Common Capital Receives Two Awards from U.S. Small Business Administration

SPRINGFIELD — Common Capital was recently recognized as the 2024 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Community Advantage Lender of the Year for Massachusetts, and the Highest Dollar Value Lender in Massachusetts for the SBA Microloan program.

“This award underscores Common Capital’s commitment to working with entrepreneurs in our region, particularly those from underserved communities,” Executive Director Raymond Lanza-Weil said. “Over 70% of our loans go to low- or moderate-income borrowers, and nearly half are to woman- or minority-owned businesses.”

SBA Community Advantage loans provide funding for almost any business need, including startup costs, working capital, equipment purchases, and more. Loans can be up to $300,000 and are designed to support businesses operating in underserved areas, such as rural or low-income communities.

One borrower — Alysia Bryant of Carefree Cakery in Amherst — noted that “it doesn’t feel like a bank relationship, where there’s a ton of pressure. I feel very supported and that my success matters to them from a personal and financial perspective, and that’s very important.”

In the last fiscal year, ending June 30, 2024, Common Capital worked with nine borrowers to lend more than $1 million to help finance their business’s growth and success. Participants included Carefree Cakery, Rozki Rides, and Bridge2Homecare, among others.

“Our borrowers are those not served by traditional bank loans,” Lanza-Weil said. “If not for the SBA’s Community Advantage loan program, businesses may not be able to get the funding they need to grow and thrive.”