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Matt Brown, Loans Officer

mattbro21@hotmail.com

 

Melanie Vautour, Enterprise Development Officer

enterprise@loanfund.ca

 

Cindy Horton, Training Co-ordinator

training@loanfund.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seth Asimakos, Manager

loanfund@nbnet.nb.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louise Béland, President

 

 

 

 

Bob Boyce, Past-President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family and Community Services

Women's Issues Branch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November, Seth Asimakos ( seated right bottom) represented the Saint John Community Loan Fund at the Global Microcredit Summit in Halifax. He is pictured with (bottom row left to right) panelists Mary Coyle, Director of the Coady International Institute and Vice-President of St. FX University; Anne Gaboury, President and CEO Développement International Desjardins; and top row, left to right; Shaheen Tejani, Vancity Community Business Banking; Maria Javenia Mackenzie, ACDI/CIDA; and Alpha Ouédraogo, Director, CIF, Burkina.

Click here to read papers from the Summit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CCINC Newsletter - March 2008

RICCC Buletin - Mars 2008

CCINC Overview Presentation - Nova Scotia 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Staff

New!

Matt Brown joined us at the end of August 2009 as our new Loans Officer in training. He is part of the Create Action Canadian CED Network youth intern program. Over the next six months Matt will be working with the Manager to learn the ropes; reviewing and reconciling all borrower files; reviewing and updating policies; contacting borrowers and then by the end of October be reviewing new loan applications. As part of the Create Action Program, Matt will be traveling to Winnipeg in October, joining other interns in a summit for youth in CED. Matt brings experience from a stint at Export Development at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and with the Immigrant Sponsorship Program at Service Canada.

 

Melanie Vautour comes to the Loan Fund after 7 years as Director of Junior Achievement; helping youth start and manage businesses as well as coordinating and providing business training programs to more than 20,000 youth during her time with JA!  With her experience and knowledge, it’s no wonder she jumped at the chance to be our NEW Enterprise Development Officer with an emphasis on Social Enterprise and Worker Cooperatives.  Her resume also includes experience in all aspects of the Non-Profit Sector; including fundraising, marketing, volunteer management and more!  Involved with education and local schools for 8 years, she’s passionate about learning, training and entrepreneurship.  Knowing from a young age that she wanted to “give back” to her community, this single mom is not content to just “work”; she is committed to working to change the world one person at a time; a philosophy the Loan Fund shares!

 

 

Cindy Horton joined the Loan Fund in March as the Training Coordinator, replacing Tanya MacPherson who had delivered Money Matter$ for the last two years.  In fact, Tanya recommended Cindy, who had been facilitating a youth program at PRUDE. Cindy’s background includes a degree in recreation and a lot of training experience, with youth, in aboriginal communities, in recreation management, and in life skills. She will be delivering and coordinating the Money Matter$ program as well as Power Up training with women. Cindy is a natural fit. You can reach her at training@loanfund.ca.

 

 

 

 

 

Seth Asimakos wrote the original business plan for the Loan Fund and continues as its manager today. Previous to the Loan Fund, Seth helped develop an immigrant owned worker co-operative in Saint John; prepared refugees and immigrants for the job market; and worked on rural economic development in Nicaragua and Colombia. Seth also serves as Executive Director of the Canadian Community Investment Network Cooperative and he is a Co-Director of the Atlantic Social Economy Research Project, housed at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS. He has served on various local boards including Bayview Credit Union, Options Outreach and the Co-operators Advisory Panel. He holds a master's degree in planning and development.

 

 

Employment Opportunities

There are no employment opportunities at this time but send us your resume because we do have seasonal opportunities on occasion.

Please apply at loanfund@nbnet.nb.ca

 

Board of Directors

The Loan Fund is a non-profit organization with an elected board of directors. The members of the board of directors include:

President
Louise Béland
Béland Conference Interpreters

Vice-President
Alicia Love
Stewart McKelvey

Secretary

Kathryn Asher
Human Development Council

 

Treasurer
Beverly Zirobwa

Ernst and Young

 

Past-President
Bob Boyce
Robert L. Boyce Architect

 

Abby Colwell

Abby's Mortgages

 

Marjorie Hamilton

Community Advocate

 

Randy Hatfield
Human Development Council

 

Don LeBlanc
Century 21

 

Jennifer Nicholls

Stantec

 

Rob Roy
Rob Roy Reproductions

 

Housing and Neighbourhood Development

The Loan Fund completed its first housing development in March 2009 with the renovation of a mostly vacant and run down 3 unit building at 133 Prince Edward St. The Building Committee has convened once again in September 2009 to plan and develop adjacent lots with the intention of building a multi-use facility with housing and enterprising non-profit space. This will be a bigger project and be in the range of $1 million in investment. As part of the process we will be consulting local residents as we prepare a plan that will contribute to the revitalization of the neighbourhood.

Bob Boyce
Architect

Don LeBlanc
Real Estate Agent

Peter Asimakos
Real Estate Developer

Alicia Love
Lawyer

 

Key Partners

The Loan Fund continues to be housed in the offices of the Human Development Council, on the 3rd Floor of the City Market building. The Human Development Council is an innovator in social research and planning. It is an incubator of ideas and responds to community needs, spinning off Housing Alternatives, the Learning Exchange, and the Saint John Community Loan Fund. The Human Development Council's Community Information and Referral Centre continues to be recognized as a leader in the country. Check out their website at www.humandevelopmentcouncil.nb.ca.

Funders that have enabled the Loan Fund to be staffed and to build include the  Government of New Brunswick's Women's Issues Branch, and Social Development, the Greater Saint John Community Foundation, the Co-operators CED Fund, and the Canadian Women's Foundation.

