New : Your business must be new or opening a completely new dimension (i.e. new facility, business model, product line).
Local : You must be located in the greater NY, NJ, PA area.
Matching Funds: You must have invested a comparable amount of money to the amount that you are looking to borrow, from personal, family or other sources.
Building your Business: The borrowed funds must be used to build your business and cannot be used to pay off debt, for any investments including real estate, or to pay your own salary as you build your private practice.
COVID UPDATE
Businesses recovering from COVID are also eligible to apply for an EPI Business Loan.
Apply
Submit your loan application here. It is only necessary to fill in the required fields marked with an asteriks*.
Onboarding (1-7 days)
Receive a call from an EPI rep to verify that your business qualifies for a loan and get individualized instructions on preparing the business plan and financials that you will need to present at the next loan meeting.
Board Presentation (3-6 weeks)
Present your business to the Board of Directors at the next EPI Loan Review Meeting in New York City.
Personal Reference and Areivim/ Guarantors (1-5 days)
Upon approval, you need to submit the name and cell number of your Rav for personal reference and two areivim for the entire amount of the loan. Once the areivim are approved (see details below), you must submit the promissory note signed by you and your areivim, as well as the areivim’s signed, undated checks.
Receive the Funds (Same Day)
As soon as we receive the required documents, you will receive a check for the full loan amount.
Repayment
In the 3rd month following your receipt of the funds, loan payments will commence. The payments are withdrawn via ACH from your bank account over the subsequent 34 months.
Be willing and capable of assuming the payment for the entire amount they guaranteed (in the unlikely, worst-case scenario).
Provide the name and number of a rav as a personal reference- rabbonim and community leaders will not be accepted as areivim.
Contact EPI staff member directly to give verbal consent.
Submit signed, undated checks in the amounts specified by EPI and sign the Guarantor Form upon receiving approval.
Typically, 4-8 weeks. It is partially dependent on how quickly you submit required paperwork.
Occasionally yes.
EPI lends amounts up to $50,000 at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
$735.30
Yes.
No.
Ideally you need to be able to show some sales history and be within the startup stage of 1-2 years. Existing businesses that have added on a new product line or other significant positive change may be considered for a loan as well.
Buying new inventory, salaries, equipment, furnishing space and other startup expenses.
No, the money may not be used for any investments including real estate.
No.
As many as you need, however the money needs to be guaranteed twice. For example, on a $25,000 loan you can have 2 people who guarantee the entire $25,000 or 10 areivim guaranteeing $5,000 each.
We will withdraw twice in the following month.
We will automatically withdraw funds via ACH debit from your checking account on the 1st or 15th of each month, starting the 3rd month after you receive the loan.
We will do whatever we can to help your business succeed but in the unlikely event that you cannot repay the loan we will notify you and the areivim that we will deposit their checks.
After the many hours of care and expert advice I received from the EPI staff, helping me prepare for the Loan Review Meeting, I told Zisha Novoseller that the experience was so positive and enlightening that even if I wasn’t granted the loan, I’d still be eternally indebted for the education and experience that Bernie and Zisha taught and shared with me.
Business owner
EPI assists community members in navigating the challenges of the workforce through career and business guidance, skills development, and interest-free loans.
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