Lendistry Selected as Administrator and Technology Partner for $225 Million Pennsylvania Small Business Grant Program

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lendistry, the leading fintech Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), today announced its selection as the administrator and technology partner for the $225 million Pennsylvania Small Business Grant Program, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) awardee, the Pennsylvania CDFI Network.

The Program begins accepting applications today at 9am EDT, providing up to $50,000 per grant, with no repayment requirement. The program is designed for small businesses with 25 or fewer employees and annual revenues of $1 million and below. Further program eligibility criteria and application information can be found by visiting https://pabusinessgrants.com/.

The Pennsylvania CDFI Network includes 17 CDFIs serving all 67 counties in the state. Governor Tom Wolf earlier this month announced the state’s small business relief grant program, funded by a portion of $2.6 billion in federal CARES Act stimulus funds provided to Pennsylvania. Each state received at least $1.25 billion in CARES Act funds, with significant discretion in how to use the money.

Lendistry’s partnerships with more than 50 financial institutions provide operational efficiencies making it easier for very small and very large institutions alike to be part of the solution for underserved small businesses nationwide.

This is the second significant role Lendistry, which focuses on providing capital to underserved small businesses, particularly those owned by minorities, women and veterans, has been selected to play in Pennsylvania’s small business recovery efforts. In April, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced a $10 million small business lending commitment, with funding provided by Goldman Sachs under its 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, and with loans provided through Lendistry under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Lendistry’s founder and CEO Everett K. Sands commented, “Lendistry’s selection represents another application of our scalable technology platform, experience in assisting small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, and expertise in serving minority, women and veteran-owned businesses. We are proud to partner with the DCED and the Pennsylvania CDFI Network to provide critical equity to hard-hit small businesses across the state, without any requirement for repayment or complicated forgiveness process.”

One important component of the Pennsylvania Small Business Grant Program is the Historically Disadvantaged Business Revitalization Program, which dedicates $100 million for small business that are at least 51 percent owned and controlled on a day-to-day basis by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Lendistry ranks second nationwide in SBA Community Advantage lending, and over the past less than three months Lendistry has processed and approved about twice as much in PPP loans as its total loan volume in the preceding four-and-a-half years.

About Lendistry
Lendistry is a minority-led CDFI and CDE small business and commercial real estate fintech lender. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Lendistry is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.