Looking Forward and Looking Back: Shared Capital Issues $5.5 million in Cooperative Loans, More Committed for 2017

2016 is shaping up to be Shared Capital Cooperative’s busiest year ever. Shared Capital originated nearly $5.5 million in loans to more than 25 cooperatives this year. The financing supported affordable housing, worker-owned businesses, as well as small farmers and grocery co-ops from Seattle to Atlanta and from New York to Texas.

“We are seeing a lot of applications. They are coming in from housing cooperatives that want to buy new properties, workers who want to buy their businesses to convert them to worker ownership, and grocery co-ops that are expanding or starting up,” explains Mark Fick, Shared Capital’s Director of Lending.

In addition to the capital already out the door, Shared Capital will end 2016 with a couple million dollars in commitments to co-op projects that won’t be ready to take their funds until 2017. Staff even had to temporarily put a hold on new applications for the last several weeks of December in order to finish processing the applications and loan approvals already in hand and to raise more money for future loans.

In 2016, Shared Capital raised over $2 million in new capital from cooperative members, foundations and impact investors. To keep pace with lending, Shared Capital plans to raise about $4 million in 2017.

Some of the recent loans made by Shared Capital, include:

  • Cooperative Energy Futures, Minneapolis, Minnesota (see story in this newsletter)
  • Federation of Southern Cooperatives / Land Assistance Fund, Epes, Alabama
  • Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, Seattle, Washington

Additional recent loans to worker-owned cooperatives, include:

  • Electric Violin Shop, Durham, North Carolina
  • eQuality Homecare, New Braunfels, Texas
  • Hub Bike Co-op, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Loans to start-up food co-ops, include:

  • Renaissance Community Cooperative, Greensboro, North Carolina (see story in this newsletter)
  • East Aurora Cooperative Market, East Aurora, New York
  • BisMan Community Food Cooperative, Bismarck, North Dakota
  • Hub City Co-op, Spartanburg, South Carolina

Loans to food co-ops for expansions, include:

  • The Co-op Natural Foods, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  • Natural Harvest Food Co-op, Virginia, Minnesota

Loans to housing cooperatives, include:

  • Walnut Street Cooperative, Eugene, Oregon (housing)
  • Lots in Common, Chicago, Illinois (housing co-op)

Check out a complete list of Shared Capital’s most recent loans here!