LiftFund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, is now offering business assistance and loans to small businesses in the southern part of New Mexico. And last August, the microlender began a partnership with the City of Las Cruces to provide virtual workshops to help businesses through the pandemic.

Not familiar with Community Development Financial Institutions or this small-business lender? LiftFund President and CEO Janie Barrera said, “We have a unique business model. We want to lose our best customers.” Watch the video to learn why.

Established in 1994 in San Antonio, Texas, LiftFund transforms lives by opening doors and leveling the playing field in entrepreneurship. Business support includes consultations, as well as loans from $500 to $500,000, with larger commercial loans through the SBA 504 program.

You’ll find LiftFund working in 13 states, where 83 percent of its clients are minorities and 63 percent have been in business for less than five years. Now small businesses and entrepreneurs in the southern Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico have another source of capital.