The program is made up of 3 parts
The program is made up of 3 parts
$120M+
In Federal Funding
52%
of Fund to SEDIs
1:1
Private Capital Match Required
No matter where you are in your business journey, you have options for getting funds and support best suited for your situation.
With both equity investment and lending options available to people in all 95 Tennessee counties, Fund Tennessee provides fair access to funds.
Tennessee small business owners take care of each other and their employees. With access to funds, they are positioned to create jobs that support a living wage, benefits and career advancement.
As Tennessee deploys equitable access to capital throughout our state, our team is working hard to provide a growing list of resources to address frequently asked questions about InvestTN, LendTN, AssistTN, and other critical aspects of Tennessee's entrepreneur ecosystem.
The U.S. Department of Treasury is administering a second installment of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI 2.0) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. SSBCI 1.0 was passed in 2010 and ran from 2011 to 2017. For SSBCI 2.0, Treasury has allocated $10 billion to provide funding for (1) small business financing, and (2) technical assistance to help small and diverse businesses become capital ready. SSBCI funds are to address SEDI (socially and economically disadvantages individuals) and VSB (very small business) owned businesses.
A business cannot
◦ Be engaged in activities that are prohibited by federal law, speculative activities that profit from fluctuations in price, or pyramid sales.
◦ Earn more than half of annual its net revenue from lending activities.
◦ Derive more than one-third of its gross annual revenue from gambling activities.
◦ Use loan funds for acquiring or holding passive investments in real estate, the purchase of securities, or lobbying activities.
◦ Be convicted of an offense against a minor or debarred from doing business with the federal, state, or local governments.
SSBCI is designed to use private dollars to magnify its results. Every $1 of capital from Fund Tennessee, must be matched at least with $1 of private capital.
No. Businesses may receive a loan (LendTN), an investment (InvestTN), or technical business assistance (AssistTN).
SEDI is a government acronym that stands for socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Fifty-two percent of Fund Tennessee’s $117 million in federal funding must go to SEDI businesses.
SEDI businesses are owned or controlled by individuals who have had limited access to credit on reasonable terms including members of a group subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice in American society, gender, veteran status, limited English proficiency, disability, long-term residence in a location isolated from mainstream American society, long-term residence in a rural community, residence in a community undergoing economic transitions (including communities impacted by shift to net-zero) or membership in an underserved community. Businesses also have SEDI classification if they are located in Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Investment Area or will locate in one.
Debt involves borrowing money. Debt would mean getting a loan from one of the partner CDFIs through LendTN.
Equity is when a company sells a stake in its company in return for capital investment. For InvestTN, an equity investment would take varying forms depending on what “bucket” it’s a part of — the Regional Seed Fund, Growth Fund or Multi-Fund.
Very Small Business. It is a business that has less than 10 employees. A portion of SSBCI dollars are for VSBs.
Fund Tennessee is intended to run for 8 to 10 years.