InvestTVL is official! Community Development Loan Fund Launched

Board Members and staff of Spark Thomasville and the Thomasville Community Development Corporation Board of Directors, along with InvestTVL Board of Managers, join Spark Thomasville Executive Director Deshay Williams to “cut the ribbon.”  

THOMASVILLE | Community partners “cut the ribbon” on Wednesday, May 8th for InvestTVL, Thomasville’s first community development loan fund. Spark Thomasville and the Thomasville Community Development Corporation partnered to launch an initial $100,000 fund to support underrepresented entrepreneurs. 

Eligible entrepreneurs who have attended previous Spark cohorts or are attending the current four-week cohort have access to up to $30,000 in low-interest financing for business-related costs.

“Through working with over 50 entrepreneurs that have gone through Spark over the last 5 years, we have repeatedly heard one of their biggest barriers to growth is access

to capital. The hope is that this funding, along with technical assistance on business management skills, will help eliminate that barrier and get our underrepresented entrepreneurs more bankable,” said DeShay Williams, Executive Director of Spark Thomasville. 

Albany Communities Together (ACT!) is underwriting the loans and providing assistance to InvestTVL to become a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Gaining CDFI status will allow InvestTVL to access greater public and private funding for community development objectives. Partners from Thomasville National Bank, The First Bank, and TC Federal Bank have given operational, lending, and technical support for the creation of the fund. 

Following the ribbon cutting, minority and female entrepreneurs were invited to a training on lendability by O’Neal’s Consulting and Training Services. Other trainings will help entrepreneurs prepare financial statements, business projections, and other requisite loan application documents. 

Kuluvanda Cason attended the training to help grow her business, ARK Diagnostic Solutions, a full-service concierge medical lab offering DNA and blood testing, as well as health and wellness physicals. Cason, a licensed nurse practitioner who has been in business two years, said she hasn’t tried to access traditional capital because she knew her credit score wouldn’t be high enough. 

“I googled and researched to help me get this far but I know I need some assistance on the business structuring, so this program is helping me build that foundation,” Cason said. 

While the current fund is geared towards helping female and minority entrepreneurs become bankable through traditional financing, the CDFI structure can be a powerful tool to accelerate economic growth in other industries, such as affordable housing and advanced manufacturing, said Katie Chastain, an independent project manager for the fund. 

“We are currently looking for impact investors interested in seeing more workforce housing. For every $100,000 we raise, we can build one house per year on a revolving basis,” Chastain said.  

The Developer’s Loan product will provide low-interest loans to builders and developers who are building quality, attainable homes in Thomasville’s traditional neighborhoods. 

For more information on these programs, visit https://www.thomasvillecdc.org/resources