Development Corporation of Greater Fort Dodge

The Development Corporation is a non-profit organization established to stimulate and promote business development and expansion in Downtown Fort Dodge by assisting with business development and expansion through low-interest financing in cooperation with local lenders. Since its establishment in 1982, the Development Corporation has awarded over 140 loans totaling over $3 million dollars to new or existing businesses. The flexibility of the Development Corporation allows project to be tailored to the needs of each individual business. Specific programs offering financial assistance include:

• General and Façade Renovation Loans follow the Development Corporation's Policies and Procedures.

• USDA Loan Guidelines

• Forgivable Façade Loan Application and program criteria

 

For an overview of these and other City incentives view the Downtown Financing Brochure.

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Iowa Source Link

IASourceLink is where business begins in Iowa. Their mission is to help small businesses in Iowa grow and succeed. They provide firms with free, easy access to the help they need - when they need it.

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Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Program

The SBA 504 loan program is a long-term financing tool for economic development within a community. The 504 Program provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings.

 

SBA 7(a) The 7(a) Loan Program includes financial help for businesses with special requirements. For example, funds are available for loans to businesses that handle exports to foreign countries, businesses that operate in rural areas, and for other very specific purposes.

 

Microloan The Microloan Program provides small, short-term loans to small business concerns and certain types of not-for-profit child-care centers. The SBA makes funds available to specially designated intermediary lenders, which are nonprofit community-based organizations with experience in lending as well as management and technical assistance. These intermediaries make loans to eligible borrowers. The maximum loan amount is $50,000, but the average microloan is about $13,000.

 

Patriot Express The Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative allows lenders with Patriot Express authority to make offers similar to lenders with SBAExpress authority, but the business owner is more limited. To be eligible to receive a Patriot Express Loan, the business must be owned and controlled (51 percent or more) by eligible veterans and members of the military community who want to establish or expand a small business.

 

Special Purpose Loans Program SBA offers several special purpose 7(a) loans to aid businesses that have been impacted by NAFTA, to provide financial assistance to Employee Stock Ownership Plans, and to help implement pollution control mechanisms.

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Advantage Loan Initiatives Small Loan Advantage and Community Advantage 7(a) Loan Initiatives SBA is committed to expanding access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs in underserved communities so that we can drive economic growth and job creation.

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Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Successful entrepreneurs possess vision, determination and a relentless desire to obtain sound advice from outside experts. The Kirkwood SBDC provides free counseling to entrepreneurs who are planning or operating small businesses. Services available include: One-on-one, confidential counseling by qualified professionals; A variety of learning opportunities, including workshops, classes, online assistance, publications and other resources; Connections to other service providers, federal, state and local resources, sources of capital, and similar small-business assistance. Between 2007 and 2013, the Iowa Small Business Development Centers have Counseled 15,172 clients in 78,690 hours. Trained 24,225 people in 1,782 workshops. For valuable information about the Iowa Small Business Development Centers and their business assistance programs, go to http://www.iowasbdc.org/.

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University of Northern Iowa Regional Business Center

The UNI Regional Business Center (RBC) serves entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout the state of Iowa. The center hosts three critical programs: UNI Business Incubation Services, UNI Small Business Development Center and MyEntre.Net. The Regional Business Center is a program of Business and Community Services, a division of the College of Business Administration at the University of Northern Iowa. Advance Iowa Advance Iowa has a unique program that pairs owners with trusted business advisors, most of whom have had direct ownership experience of midsized firms themselves, for guidance analyzing growth opportunities, and operations review. Advance Iowa also assists CEOs through peer mentoring via their exclusive roundtable access, and has concentrated expertise with confidential business succession support. Iowa Business Concierge The Iowa Business Concierge program seeks to connect entrepreneurs with the right public sector organization(s) that can help them grow. With an innovative service delivery model that strives to magnify personal contact with customized assistance, the Business Concierge is much more than just another referral organization. The Business Concierge team take the time necessary to fully understand the challenges your firm faces, then provides business research capacities to offer no charge, actionable, market research intelligence on top of the connections they help facilitate. Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) The IWRC is a leader in providing expert environmental services to businesses. The primary focus of the IWRC is in providing free, non-regulatory, environmental technical assistance for small businesses. Information and expertise covers topics regarding air emissions, community right-to-know, hazardous waste, painting and coating, pollution prevention, solid waste, storm water and wastewater. IWRC staff of environmental experts can help businesses meet regulatory obligations, implement waste reduction and pollution prevention initiatives, increase efficiency through training and education, and much more. Strategic Marketing Services (SMS) Since 1990, Strategic Marketing Services has been helping businesses better understand growth opportunities through primary market research services including: world-class survey instruments, in-depth client interviews, professional focus groups, ideation sessions, and industry roundtables. One of the key offerings is SMS MarketSolve, a program that is geared for Iowa companies to work with SMS to craft a unique research project, the cost of which can be grant-subsidized.