Illinois Capital Access Program (CAP)
The Illinois Capital Access Program (CAP) is designed to encourage financial institutions to make loans to small and new businesses that do not qualify under conventional lending policies. CAP is a form of loan portfolio insurance, which provides additional reserve coverage to the lender on loan defaults. By participating in CAP, lenders have available to them a proven financing mechanism to meet the needs of financial institutions and Illinois small businesses.
Category: Illinois Loan Programs, IL State Incentive
More Illinois Loan Programs, IL State Incentive
The CSBG Loan Program is administered jointly by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), statewide Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and Illinois Ventures for Community Action (IVCA). The Program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to new or expanding small businesses in exchange for job creation and employment for low-income individuals. CSBG funds usually make up between 20-49% of the entire loan project and have a low interest rate of 5% to 7.5%.
The EZ/PLP is a variation of the conventional PLP Program, in that DCEO subordinates the loans through participating lending institutions, but the EZ/PLP may be able to provide small businesses located in an enterprise zone a more attractive loan rate than a conventional PLP.
The Illinois State Treasurers Office offers a number of programs that are designed to assist the Illinois business community by providing access to capital and financing at affordable rates in order to promote economic development activities that create and retain jobs within the state. To view the Treasurers programs please click on the link below.offers a number of programs that are designed to assist the Illinois business community by providing access to capital and financing at affordable rates in order to promote economic development activities that create and retain jobs within the state.
The MWD/PLP program is a variation of the conventional PLP, in that DCEO subordinates the loans through participating lending institutions, but the MWD/PLP program can provide Illinois small businesses that are 51 percent owned and managed by persons who are minorities, women, or disabled, with loans up to $50,000 or 50 % of the total project.
The NMTC Program incentivizes community development and economic growth through the use of tax credits that attract private investment to distressed communities.
Learn more at https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/programs/new-markets-tax-credit.
The PLP program is designed to work through banks and other conventional lending institutions, to provide subordinated financial assistance to Illinois small businesses that employ Illinois workers. A business with 500 or fewer employees may apply for a PLP loan of not less than $10,000 nor more than $750,000. Loans shall not exceed 25% of the total project and may not be used for debt refinancing or contingency funding.
The RLOC program can provide qualifying businesses with a subordinated line of credit through banks and other convention lending institutions at affordable interest rates.
The Rural Micro-business Participation Loan Program is a variation of the Participation Loan Program designed to provide subordinated loans of up to 50% of a project (maximum $25,000) to Illinois Rural Micro-businesses through participating lending institutions. A rural micro-business is a for profit business that: (i) employs 5 or fewer full-time employees, including the owner if the owner is an employee, and (ii) is based on the production, processing, or marketing of agricultural products, forest products, cottage and craft products, or tourism. The borrower is required to provide equity of at least 10% of the project up to $1,000 (10% of a $10,000 project). Funds cannot be used for debt refinancing or contingency funding.
The Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) is a self-financed, state authority principally engaged in issuing taxable and tax-exempt bonds, making loans, and investing capital for businesses, non-profit corporations, agriculture and local government units statewide. IFA finances about $3 billion each year, helping generate economic growth and job creation.
