Impact

Pennsylvania map

Community First Fund’s Regional Impact:
More than 600 Loans, More than $16 Million in Loans Disbursed

The regional map above depicts the breadth and depth of Community First Fund’s lending activities throughout its 13-county service area. It is comprised of data points for the more than 600 loans made since inception and clearly shows that many loans are concentrated in close proximity and in many cases indicate multiple and/or repeat borrowers. The map also illustrates Community First Fund’s commitment to support the region’s rural areas.

Sustaining Growth

The bar graphs show Community First Fund’s Loan Fund Growth and Total Loans Disbursed during the past five years. During this timeframe of 2003–2007, Community First Fund’s activities have resulted in the creation or retention of at least 1,300 jobs and in the creation of more than 120 new units of affordable housing. During the past two years, with the introduction of Community First Fund’s new commercial real estate loan product, more than 150,000 square feet of commercial space has been financed, most of which is located in areas of downtown revitalization or in low-income neighborhoods seeking to increase resident ownership of commercial real estate.

The pie charts of Loan Types and Loans by Region reveal how the 95 loans totaling $5,222,987 were disbursed in fiscal year 2007. It is significant to note that the largest number of loans was made to small-business owners while the greatest monetary amount of funds disbursed was to mid-sized business owners. Of additional interest is that the number of loans disbursed by region directly correlates to how long each office has been open–Lancaster first, followed by York, Reading, Harrisburg, and Exton.

Impact By Region

Service Region by
Office Location
Total Number of Microenterprises % of Total Regional Businesses that are Microenterprises
Lancaster 40,650 87.6
Harrisburg 47,796 86.7
York 36,112 87.8
Reading 77,806 86.1
Exton 120,854 86.9
Service Regions:
Lancaster = Lancaster County
Harrisburg (Capital Region) = Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin and Perry Counties
York = York and Adams Counties
Reading = Berks, Lebanon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties
Exton = Chester and Montgomery CountiesMicroenterprises: small businesses with five or less employees, as defined by the Small Business AdministrationStatistics Compiled by Association for Enterprise Opportunity using 2005 U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Commerce data