Kansas City Small Businesses Receive $1M from AltCap’s KC COVID-19 Relief Loan Fund

Kansas City Small Businesses Receive $1M from AltCap’s KC COVID-19 Relief Loan Fund

Carlos Rivera Jr., owner of Str8 Edge Barber Shop and a recipient of the KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund. Photo courtesy of AltCap.

The KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund is a locally led effort that underscores the critical need for additional sources of flexible, patient capital to help the Kansas City small business community survive the COVID-19 pandemic. While federal disaster assistance efforts, including the Payroll Protection Program, have helped many businesses, many more small businesses in industries considered “nonessential” have yet to see their fair share. For example, just 9% of PPP loans in the first round were made to businesses in the Accommodation and Food Services sector.

The Fund is administered by AltCap, a local Community Development Financial Institution with over 12 years of experience deploying high-impact, community-focused capital in the Kansas City region. CDFI lending practices are predicated on strong governance and operations, rigorous underwriting and risk management, and a commitment to the community. Underwriting for the fund has prioritized sectors like retail, food service, personal services, arts, and hospitality, that were deemed “nonessential” during the pandemic but are vital to the overall health of our communities and economy.

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Of the $1 million deployed through the KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund:

  • $333,602 has gone to minority-owned businesses
  • $487,400 has gone to women-owned businesses

  • $255,302 has gone to businesses located in economically distressed census tracts

“AltCap has provided a sense of relief and ease in this time of need, especially for small businesses,” said Carlos Rivera Jr., owner of Str8 Edge Barber Shop and KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund recipient. “Str8 Edge Barber Shop went from a productive business to zero revenue in a moment’s notice. AltCap presented an avenue for my barbershop to not only break-even but created an opportunity to rebound from COVID-19.”

AltCap plans to approve another $1.5 million for small businesses within the next two weeks while it continues to raise loan capital. Fundraising efforts were bolstered significantly by recent contributions from new funding partners, including the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation, Wells Fargo, Academy Bank, First National Bank, Heartley Foundation and KCRise Fund. These new commitments amount to $1 million toward the $5 million KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund goal.

“AltCap has quietly and competently been serving Kansas City through economic cycles of all types,” said Darcy Howe, founder and managing director of the KCRise Fund, and contributor to the KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund. “Now is the time to help grow their lending capacity so that they can assist the avalanche of Main Street businesses who suddenly need our help to survive. We are one of the most generous and neighborly communities in America. By helping small businesses in KC live to see another day, our region can come out of this faster than any other city in the U.S.”

Help support small businesses

Kansas City’s small businesses need your help. Please patronize local businesses when safe to do so, buy gift cards, or consider contributing to the KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund. A tax-deductible donation can be made at www.alt-cap.org/covid-relief-donations. AltCap is also seeking low-rate, long-term loans and other equity investments to help further capitalize the $5 million Fund. To learn more, contact Ruben Alonso at [email protected] or (816) 876-8670.

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