Colorado Enterprise Fund

A nonprofit organization

$5,054 raised by 24 donors

100% complete

$5,000 Goal

CEF provides capital, coaching, and connections to help businesses and communities thrive. We believe that small business creates BIG opportunities for families and communities.  We are a non-profit, mission-driven lender that fills the financing gap when prospective customers cannot access conventional forms of financing.  

Visit our website to meet some of our clients and read their Success Stories about their CEF experiences: https://coloradoenterprisefund.org/Success-Stories


Mission

The mission of Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) is to accelerate community prosperity by financing and supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Background Statement

Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) is a non-profit CDFI small business lender committed to helping entrepreneurs start and grow their business. We provide access to capital to veterans, low-income, minority, low-wealth, or underserved areas across Colorado. We help small businesses that don’t meet traditional financing guidelines for various reasons including the business is a startup, limited collateral, or lower credit scores. CEF provides flexible, low-barrier loans to be used for working capital, equipment, inventory, business purchase, property improvements, and more. Loans range from $1K to $1M and include SBA microloans along with loan solutions for specific groups/industries such as black entrepreneurs, veterans, and healthy food access. And it is not just about the loan for CEF. We also provide FREE business coaching to our borrowers through our Business Navigation Services. Our navigators help with areas such as business planning, marketing & sales, and accounting throughout the life of the loan. CEF has been dedicated to building businesses, driving community development, and creating jobs for over 45 years.

CEF is headquartered in Denver with satellite offices in Northern and Southern CO to support small businesses for the entire state of Colorado. Since 1976, we have lent over $246M in loans and grants to 7500+ small businesses that have created or retained over 31,000+ jobs. We have provided over 34,000 hours of business navigation services to our borrowers.

As a certified CDFI, CEF provides 90% of capital and coaching programs to underserved communities. Our impact is evident by our lending demographics as 55% low-income, 45% women-owned, 35% minority-owned, 60% start-ups, and 12% veteran-owned businesses.

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Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Colorado Enterprise Fund

other names

CEF, Greater Denver Local Development Corporation

Year Established

1976

Tax id (EIN)

84-0837398

Category

Community Improvement & Capacity Building, Public & Societal Benefit, Food, Agriculture & Nutrition, Employment

Organization Size

Large Organization

Address

1888 Sherman Street #530
Denver, CO 80203

Headquarters

1888 Sherman Street Suite 530
Denver, CO 80203

Colorado Location

2 S. Wahsatch Avenue Suite 210 G
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Service areas

Denver County, CO, US

Larimer County, CO, US

El Paso County, CO, US

CO, US

Phone

303 860 0242

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