UCEDC: Our Business is Helping Small Businesses

If you own a small business in New Jersey or are just thinking about taking the plunge, UCEDC can help you start, grow and thrive.

We’re a private, non-profit economic development corporation, dedicated to boosting local economies and strengthening communities through business development and job creation. Since 1977, we’ve been helping small business by making loans, training and mentoring business owners, helping businesses obtain government contracts, and providing accurate and relevant business information.

As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), UCEDC is committed to providing access to capital to underserved populations and communities. We step in when you can’t get the funding you need through conventional lending sources, with loans from $500 to $250,000.

We’re also a US Small Business Administration (SBA) microlender, offering microloans up to $50,000. While available to all small business owners in New Jersey, our microloan program especially supports...

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UCEDC Now Offers SBA 7(a) Community Advantage Loans

UCEDC is one of only 30 lenders in the nation to offer the SBA’s 7(a) Community Advantage Loan program, designed to encourage business growth in under-served communities.

Long-term loans of up to $250,000 are available to start-up (in operation less than two years) and existing businesses.   SBA 7 (a) loan funds can be used for a wide variety of purposes including working capital; furniture/fixtures, machinery and equipment; land acquisition for commercial purposes; construction or renovation for privately owned commercial properties; and business acquisition. 

Call 908-527-1166 to speak to one of our loan officers or email loans@ucedc.com to find out if you are eligible.

"Next Level Business Planning" workshop takes small businesses from surviving to thriving

Sooner or later, most small business owners get to the point where they have to decide if their operation really has what it takes to succeed.  They’ve been putting in the long hours and dogged effort, but they don’t seem to be able to get much beyond break-even.  What will it take to get their business to the next level of success?

The answer is a strong foundation in basic business skills and the know-how to assess and respond to current and future market conditions.  That’s what UCEDC, a nonprofit economic development corporation, will be addressing in its intensive six-week workshop for established businesses.  The next session of “Next Level Business Planning:  take your business from surviving to thriving”, is scheduled for Tuesday evenings, May 29 through July 10, 2012 in Totowa. 

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