Money and mentorship

NH Community Loan Fund program gives small businesses a boost

From left: Latonya Wallace, director of small business engagement for the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, leads a panel discussion May 19 in Manchester with Lilliana Alvarado, founder and design principal at UPHEALING; Nicole Sublette, founder and owner, Therapists of Color New England; and Lionel Loveless, co-owner, Route 1 Antiques.

Money to cover expenses and wisdom from mentors can mean the difference between failure and success for a new business.

This year, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund awarded “accelerator” grants totaling $100,000 to 29 small businesses, representing all 10 counties in the state. The Community Driven Empowerment (C-DEE) program provides funding and technical assistance to farm and food businesses, restaurants, retail stores and other small businesses.

Community Loan Fund President and CEO Steve Saltzman and Director of Small Business Engagement Latonya Wallace created the program four years ago following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We realized that there were a lot of entrepreneurs who were left out of the pandemic relief,” Saltzman said May 19 during an awards celebration at the Venues at the Factory in Manchester. “We were out lending. Well, what we had to lend wasn’t very useful for someone who had tapped out their savings in order to keep their business alive.”

Simply giving them money would not be enough to help people who “have been through the ringer trying to keep their business alive,” Saltzman recalled Wallace saying. They would need coaching and mentoring, too.

Since its founding in 2023, C-DEE has awarded $330,000 in funding to 115 small business owners and provided 157 entrepreneurs with technical assistance. Awardees receive up to $5,000 to be used for computer hardware and software and professional services, such as bookkeeping and digital marketing.

During a panel discussion moderated by Wallace, two business owners who received help through the program talked about their experiences. They were joined by a small business owner who serves on the fund’s advisory board.

Lilliana Alvarado, founder and design principal at UPHEALING; an interior design firm in Bedford, says she was on track for a great year in 2020. But when the pandemic hit in March, all her clients called to cancel their projects. She made $4,900 that year.

The following year she came across the C-DEE program, through which she was able to buy new software and equipment. She also was able to learn from other business owners. Eventually, her business bounced back.

“This program gives us access to more than just a financial stipend,” said Alvarado, who has been in business 11 years.

“It’s really access to meeting wonderful people like you or cross-pollinating with wonderful business owners.”

Nicole Sublette is founder and owner of Therapists of Color New England, a mental health counseling practice in Manchester.

“We offer therapy in five different languages, and while we serve communities of color and LGBTQIA, our focus is on community, and anyone that walks through our doors is absolutely welcome,” said Sublette, who told the group she decided to recruit other therapists because she could not keep up with the demand.

“I actually had started my practice right before COVID, and a year into my practice I was seeing clients, and I got 700 requests for services in a year,” she said. “I knew that was something that wasn’t sustainable, and I knew that there was a need.”

She used money she received from the fund to pay for bookkeeping services, which had become more complicated.

“But also, more importantly, it was the mentorship that I received, because with the sleepless nights, with all the churning thoughts and what do I do? … I do not think I’d be here today without mentorship. I do not think I’d be here today without community and without supportive people,” Sublette said.

The C-DEE program is a partnership of the Community Loan Fund and the Business Alliance for People of Color. The Small Business Development Center provides free coaching to all the applicants, and Sheehan Phinney offers pro bono legal services to select awardees.

The program is funded by the Endowment for Health, Needham Bank, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, TD Bank, Santander Bank and the U.S. Treasury Equitable Recovery Grant Program.

Lionel Loveless, who serves on the board of directors for the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, advised the business owners in the room to expand their network.

“It’s all about being able to access that human capital and take advantage of the human capital,” said Loveless, co-owner of Route 1 Antiques in Hampton and owner of Officially Knotted Bowties.

He directed them to start right away.

“You should know at least five different people tonight that you connect with, whether it’s social media, through text, through phone, whatever. This is an opportunity to grow your business and also grow the community that you didn’t think you had.”