HELP Revolving Loan Program

The Hometown Entrepreneur Loan Program is a small revolving loan fund pool managed by the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, Inc. It was acquired in 2008 from the United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development for the use of providing small loans to new and emerging businesses in Walworth County. Under HELP entrepreneurs can secure funds for start-up, business acquisition, and expansion.

Eligibility

To be eligible to borrow funds from HELP, the business must be:

• Located in Walworth County
• Have fewer than 50 employees
• Have gross sales under $1,000,000

Eligible Use of Funds

Funds from Help May be used to:

• Real Estate Acquisition
• Equipment Purchases
• Working Capital
• Construction or renovation
• Job Creation & Retention
  It is WCEDA's goal to create one full-time job for each $10,000 increment borrowed. A full time job is counted as created when the person works 32 hours per week in a position, which did not previously exist or has projected earnings of $8,000 annually and has held the job for a minimum of three months.
• Leveraged Funds
  One dollar of private sector investment should be obtained for each dollar of RLF investment. Private sector investment is defined as financing from a private lending institution, public sector business loan programs, other than the Community Development Block Grant program, or new equity that is injected into the business as a part of the expansion project. Grants from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation are not considered eligible matches for loan purposes.
  

For more information regarding application requirements, and application templates please view the WCEDA HELP Loan Packet.