M&T Bank plans to support the Baltimore-area operations of online crowdfunding lending company Kiva to begin making business loans to entrepreneurs.
The Buffalo, New York-based bank announced Monday that it will donate $100,000 to Baltimore Community Lending, which will work with Kiva to provide loans in underserved areas.
The funds will be used to open a business education center later this year and hire a capital access manager to run the programs. The donation will also cover Kiva “hub” fees, or program-related costs, for two years.
Baltimore Community Lending, a nonprofit community development lender that targets small business owners and developers committed to underserved areas, will help entrepreneurs apply for Kiva's interest-free loans.
Kiva, a nonprofit online platform that entered the Baltimore market in 2016, works with lending partners in select markets to crowdfund small business loans. Through the platform, individual lenders fund small businesses, making loans of $25 or more to support causes like refugees, climate change, and agriculture. To qualify, borrowers must meet criteria such as using the loan for business purposes and receiving a loan from a friend, family member, customer, or business partner first.
“We look at your financial situation, but we also value your character, the impact your loan will have on your community, and how much support you have from your community,” Kiva states on its website.
Kiva says that since its founding in 2005, more than 2 million people have lent $1.9 billion to 4.7 million borrowers.
Brian Walter, M&T's Baltimore region president, said the bank sees the donation as a way to directly invest in the future of local small businesses and promote economic growth in the region.
“This donation allows us to further our efforts to support entrepreneurs and strengthen the economic foundation of our local community,” Wachen Bruce, president and CEO of Baltimore Community Lending, said in a news release.
