Document text
Nonprofit gets new grant for small-business loans Southern Oregon Women's Access to Credit (SOWAC), a nonprofit corporation in Medford, recently received a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture�s Rural Business-Cooperative Service. The grant, the latest in a series from USDA, will supplement a revolving loan fund for small rural businesses in Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake counties. SOWAC makes loans of up to $25,000 to small businesses in the area. The loans are used for startup capital, operating expenses, equipment purchases and expansion. The fund has helped 32 businesses get started or stay in business. "We are in a market niche that is not in competition with local banks and in fact is an addition to what local banks have to offer," said Anne Clarke, SOWAC�s loan fund manager. "Most of our borrowers would not be able to get a commercial loan ... because the loans are too small, or the companies have not been in business long enough." Loan recipients include a woman who converted a garage into a sewing shop, an engraver, a woman who publishes a newspaper for American Indians, a man who runs a mobile disc jockey business and a woman with a beauty supply shop. While the original goal was to help women gain access to commercial credit, Clarke said the organization does loan to men and soon will change its name to better reflect its mission. SOWAC currently has 24 loans on its books. The agency also offers training to new entrepreneurs. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.