The Loan Fund Helps Fund Building Purchase

Brandy Castillo, MS, MSW, LCSW-S, created her behavioral health company in 2013 when she was starting a family and looking for a way to build a home-based practice. Clients were seen at her home on an old farm just outside of the City of Belen in Valencia County, New Mexico.

In 2018, the business name was officially changed to Hearth & Soul of New Mexico when Brandy’s husband Ignacio became co-owner and billing manager after retiring from the New Mexico Department of Corrections.

The business, which is rooted in compassion, expanded to offer services in Mesilla and Albuquerque. Heart & Soul aims to foster a supportive environment that encourages growth, self-discovery, and the realization of one’s fullest potential. Its 35 healthcare providers and staff specialize in a wide range of behavioral health services, including therapy and psychiatry to treat depression, anxiety, substance use, trauma, and more. It does this through individual and group therapy, psychiatry, and enhanced case management.

In January 2024, Brandy went to The Loan Fund for financial help to purchase a building in downtown Belen, where she could serve more clients from a central location.

Continue reading

Calling All Creative Entrepreneurs

DreamSpring, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Small Business Administration (SBA) lender, has launched a new loan and technical assistance program designed specifically for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the creative industries. DreamCreative, with support from Etsy’s Uplift Fund, offers personalized funding solutions and complementary business education crafted for creative small businesses. 

Continue reading

New to Loans? This Will Help

The nonprofit business development organization WESST is offering a workshop to introduce small business owners and entrepreneurs to its lending program, which includes SBA loans. Participants will learn about the 5 C’s of credit as they pertain to the lending industry in general vs how WESST determines loans. Participants will also have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the next steps.

Continue reading

WESST Offers Financial Literacy Training

The nonprofit economic development organization WESST is now offering financial literacy training through its Money Learning Lab. The lab brings small business makers, doers and dreamers together to access tools that will help build their business.

Continue reading

Loan Fund Client Wins SBA Statewide Award

Silvia Terrazas, owner of Paleteria La Reyna Michoacana, was named the New Mexico SBA’s 2024 New Mexico Women-Owned Small Business of the Year. Terrazas’s Las Cruces business makes Michoacana-style ice cream and popsicles, known as paletas, and sells them along with other items such as pinatas, candy, and Mexican party favors. A loan from the nonprofit lender The Loan Fund enabled Terrazas to construct and occupy a new building when she was ready to expand.

Continue reading

Power Up With DreamSpring’s Power Line of Credit

Businesses that have fluctuating capital needs often use a line of credit, which allows them to borrow only what they need, repay all or part of the loan, and repeat as necessary without having to apply for a new loan every time additional funds are needed. The Power Line of Credit offered by the nonprofit lender DreamSpring gives eligible businesses this type of flexible financing.

Continue reading