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COVID-19 Update
Effective Friday, July 30, and in accordance with current public health guidelines, a face covering must be worn by anyone entering a Self-Help branch. Before going to a branch, please check here for up-to-date information on all our locations.
Self-Help Credit Union

PPP Relief Loans: A Lifeline During a Pandemic


Self-Help's PPP Loan Impact


$253

million lent

2,799

loans


65%

of loans to businesses or nonprofits led by people of color

62%

of dollars to nonprofits


$20,800

median loan amount


27,508

jobs maintained


If you would like more information on our PPP lending or the forgiveness process, please visit our Paycheck Protection Loans page.

Self-Help’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lending is strongly focused on assisting nonprofits and small businesses run by women and people of color, especially those that currently partner with us for financial services or social justice.

The PPP, offered through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), has been a major response to provide economic relief during COVID-19. PPP loans are forgivable under specified conditions, and they provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep employing their workers.

 

Meet just a few of the small businesses and nonprofits we have been privileged to serve:

My Block My Hood My City

Building a Better World One Block at a Time

My Block My Hood My City (aka M3) is here to start the conversations that cultivate a deeper connection to our communities and the people within them in order to ensure everyone has what they need to succeed. They work tirelessly to empower Chicago neighbors with knowledge, and inspire them with opportunity, so they can take positive action with confidence, creating a new world of possibilities for themselves and their families - and ultimately, the block, the hood, and the city, too. With help from a PPP loan, the entire staff was able to stay on with full pay, serving and supporting approximately 20,000 people over the last 18 months.  Learn more here.

Developing Workforce Solutions in Unprecedented Times
Employ Milwaukee

Developing Workforce Solutions in Unprecedented Times

Employ Milwaukee has been serving Milwaukee County for well over 30 years.  Their mission is to build a strong workforce development system by planning, coordinating, collaborating and monitoring workforce initiatives with businesses, partners, and community stakeholders at the local, regional and state level to ensure a skilled and productive workforce for the 21st century.  With help from a PPP loan, the organization was able to keep their entire staff on the payroll with the tools needed to work safely from home; offer remote training and counseling to hundreds of job seekers; initiate a drive-thru job fair; and place 500 youth in summer jobs.

Developing Workforce Solutions in Unprecedented Times
Project Fighting Chance

Giving Kids a Fighting Chance  

Founded in 1999, Project Fighting Chance began as an amateur boxing program and has since grown into an organization that has assisted, trained and mentored over 5,000 youth, and counting.  Today the San Bernardino, California nonprofit works with families, schools, municipalities, businesses and multiple community agencies.  It has an integrated program model that provides athletics, healthy eating, vocational training, and education and counseling services. The organization is considered an essential partner to the city of San Bernardino. 

Fresno's Building Healthy Communities

Because Where We Live Impacts How We Live 

With a population exceeding 90,000, the area incorporated in Fresno’s Building Healthy Communities’ service has its share of challenges, including high levels of poverty, unemployment, gang violence, and high rates of obesity and asthma that exceed statewide averages.  In spite of these challenges, Fresno BHC and its partners are turning the tide on multiple fronts.  Day by day, the balance of power is shifting to the people and the result is a healthier Fresno for all. 

Equal Justice Society

Fighting Modern-Day Discrimination  

Celebrating its 20-year anniversary, The Equal Justice Society is transforming the nation’s consciousness on race through law, social science and the arts.  The organization holds a central role in the racial justice movement as one of the country’s legal organizations fighting modern-day discrimination by intersecting the law, race, and social science.  “It is very easy to lose hope in the midst of this crisis. With the generosity provided by the PPP Loan, all of us at EJS feel confident that we can do more than merely weather the storm,” said Eva Paterson, President of EJS.  

Northwest Side Community Development Corporation

Community Reinvestment at Work in Milwaukee

Founded in 1983, the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC) has assisted with neighborhood strategic planning to improve safety, land use planning and development on the Northwest Side of Milwaukee to spur retail growth, and numerous business and workforce development programs. To date, the NWSCDC has lent over $11 million to several major catalytic projects, which have created over 1,080 jobs. 

CicLAvia

Strolling, Rolling, Walking, Dancing, Connecting  

CicLAvia started as a grassroots initiative in 2008 as the outgrowth of discussions held by a number of individuals who recognized that open streets events could address active transportation, urban land use, and public health needs in Los Angeles. Inspired by the ciclovía events that started 45 years ago in Bogotá, Colombia, the first CicLAvia was held on October 10, 2010.  Ten years and 35 CicLAvias later, more than 1.8 million people have explored nearly 226 miles of open streets in Los Angeles County. 

Brighter Beginnings

Every family matters, and every child deserves a happy, healthy future  

Brighter Beginnings has been serving resource-poor neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area community for over 35 years.  Its mission is to support healthy births and successful development of children by partnering with parents and helping to build strong communities. Currently the organization offers services at four East Bay locations.  "Kudos to Self Help – you have given me back a sense of hope for our community and how banking relationships can also be personal and driven by a community vision of capital for all,” said Barbara McCullough, CEO.   

