Mission The Progress Fund creates economic opportunity by lending needed capital and providing entrepreneurial coaching to small businesses in the travel & tourism industry in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Western Maryland, and Appalachian Ohio. Tools The Progress Fund provides capital and coaching to new or expanding businesses that seek to create jobs and opportunity. The Fund supports businesses that build the rural economy, typically while honoring the environment, reusing historic structures, reinvigorating traditional business districts, and creating living wage jobs. A different approach Today, small business owners face tight credit standards at commercial banks and a slow economic recovery with timid consumers. However, against the tide of troubles are many businesses owners that have seen and are moving on new opportunities. These small businesses can create the jobs the region needs. Our work is to understand their needs and tailor our loans and technical advice to help them with their opportunities and challenges. Since 1997 loans made for a total of $41,480,489 small businesses helped living wage jobs created or retained Lending supported over of new investment Clients generated in business revenues hours of Entrepreneurial Coaching Quick Facts We are a community development lender with a mission to support small businesses in the tourism and agricultural industries. We serve a region covering most of Pennsylvania, all of West Virginia, western Maryland and Appalachian Ohio. We provide business owners with loans and technical advice. Our regional goal is to build the tourism industry and local foods industry creating new jobs and more growth opportunities. The size of our loans range from $20,000 to $750,000. Tourism and agricultural are huge industries with a wide range of businesses. The range of businesses we have helped included: restaurants, bed & breakfasts, small inns and hotels, outdoor outfitters, bicycle and canoe rentals, retailers from gift shops to clothiers, coffee shops, general stores, local foods producers, wineries and spirit distillers, small-scale manufacturers, professional services firms, and many others, including many women-owned businesses. Please contact us Call our Commercial Loan Officer, Karen Botti, or our VP of Commercial Lending, Gary Delaney, to discuss how we may be able to help. Phone: (724) 216-9160 Still have questions? The answers may be on our Frequently Asked Questions page, here.