Our Programs Guarantee Design
& Management

In 2023, Locus helped launch a guarantee program offered by the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDFA Equitable Capital Loan Guarantee Program aims to increase access to capital for businesses in communities that have been historically excluded from opportunity. Through this partnership, Locus deployed a guarantee to the Tucson Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to support two micro-lending programs for small businesses. Both programs are operated through Tucson’s green bank, Groundswell Capital.

The AVANZA Empowerment Fund provides capital and technical assistance to existing businesses who are entrenched in the community but lack access to traditional sources of capital. The Semillas Microloan provides accelerated access to financing for small businesses facing emergency expenses. Semillas also serves as a pathway for borrowers who may lack the credit to qualify for larger loans but can demonstrate the ability to repay with a microloan. To date, both programs have provided life-changing loans to businesses ranging from food trucks to roofing companies in a community where 48% of residents identify as Latino.

Managed by Locus, the Community Investment Guarantee Pool (CIGP) demonstrates the impact potential of a self-sustaining unfunded guarantee facility while helping financial intermediaries manage risk. Under this model, foundations and mission-driven investors can unlock essential capital to build new economies utilizing the strength of their balance sheets.

The New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) is a not-for-profit organization that finances energy efficiency and clean energy projects in the Mid-Atlantic region. They are also one of the most recent intermediaries to receive a CIGP guarantee, which will support the organization’s increased lending to clean energy infrastructure projects within low-wealth and disadvantaged communities. Projects include clean energy retrofits for existing buildings or new construction/substantial rehab for multifamily residential buildings.

Late last year, NYCEEC closed their first guarantee-eligible deal. The predevelopment loan was made to Silverleaf Apartments, a supportive housing community located in The Bronx serving formerly homeless New Yorkers or those who have aged out of foster care. Supportive services are provided for veterans, people with severe and persistent mental illness, people in substance use disorder recovery, and people who are living with HIV/AIDS.

Powered by a partnership between Locus and the Kauffman Foundation, the Kansas City Credit Enhancement Fund (KCCEF) is a guarantee program that strives to increase access to capital for the city’s entrepreneurs. Guarantees from the Fund enable eligible lenders to expand their credit boxes and increase financing to small business owners that would otherwise not meet underwriting criteria. To date, the KCCEF has deployed $3 million in guarantees to the region’s entrepreneurs.

One such lender is Holy Rosary Credit Union, which received a $1.5 million guarantee from the KCCEF and since has provided $1.2 million in lending capital to Kansas City small businesses. Holy Rosary’s membership is diverse; members come from many ethnic backgrounds, and either share belonging to the Catholic Church or a connection to local nonprofits. Their borrowers had previously struggled to access financing, but have now been able to expand, purchase office space, and upgrade essential equipment – all made possible by the KCCEF guarantee to their hometown lender. Not only were these borrowers able to attain transformational financing, but they also gained access to Holy Rosary’s flexible loan repayment terms and community-centered service.