ASI

Providing the Gold Standard for Home Care 

Since 1975 ASI Services has provided quality, supportive home care services to post-acute patients, senior citizens and persons with disabilities throughout metropolitan Chicago. Marta Cerda, CEO, said, “This loan gave us more runway to last through the summer and focus on providing home care services to over 1,000 clients.” 

SBAOA

Helping Refugees in San Diego, California  

Founded in 2009, as a resource for refugee families seeking to adjust to their new lives in the United States, the Somali Bantu Association of America educates, serves, and organizes cultural and life-skill training programs in an effort to promote self-sufficiency among the individuals and families comprising not only the Somali Bantu community, but all East African refugees in and around City Heights. Last year the organization served over 6,000 refugees, free of charge.    

UUJMCA

A World with Love at the Center

The mission of the Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California is to advance justice in the state of California by cultivating and connecting leaders and communities, and by empowering the public voice of those who share Unitarian Universalist values and principles.  In the words of Reverend Ranwa Hammamy, Executive Director of UUJMCA, “Justice is not simply helping others survive.  Justice is collectively ensuring that we are all able to THRIVE.”  

Inquilinos

A Community-Based Group in Los Angeles

Inquilinos Unidos is dedicated to empowering low-income tenants through community organizing, education and advocacy for safe, decent and affordable housing in Los Angeles. Steve Zrucky, who serves on IU's Board, said, “After this [loan] process I feel as if we have a sisterly/brotherly connection with you folks. You treated us like family.”

Fernando Valenzuela

32 Years in Oakland, California 

Fernando Valenzuela’s State Farm office has been serving the diverse Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland, California for 32 years.  When the pandemic hit, he was aware that many of his clients were struggling to make their premium payments, and his main concern was for their well-being and that of his staff of 5. “I can’t thank you enough for all your help in finalizing my PPP. As this COVID-19 bug continues, there has been a negative effect on our gross sales. You have had a hand in protecting 5 families from a serious negative impact. I can maintain their 100% company paid health insurance and I can guarantee them no layoff or reduced hours. Your help was God sent no doubt,” said Mr. Valenzuela. 

Shaw Legal Services

Offering Affordable Legal Services in Chicago, Illinois 

Serving communities in Chicago, Shaw Legal Services offers legal services and works with their clients so that they can pay in ways that work for them.  The firm accepts only what the client can afford to pay.  “This is a very stressful, emotional time for us and I’m so grateful to have been connected with Self-Help. During the entire process they made me feel like I was their biggest client,” says Anne Shaw, Founder.  

Women's Building

Incubating Emerging Bay Area Women’s Projects for Nearly 50 Years 

In 1971, a group of visionary women founded San Francisco’s Women’s Centers, guided by a belief that all women and girls have the right to safe, joyous and creative lives.  Today, The Women’s Building is an anchor institution in San Francisco’s ever-changing Mission District, welcoming 25,000 clients and visitors each year. They come to use the in-house programs and gain access to social services, attend workshops and meetings, take wellness classes, volunteer, hold celebrations, and deepen their community connections. 

MOTR Grafx

More than just a Print House 

Established in 2011, MOTR GRAFX is a minority-owned, women-owned business in the Greater Chicago area.  They house all the capabilities required to deliver a project from innovative concept to dynamic result and work with a number of international and national brands. With the PPP loan, the business is able to maintain a staff of 3, and they’ve shifted their output to working with their vendors to provide hand sanitizer, thermometers, and face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Windsor Child Care

Child Care in Eastern North Carolina

Kiddie World Child Development Center is an essential service in Windsor, NC as it provides child care during the pandemic. "The parents of the children we serve are essential workers," said owner Mary Cofield. "They are working in a nearby chicken factory or in the hospital or in nursing homes."

Buxton Books

An Independent Bookstore on Hatteras Island, NC

Buxton Village Books has been serving Hatteras Island, NC since the 1980s. Owner ___ said, “While I am very used to preparing for hurricanes, this closure was an abrupt and unprecedented situation. It’s a scary time for all of us. Being a small business owner adds another layer of uncertainty.”

Fern City

Community Art in San Diego

In 1990 John Highkin and Cindy Zimmerman dreamed of bringing performance art directly to neighborhoods. That dream is now known as Fern Street Circus, which produces shows in parks and communities in San Diego. Their offerings include a free after-school program for lower-income families, where kids learn performance skills with dedicated teachers.

appalachian mountain community health center

Health Care in Western North Carolina

Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers, located in western NC, serves the community in six different locations. Duane Everett, an AMCHC administrator, said they seek to provide a high quality of health care with limited resources. "We service a diverse population, and the most vulnerable of that population are the uninsured," he said. "Getting a loan allowed us to continue the same level of quality, and it helped stop the [financial] bleeding."