Eastern Bank Foundation has honored the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund with a 2022 Community Advocacy Award.
The Community Loan Fund was recognized for its pioneering efforts in helping businesses and people across N.H. achieve economic stability. A Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded 38 years ago, the Community Loan Fund helps N.H. residents gain access to affordable housing, secure jobs, and quality child care, and has reached 170 towns and every county. We have lent more than $400 million, creating or preserving more than 10,800 affordable housing units and 3,900 jobs.
“For decades, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund has laid the foundation for many people to thrive in New Hampshire by extending the reach of conventional lenders and public institutions and bringing people and institutions together to solve challenges,” said Nancy Huntington Stager, President and CEO of the Eastern Bank Foundation.
The Community Loan Fund's work with small businesses focuses on providing loans, capital, and technical assistance. It has invested millions of dollars and helped to secure millions more in loans to small businesses in sectors that include manufacturing, technology, retail, farm and food, and energy. It has also facilitated nearly 80,000 hours of technical assistance to small businesses.
From left to right, Quincy Miller, Eastern Bank Vice Chair and President; Nancy Huntington Stager, Eastern Bank Foundation President and CEO; Steve Saltzman, New Hampshire Community Loan Fund President and CEO; and Debby Miller Community Loan Fund Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Philanthropy.
Community Loan Fund President and CEO Steve Saltzman said, “The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund aims to transform lives by bringing economic justice to people, neighborhoods, and communities that have been historically disenfranchised.”
Zachery Palmer, a Community Loan Fund Community Business Lender added, “Closing the wealth gap and solving disparities takes a multi-faceted, evolving approach. By creating new and innovative capital structures that help businesses in the community with the financial resources and tools to thrive, we are one step closer to an equitable economy.”
The celebration of Eastern’s Community Advocacy Award coincides with the Eastern Bank Foundation’s commitment to economic inclusion and mobility through its philanthropy, volunteerism, and advocacy, including to advance equity in the small business ecosystem. Recognizing that entrepreneurs and business owners are building blocks for the local economy, the Foundation seeks to fund organizations that build ecosystems of support for business owners in historically disadvantaged communities, including Black, Latinx, Asian, women, LGBTQ+, Veterans, and people with disabilities.
Watch the Eastern Bank Foundation's interview with Community Loan Fund President and CEO Steve Saltzman and Executive Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Philanthropy Debby Miller as part of its 2022 Community Advocacy Awards celebration. The award presentation begins at 11:00, followed by interviews.
Read more about all of the 2022 Community Advocacy Award honorees.
About Eastern Bank Foundation
Created in 1994, the Eastern Bank Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Boston-based Eastern Bank. Through philanthropy, employee volunteerism, advocacy and collaborations with other businesses and community partners, Eastern Bank Foundation responds to community needs and supports sustainable solutions to our communities’ most vexing challenges across eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. To learn more, visit easternbank.com/foundation.
