Our Social Venture Fund is a $1 million loan fund that provides loans to BIPOC entrepreneurs, as well as businesses and nonprofits tackling disparities in the areas of community economic development, education, food, health, and water.  The Propeller Social Venture Fund is fully subscribed, and we are no longer taking applications at this point.

Fund Overview

• Loan sizes: $20,000-$100,000
  • Given remaining funds, loans will be capped at $50,000
• Repayment terms: 1-7 years
  • Given anticipated loan sizes, loan repayment terms will be capped at 4 years
• Interest rates:  5-7%
• Fees:  One-time fee at closing, 0.5% of loan (i.e. $100 on a $20,000 loan)
• Uses: commercial real estate purchases, renovation costs, operations, working capital, and/or furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E)

Eligibility

The Social Venture Fund is open to all BIPOC entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs headquartered or doing substantial business in the Greater New Orleans region (including Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes). Propeller’s Social Venture Propeller will prioritize solutions in the following areas:

• Community Economic Development: Black entrepreneurs growing brick-and-mortar businesses that create jobs and build community along the Broad Street corridor.
• Education: Entrepreneurs bringing equitable, culturally-relevant practices and policies to local education systems and skill development opportunities.
• Food: Entrepreneurs who have an existing consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand or whose food service businesses are pivoting to produce consumer packaged goods as well as other local food products, with an emphasis on sustainable, healthy, and affordable products made with locally-sourced ingredients.  Additional impact areas include:  access, affordability, and consumption of healthy foods; local, environmentally sustainable food economy; and equity in the food industry.
• Health: Entrepreneurs providing direct health and wellness services, including clinical care, and services that address the social and physical determinants of health. Propeller will prioritize entrepreneurs working to serve a BIPOC client base.
• Water: Entrepreneurs working in urban water management, coastal restoration, and adaptation or resilience, as well as those working to diversify the local water economy. Propeller will give priority to ventures strengthening the local water economy to increase how the industry represents and includes BIPOC individuals.

How to Apply

1. Interest Form:  Tell us a little about yourself and what you’re looking for in our interest form
2. Schedule an Intro: Schedule an introduction with Propeller’s team to find out more about the Social Venture Fund and figure out if it is a good fit for your business’s needs based on the interest form you completed
3. Full Application: Fill out a full application. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call, email, or schedule a time to meet with us.

Review Process

1. Meet with Us: Meet with a Propeller representative who will review your completed application with you.
2. Due Diligence: Once you have submitted a complete application, your application will undergo due diligence with Foundation for Louisiana.
3. Loan Term Review: Propeller, Social Venture Fund investment committee, and the Foundation for Louisiana Board of Directors will review and approve loan terms, including interest rate, amount, duration, and your proposed impact of your project.

 

We make every effort to process loan applications as quickly as possible, but applications can take up to 60 days for a full review and decision.  In order to make the review as efficient as possible, we encourage businesses to gather relevant information and documents (listed below) in advance of submitting an application when possible. 

If you need any assistance preparing an application or gathering information, please let us know.

Documents that will be requested during due diligence:

• SVF Application
• 3 years of financial statements, if available
• 3 years of financial projections, including monthly or quarterly cash flow statements
• 3 years of tax applicant tax returns, if available
• Personal financial statement for applicant
• Business Plan
• Organizational documents, state or city business licenses as appropriate, and industry certifications and permits as applicable

Success Story

Questions

Contact Senior Capital Access Manager, Patrick Hernandez (phernandez@gopropeller.org)