As a U.S. Small Business Administration-approved microlender, JARI’s Microloan Program provides loans up to $50,000 for equipment, inventory, working capital, and more.
Checklist for Funding
3 year projections (Balance sheet, profit and loss statement) for startups
1 year projections (Balance sheet, profit and loss statement) for existing companies
3 year tax returns for existing businesses
3 year personal tax returns for all owners/guarantors
Frequently Asked Questions
We finance both new and existing businesses across all industries. We specialize in funding businesses that banks shy away from, so there is no business too small, or business idea too crazy for us (as long as it is legal)! It is our goal to help entrepreneurs and business owners from diverse backgrounds – including those from traditionally under-served groups and clients with barriers (such as low-credit or criminal backgrounds). In some cases we can also fund non-profit entities.
JARI & JGF have several loan programs available to our clients, each of them with a cap of $50,000. Depending on the specifics of your project, we can finance up to a maximum of $100,000 by combining our loan funds. If your project is larger than that, we can work with other financing partners (banks, etc) to fully fund your project, regardless of its size.
We use several factors to determine the interest rate for our borrowers. All of our loans will be in the range of 5.00 – 7.75%. In addition, funds can be borrowed for a maximum of 6 years (72 months).
We use a variety of things to score the project including credit score, management experience, overall risk of the industry, job creation/retention, overall cash flow and the new owner’s knowledge of the product.
Check out our checklist to see all the documents required for loan review.
We do loan review once per month – typically, the 2nd week of the month. In order to go in for loan review, we will need all the documentation by the 1st day of the month. During that time in-between, staff will review your application and reach out to you to discuss your project and make sure your business goals align with ours.
During the week of loan review, you will be given a ‘go’ or ‘no-go’ decision by our loan review board. If you are given a ‘go’, you will then receive a commitment letter that outlines all the terms and conditions of the loan. Once that letter is signed and sent back to us, we can start to draft the official loan documents with our attorney. That process typically takes 4-6 weeks to complete and funds can be disbursed as soon as those documents are signed.
Unlike a traditional bank loan, funds are not automatically disbursed to your account when approved. Here, we hold the funds for you and pay expenses on your behalf. We have found this process successful for two reasons. First, it keeps the lines of communication open on how the project is going and how the projected budget compares to actual costs. Second, if your actual expenses are lower than expected, we can actually reduce your loan size, saving you money in the long-term.