Nebraska Enterprise Fund Lends $17MM in PPP Loans, Made Possible by FNBO and Other Bank Investments

Press Release

Release Date: June 17, 2021

Nebraska Enterprise Fund Lends $17MM in PPP Loans, Made Possible by FNBO and Other Bank Investments

With banks no longer able to make PPP loans, small businesses rely on CDFI’s like NEF

OMAHA, Neb. June 17, 2021—The Nebraska Enterprise Fund (NEF) was able to lend more than $17 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans this past month to 204 small businesses across the state, thanks to support from lenders like First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).  As of May 31, banks were no longer able to issue the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses. This left Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) as the only remaining source of PPP loans for small businesses struggling to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic.

NEF is a nonprofit CDFI that provides business development services and financing to micro and small business across Nebraska and southwest Iowa. When NEF became the last source of PPP loans for Nebraska small businesses, they quickly organized to help facilitate this flow of capital for Nebraska’s economy.

“NEF received numerous calls from the banking community and small businesses seeking support in securing PPP loans, so we immediately approached the banking community to secure the required cash-flow,” said Jim Reiff, NEF Executive Director.  “Because of the rapid support by the banking community, NEF was able to put in place the processes and systems to process PPP loans within days.”

NEF is not a bank, so they rely on banks and foundations to provide them with financial support. FNBO provided a $5 million impact investment in NEF, which gave the organization the capital necessary to fund their loans, while providing technical assistance to get their PPP operations up and running. American National Bank and Core Bank also provided NEF with lending support.

“Our impact investments are so named because they are designed to provide organizations like NEF with material funding that will help them to literally have a meaningful impact in their area of support,” said Alec Gorynski, Vice President, Community Development and Corporate Philanthropy.

“Without the support of FNBO, American National Bank and CORE Bank, we could not have provided this support to our small businesses and farming businesses across the state,” Reiff said. “Our banks provided NEF with the capacity to make this happen.” 

NEF is able to reach small businesses owned by historically underserved populations. In 2020, over 60 percent of the businesses served by NEF were owned by women or minorities, businesses that were most impacted by the pandemic.

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA ENTERPRISE FUND
The Nebraska Enterprise Fund envisions a vibrant small business eco-system where every small and micro business has the opportunity to start, grow and prosper. NEF supports underserved communities by providing micro and small businesses with access to training, technical assistance, and capital across Nebraska and Southwest Iowa. NEF’s website is www.nebbiz.org and NEF can be followed on Facebook at Nebraska Enterprise Fund | Facebook.