PeopleFund brings small business loans, grants to Texarkana with Amber Keith leading local effort
The nonprofit lender is hosting a free Nov. 5 event at Texas A&M University-Texarkana and plans an office in The Assembly Line.
TEXARKANA, Texas–PeopleFund, a nonprofit lender that serves small businesses across Texas, is expanding into the Texarkana area with loans, a grant-linked education program and business advising, and will hold its first local event Nov. 5.
Amber Keith, who for years ran the Small Business Development Center out of Texarkana City Hall, is leading PeopleFund’s local programming and outreach, according to a news release. The center closed this year.
PeopleFund plans to open an office in The Assembly Line, the new downtown business incubator, once the building is finished. Keith told TXK Today she has heard the building could be completed early next year but does not have a move-in date. Until then, she said she is working from a home office.
“We’re moving forward with providing the small business and medium-sized business services that we have,” Keith said.
PeopleFund is a certified community development financial institution, or CDFI, that covers all of Texas, Keith said. She said its loan programs are more flexible than those of a traditional bank or the U.S. Small Business Administration. The organization offers SBA microloans, 504 loans and 7(a) loans, along with other types of loans. Keith said the group can sometimes work around imperfect credit or a lack of collateral.
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The group also runs an eight-week program of weekly workshops for business owners and entrepreneurs, Keith said. Participants who complete the program and obtain a loan of at least $3,000 become eligible for a grant of $3,000 to $5,000. Keith said Texarkana has never had a program like it for businesses.
“It’s tied to grant funding,” Keith said.
The release described Keith as a nationally certified business advisor with more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership and community development experience, most recently with the Northeast Texas Small Business Development Center. It said she has received awards from the SBA for her work in small business lending and is a member of Leadership Texarkana and the Red River Leadership Institute.
“Ms. Keith brings extensive experience, strong regional relationships, and a demonstrated commitment to economic development,” said Cris Houston, PeopleFund’s senior vice president of education. The release said Keith has helped local businesses and nonprofit organizations secure more than $100 million in loans, grants, government contracts and other funding in Northeast Texas.
“Our goal is to connect business owners with the financing, education, and resources they need while strengthening partnerships that support economic growth throughout our region,” Keith said in the release.
PeopleSource event
PeopleFund will host PeopleSource: Access to Capital and Small Business Resources from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at Texas A&M University-Texarkana. Keith said the event is being held on campus because The Assembly Line building is not ready.
The event will be in the Tri-State Iron and Metal Atrium on the third floor of the Anita and Truman Arnold University Center, 7101 University Ave. It is presented with The Assembly Line and sponsored by Regions Bank.
Representatives from Regions Bank, The Assembly Line, the Texarkana USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Ark-Tex Council of Governments Economic Development Department, the city of Texarkana, Texas, Economic Development office, Workforce Solutions Northeast Texas, the Center for Financial Literacy and Investment, and the SBA’s Arkansas and Texas offices are expected to attend, according to the release. PeopleFund will also share information about its financing, workshops, advising and accelerator programs.
The event is free, but advance registration is required. Registration is available at peoplefund.org.
