The Indy Black Chamber of Commerce INC is an organization who has a heart for our community of business owners, and are proud to have directed out over $1 million to approximately 150 recipients through our lending and grants programs through year end 2022. This program initiative was created to support economic growth and development within Indianapolis and surrounding counties.
Using a community-based approach, IBCC has partnered with the likes of: Cummins Corporation, Comcast, IKEA, and Lake City Bank to provide grant funding to Black-owned small businesses that may not qualify for traditional bank financing due to loan size or other terms. These grants have a direct impact on our community by allowing Black business owners to obtain capital for critical business expenses, helping to safeguard business longevity and sustainability while also supporting community wealth building.
In 2021, with funding from Cummins Corporation, IBCC in partnership with LISC was able to lend $200K in loans to 8 Black-owned businesses that were impacted due to the pandemic. The CARE Relief Recovery Loan Program was established to enhance economic stability by creating a revolving pool of capital that Black business owners can easily access to grow their businesses, thus creating jobs and access to technical assistance. As loans are repaid, funds remain within the loan pool to be redistributed to other business owners through additional loans and/or grants. IBCC was able to expand on this loan program in 2022 by being recipients of the Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative (IAAQLI) round 1 funding, which led to the creation of the Business Lending to Underserved Entrepreneurs (B.L.U.E) loan program. This loan program will be exclusively for IBCC members to provide access to capital opportunities that will allow business owners to increase revenue and strengthen a borrower’s capacity to grow their business.
This Program Was Made Possible Thanks to the Following Sponsors:
