Sam’s Club Giving and the Walmart Foundation have awarded an $800,000 grant to LiftFund to extend its reach in providing small business loans and educational resources to small business owners with a portion of the funds dedicated to helping veterans.
“Sam’s Club and Walmart are committed to helping small business owners succeed,” Anne Hatfield, Walmart spokesperson said. “We support the great work LiftFund is doing for small business owners in San Antonio and hope this grant will help provide them with the education and the tools they need to run and grow their companies.”
LiftFund is proud to continue supporting entrepreneurs through the grant, and will dedicate a portion of the funds to veteran programming and services.
“We are Military City USA not just because of our existing military missions and bases, but because of our veterans as well,” said Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff. “Couple this with our strong desire to help local small businesses grow and prosper then you’ve got a combination that can’t be beat. That’s why LiftFund and their support of our veterans is so important.”
“I believe it’s important for veterans to know that they can receive assistance when starting small businesses,” said Texas House Representative Ina Minjarez. “My dad, who is a veteran, did not have this support when he started his business; this would have helped him back in the day.”
How LiftFund Makes A Difference
As a financial and business-support service organization, LiftFund helps entrepreneurs across 13 states to strengthen their businesses, stabilize and increase their incomes, create employment and contribute to the economic revitalization of their communities. Since its inception, LiftFund has made over 17,700 loans totaling more than $218 million, providing capital to entrepreneurs who are unable to receive funding elsewhere.
Organizations like LiftFund can truly transform businesses and their surrounding communities. Some examples of LiftFund’s success include:
- LiftFund client-owned businesses have a 74% success rate compared to 30% survival overall
- Borrowers experience 72.9% sales growth compared to 41% for non-borrowers
- After three loans, LiftFund entrepreneurs on average will increase take home income by 44%
- On average, LiftFund has a 96% repayment success rate
- On average, every $50,000 loaned creates six new jobs
“As a nonprofit organization it is our mission to help those entrepreneurs who do not have access to capital from commercial resources,” said Janie Barrera, LiftFund president and CEO. “Through the generous support of organizations like Sam’s Club Giving and the Walmart Foundation we are able to improve and enhance our ability to serve additional small business owners throughout our 13 state footprint.”
After the grant presentation, LiftFund hosted its holiday marketplace featuring unique apparel, art, and gourmet gifts created by its clients, giving the community a chance to support local small businesses. We look forward to hosting future marketplace functions, events and resources for small business owners, and we are grateful for the support of Sam’s Club Giving and the Walmart Foundation.
LiftFund is proud to offer so many opportunities to entrepreneurs and business owners alike. Our goal is to provide the business resources, the business tools, and business loans to make as big of an impact as possible. Sometimes businesses just need a lift, and that is why we exist.
