Public–nonprofit and tax–exempt status means any contributions made to the organization are fully tax-deductible.
“It really opens up the door for us to apply for different federal and private grants,” said Jordan Tucker, chief communications officer for Forza Financial and a senior majoring in marketing. “We’ll have a lot more access to funding, and hopefully write more loans.”
As a non-profit micro-finance institution, Forza Financial conducts a multitude of different services to help small businesses around town. Their main initiatives include funding smaller loans, one-on-one business coaching and free academic workshops for entrepreneurs.
Katherine McLarney, a senior majoring in finance and economics, is the chief executive officer for Forza Financial. She said the gap from small loans to big loans was recognized by students at the University as well as a few other schools.
“When we started, we didn’t have any money to lend out,” McLarney said. “It’s been a wild ride in five years. It’s grown tremendously.”
