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Economic Development Finance Service
Join EDFS Today:
Established in 1994, the Economic Development Finance Service (EDFS) provides
training, information, research and a platform for peer networking for small
business development loan funds. EDFS training programs and information
services are designed to meet the needs of small business lenders, especially
those that administer Economic Development Administration (EDA) Revolving Loan
Funds (RLFs) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Intermediary
Re-lending Programs (IRPs). EDFS products are equally relevant and useful for
loan fund staff that also administer ARC, EPA, HUD, SBA and other federal loan
program funds.
EDFS provides its members with training and information - special reports,
electronic news alerts, web-based resources - as well as an interactive Internet
forum to share information, ideas and suggestions among small business loan fund
peers.
In 2004, the EDFS launched the Certification Program in Small Business Loan
Fund Management. The program offers loan fund staff training and certification
to reflect their professional commitment to small business lending. Participants
take core and elective courses, with corresponding exams, to earn certification.
Course instructions are from
Development Finance Training and Consulting, Inc.
Loan funds are managed by public, quasi-public, private, nonprofit and
for-profit organizations, whose jurisdictions range in size from a neighborhood
up to a multi-county region and even state-wide. Loan funds are often one of
several economic development programs operated by an organization, and are
funded by public, private, and philanthropic sources. Their capital base,
once it has been loaned, is replenished by principal repayments, interest
income, and fees, and is then loaned again. They are an important source of
financing for microenterprises and small businesses that are unable to obtain
credit from commercial lenders. One of the first national loan fund programs was
established by the Economic Development Administration in 1975. Today, there are
thousands of organizations that manage RLF programs across the country.
Loan Funds play a critical role in distressed areas where conventional
lending is limited, such as rural areas and inner cities. In inner cities, many
nongovernmental community development corporations (CDCs) manage loan funds; in
rural areas, where there are fewer CDCs, public and quasi-public entities (such
as regional development organizations that comprise NADO's membership) are often
the only source of alternative financing for start-ups and existing businesses.
For more information, contact Laurie Thompson at 202.624.5948 or lthompson@nado.org.
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