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.
