The nonprofit lender DreamSpring has been awarded almost $5 million in Equitable Recovery Program grant funds from the U.S. Treasury to support small-business lending. The U.S. Treasury grant program is aimed at strengthening the ability of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like DreamSpring to help low- and moderate-income communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in long-term prosperity. 

DreamSpring is one of 603 CDFIs across the country to receive funding ranging from $500,000 to $6.2 million, resulting in over $1.73 billion in total ERP awards. DreamSpring’s $4.96 million award is among the larger size commitments issued by the Equitable Recovery Program.

“This nearly $5 million award from the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program is significant not only in its historic investment in DreamSpring, but in the critical impact those dollars will have on the small and micro businesses that we serve,” said DreamSpring Founder and President/CEO Anne Haines. A DreamSpring spokesperson noted that because most CDFI awards have historically gone toward housing initiatives in New Mexico, this is a historic opportunity for small business owners in the state.

Through loan capital and technical assistance, the ERP program funding will aid DreamSpring’s mission of eliminating systemic wealth inequities and accelerating entrepreneurship among people from low- and moderate-income households, which represent nearly half of all loans in DreamSpring’s portfolio. 

Several DreamSpring loan products have 0% interest (such as the Fast Forward, Credit Builder, Credit Starter loans), or a low interest rate of up to 3.5% (TrueGrit pandemic recovery loans). 

Read the full press release, and learn more about DreamSpring’s small-business loans.