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How are you different from banks or other lenders?

Mission Driven Finance (MDF) is a social impact investment firm and lender that seeks to support social impact in all of our investments. We lend to small businesses and nonprofit organizations that are agents of change in their communities.

What credit score should we have for applying for a loan with Mission Driven Finance?

We don’t require personal credit scores or personal guarantees. Your personal finances shouldn’t determine the fate of your business.

How can an organization prepare for a loan? 

Ensure that your business plan and finances are in order. We talk through your business plans and financial projections, and talk with management to see how you think about your community, how you’re growing your business with coaching and support, and the opportunity the organization has to grow. 

We still check the business history, so get your balance sheet (statement of financial position for nonprofits) and income statement or profit & loss ready for review. 

How will the money from the loan be used?

Be ready to clearly explain what you need the capital for and how you plan to repay it. The money could be used as general working capital, cash flow bridges, purchase order financing, and things that will help increase the organization’s operations. 

The path to repayment is important, as it makes it clear to the borrower and the lender how the loan will help the organization grow and demonstrate the organization’s ability to pay back a loan.

Additionally, as an impact investment firm, we want to know how money from a loan will help you make a positive impact in your community.

How does impact investing make a difference?

Impact investing makes the “unbanked” bankable, shifting the perspective of risk and driving capital to organizations that are trying to create positive social impacts in the community (e.g., creating jobs that pay a living wage, increasing opportunity in BIPOC communities, providing other social benefits). 

What is the challenge for some organizations to obtain financing? 

Some of the challenges faced by many, including small businesses and nonprofits, are banking history and credit score requirements. Some banks have risk criteria that create the case for a “no” rather than finding a way to get to a “yes.” 

We try to do the exact opposite of that—looking for ways to say yes to tenacious small businesses and nonprofits. Yes to their vision for impact, yes to their plans for growth, and yes to their understanding of what kind of capital they need and when to realize those plans.

What level of technical assistance do you offer to small businesses/nonprofits? 

We work closely with small businesses/nonprofits to really understand how they operate and what’s the best solution for them. As such, we work on making sure that you have all the necessary information compiled that would help you with us or any other lender. We work closely with your organization to understand how unique you are and how we can best structure a solution for you. In addition, if your organization is not aligned with MDF, we will do our best to connect you to aligned lenders in our network that might be able to help you. 

What types of organizations do you work with? Does impact have to be a core value to my organization?

You don’t need to be an impact company with a formal mission statement, but we do want to see that you are committed to your community—your workers, your clients/customers, or others. We work with all kinds of organizations that want to create impact for the local economy. We understand that different organizations may have different impact values, but we work closely with you to help you be more intentional about impact. 

How does the process for Mission Driven Finance work?

We have a simple and transparent process that makes sure that we’re both aligned with the same end goal:

• We have an initial screening call to get to know you and also to respect your time as a busy leader. 
• If it looks like a match, we’ll walk through our lending platform so you get a preview of what to expect in uploading more information. 
• Once you submit your necessary documents, we will schedule an organizational meeting with your team to see how your organization operates.
• Lastly, we will walk you through the closing process and keep in touch with you to hear about your great progress!

What kind of documents will I need for the loan process?

To get started, we’d need your organization’s birth certificates (e.g. business model,  bylaws, organizational chart, filing status), financial statements, and impact documents.