FSC First Announces $750k Grant from United States Treasury Department To Continue Supporting Small Businesses In The State of Maryland
FSC First is amongst 863 community development financial institutions (CDFI’s) to receive funding from the United States Treasury Department. 45 of the institutions, including FSC First, are members of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs (Alliance). Allocated from the new Rapid Recovery Program, these funds will be used to continue supporting small businesses in their post-quarantine recovery efforts.
“As a minority CDFI we are delighted to be a recipient of a grant through the Rapid Recovery Program,” says Diane Brown, FSC’s Chairwoman of the Board and Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Prince George’s Community Federal Credit Union. “This allocation will support our programs to assist local businesses impacted by the hardship created by the pandemic. I firmly believe these additional funds will allow us to save jobs, save dreams and rebuild a strong community and economy.”
FSC First plans to allocate $637,500 of the grant to direct funding for low to moderate income businesses, and the remaining $112,500 will be dedicated to FSC First’s programmatic costs.
FSC First has collaborated with business development organizations and other public-private partners during the pandemic in order to provide financial assistance to those small businesses who were impacted over the past year. These initiatives include and are not limited to The Legacy Fund for Small Business Development in partnership with the Greater Washington Community Foundation, The Business Recovery Initiative Fund in collaboration with The Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (PGCEDC), the Emerge Stronger business advisory program with PGCEDC and the Bowie BIC, the Prince George’s County Bankers Task Force and the State of Maryland Department of Commerce (Small Minority and Women Owned Business – VLT Fund); to name a few.
Shelly Gross-Wade, President & CEO of FSC First stated, “I am proud of the economic impact realized by FSC First’s direct lending activities for more than 41 years; but most importantly, the impact achieved as a result of our collaboration with shared-mission organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we funded more than $37 million in grants and loans to support more than 1,700 businesses. The CDFI Rapid Recovery Program grant will allow us to be more innovative and creative in our funding approaches to low- and moderate-income businesses while also providing the much-needed financial literacy and technical assistance they need to progress through recovery and growth.”
Learn more about FSC First at our website, www.fscfirst.com