Other groups with whom we work together regularly include, Enterprise Saint John, the YM-YWCA, the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative, and the Urban Core Support Network.

Thank you to all our current partners. We look forward to building more in the future.

 

Our History

The Saint John Community Loan Fund began as an idea in 1996 at a meeting of the Urban Core Support Network. The individuals around the table spoke of the need for community credit. Credit that helped people living on low income start a business or get back to work. The idea stuck, and within months the Human Development Council conducted a feasibility study and wrote a business plan that showed there was a market and an opportunity to establish a community loan fund in Saint John.

Saint John had a poverty rate of 27% at the time, the highest in New Brunswick. With this knowledge and the will to make a difference, volunteers began to recruit investments to build the loan pool. Presentations were given at galleries and in office boardrooms, and within three months the loan pool was ready. Dorothy Dawson was the first individual investor at the Loan Fund. Her reason for investing, "I've been fortunate, so it makes sense to put something back." She represents the classic Loan Fund investor - compassionate and practical.

The Saint John Community Loan Fund made its first loan in September 1999. The first loan was a nail biter, with the volunteer loan committee deliberating over two separate meetings to tie-up their first "risky" loan. It was for $5,000, and it was to a company, a one-man show, that salvaged sunken logs from the bottom of the Saint John River. The loan was a success, with the loan being paid back and the borrower going on to develop another business that continues to contribute to Saint John.

The Saint John Community Loan Fund was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in April 2000 and received its charitable tax status from Revenue Canada in April 2003. It continues to be an innovator, being the first and only community loan fund in Atlantic Canada, joining approximately forty other micro-credit organizations across the country. All risk capital (loan and reserve) comes from community investors and donors, with a diversity of funding sources meeting operational needs.

In 2003, the Loan Fund confirmed its Vision, 'to be an innovative community lender, responding to local needs, with sufficient resources to help individuals build self-reliance through a variety of financial tools, and to provide an effective vehicle for Saint John citizens to invest directly in their community.' The Loan Fund started with back to work loans and business loans in 1999. In 2003, the damage deposit loan was added in response to a priority stated in the 2000 Community Plan. Training in financial literacy and business plan training were added in 2003 as well.

The Loan Fund continues to be recognized as a leader in community investment and community economic development in the country. In 2004, the Loan Fund won the contract to serve as the Atlantic Regional Coordinator for the Canadian Community Economic Development Network and was a key player in creating the Canadian Community Investment Network.

In November 2006, Seth Asimakos represented the Saint John Community Loan Fund at the Global Microcredit Summit held in Halifax. He was a panelist and presenter at the event that attracted over 2,000 delegates from around the world attended.

Performance

By April 2007 (eight years since opening), the Loan Fund had received over 957 loan inquiries, averaging 119 inquiries per year. Close to 150 loans had been disbursed for a total value greater than $175,000. The impact has included individuals ending reliance on Provincial Income Assistance, families becoming self-reliant, and over $3,000,000 in new income circulated here. This has saved the provincial government approximately $450,000 in social assistance payments. Not bad for loans that average $1,250.

Loans have helped individuals in their effort to create economic independence and self-reliance. It has enabled them to regain some pride. In 2004 alone, six individuals ended their reliance on government assistance. Over $76,000 has been repaid while $33,000 has been written off, representing 18% of total loans disbursed, and remaining well below our loan loss reserve of 30%.

In March 2002, Tamarack: An Institute for Community Engagement was contracted to evaluate the Loan Fund. It concluded that the Loan Fund met or exceeded the goals of the initial business plan and that its performance was very positive measured by cost to community impact. Efficient and effective.



Community Investment

In June 2004, the Canadian Community Investment Network was formed to increase the profile and capacity of the sector. Issues of concern include tax policy for promoting community investment, professional development, and patient capital for investing in local funds. Seth Asimakos is a founding board member.

Loan funds in Canada began primarily with business loans but have diversified to include employment loans, damage deposit loans, financial literacy training, bridge loans to non-profits, savings programs, mentorship, and affordable housing development. In Canada, there are over 40 micro-loan funds or community lenders covering most parts of the country. Their assets amount to $10-$15 million.

Community loan funds have sprouted up because they fill gaps in the lending environment, and help communities tap human potential and the potential of ethical capital. In the United States, there are over 350 community development financial institutions, located in 50 states that have lent over $3.5 billion for both business development and affordable housing.

Ethical investing is on the rise. The Social Investment Organization based in Toronto, estimates that $50 billion is being invested in ethical business practices through mutual funds or in local community loan funds. Visit www.socialinvestment.ca for more on ethical investing.

 

Atlantic Coordinator
Canadian Community Economic Development Network

In March 2006, the Saint John Community Loan Fund ended a two year contract with the Canadian CED Network, with Seth Asimakos acting as the Atlantic Regional Coordinator. The Canadian CED Network, CCEDNet, is a national association of over 300 diverse members working to create a communities agenda in Canada. CCEDNet defines community economic development (CED) as, 'action by people locally to create economic opportunities and enhance the social and environmental conditions of their communities, particularly with those most marginalized.' As the Atlantic Coordinator Seth was responsible for leading the Atlantic portion of a National research project that looked at CED and its role in creating inclusive and self-sustaining communities. For a copy of the report go to http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/pages/learningnetwork.asp.

 

Want to get involved? Call! 506.652.loan (5626)

Saint John Community Loan Fund
133 Prince Edward St., Saint John, NB E2L 3S3
Email: loanfund@nbnet.nb.ca
Fax: 506.652.5603
* Charitable# 85491 3241 RR0001


 

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