. This program provides low-interest loans to severely impacted small businesses in Jackson County, helping them remain open until longer-term funding becomes available. Mountain BizWorks is the administrator of the All In Jackson Fund, providing loan processing and underwriting services.

All In Jackson Fund small business loans aim to provide a rapid source of assistance for Jackson County-based businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19. This fund is a collaborative effort between Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce, Jackson County TDA, SCC Small Business Center, WCU Small Business and Technology Development Center, Jackson County Economic Development, and Mountain BizWorks. Mountain BizWorks is the administrator of the emergency loans program, with details below.

This is not a grant program
All In Jackson Fund small business loans are designed to be flexible and rapid sources of low-interest loan capital to help local Jackson County businesses and nonprofits meet pressing needs and navigate the COVID-19 crisis. Repayment is expected either from more permanent funding sources (like SBA Disaster Loans) or from the future cash flow of the business.

Loan details
Loans are available for up to $10,000, based on the business’s pre-COVID-19 revenue. Loan agreements are structured as follows:

  • Six months of no payments required at 4% (interest accruing), followed by 36 months of principal and interest payments at 5.5% interest.
  • There are no prepayment penalties.
  • Defaulted loans are subject to collections.


Who is eligible? For-profit businesses that:

  • Have a physical location and be principally based in Jackson County (see our COVID loans page for options for those not in the county)
  • Have between 1 (who could be the self­-employed owner) and 50 employees
  • Have been in business for at least 12 months
  • Demonstrated loss of revenue of 25% or more due to COVID-19


Requirements

  • Any individual with greater than 20% ownership in the applying business must personally guarantee the loan.
  • Proceeds from the loan may only be used for maintaining or restarting a business. Eligible uses include payroll, accounts payable, fixed debts, or other bills the business is unable to pay due to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Agree to provide impact data
  • Borrowers are required to assign the proceeds of future SBA EIDL loans or other federal assistance programs to the repayment of their All In Jackson Fund Loan. (PPP funds and the EIDL grants are excluded from this)


Logistics & timeline

  • All In Jackson Fund was launched and applications opened on Thursday, May 7.
  • Applications will be accepted as long as funds are available.
  • Businesses interested in applying should be prepared to complete an online application (linked below) and provide tax returns, profit and loss statements, and bank statements.
  • The partners in this program are committed to moving as fast as possible to assist businesses. We are aiming to fund requests on a weekly basis as long as funds are available.
  • Loans are subject to the availability of funds. The partners know that the need is greater than the current fund size. We’re working to expand the available pool so that we can assist as many in our community as possible.

APPLY ONLINE AT mountainbizworks.org/all-in-jackson

 


(Sylva, NC) Jackson County officials have announced the creation of the All In Jackson Fund, which will provide short-term low-interest loans to businesses in the County that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. The County will provide an initial $324,000 that will be dispersed in loans ranging between $2,500 and $10,000 based on need. The County will also welcome additional contributions to the fund from outside foundations and organizations, or from individuals who simply want to help out. All loans are expected to be repaid from other funding resources like SBA Disaster Loans, or other more permanent revenues from future cash flow from the businesses. 

Jackson County will partner with Mountain BizWorks to administer the All In Jackson Fund. Mountain BizWorks is a non-profit, US Treasury-certified community development financial institution (CDFI) based in Asheville with 30 years of small business lending and training experience. Mountain BizWorks will leverage its current capacities to operate the fund, maximize impacts, and minimize operating expenses.

“This announcement will allow the Jackson County Office of Economic Development to immediately begin investing to shore up our small business economy” said Rich Price, Director. “By quickly and efficiently getting funding into the hands of our business owners, their employees, and their creditors, we can hopefully provide them with a bit of safe passage until we can get the local economy functioning in some new sense of normalcy.”

Price added that “it is an absolute privilege to be able to offer this type of financial support to the greater Jackson business community.”

Brian McMahan, Chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, offered his thoughts; “The Commissioners recognize that these are extraordinary times in which small businesses have been forced to operate within. Some businesses have been able to offer limited services in a survival mode, while others have not been as fortunate and have had to temporarily close their doors. The All In Jackson County Fund is the first of the Board’s efforts to provide some local relief to our local economy.”

For more information visit the newly created AllInJacksonNC.com website, or visit mountianbizworks.com and click on the COVID-19 Rapid Recovery loan information page.