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                                                                   Exhibit 3(i)

                           ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

                          ALLIED CAPITAL CORPORATION

                           (A MARYLAND CORPORATION)


     The undersigned, Thomas R. Salley, III, whose post office address is 1666 K
Street, N.W., Suite 901, Washington, D.C. 20006, being at least eighteen (18)
years of age, does hereby form a corporation under the general laws of the
State of Maryland.

     FIRST: The name of the corporation (hereinafter referred to as the
"Corporation") is: Allied Capital Corporation.

     SECOND: The purposes for which the Corporation is organized are as
follows:

          A. To render advice and consulting services to corporations,
     individuals, partnerships and other business entities; to enter into
     contracts with any of such entities for the purpose of carrying out such
     advisory and consulting services; to register as an investment adviser
     with such agencies and in such jurisdictions where such registration is
     deemed appropriate; and to do all such other acts as may be related or
     incidental to the purposes of an investment adviser, merchant bank or
     similar financial institution;

          B. To purchase, acquire, hold, own, improve, develop, sell, convey,
     assign, release, mortgage, encumber, use, lease, hire, manage, deal in and
     otherwise dispose of real property and personal property of every kind and
     nature or any interest therein, improved or otherwise, including stocks
     and securities of other corporations; to loan money; to take securities
     for the payment of all sums due the Corporation; to sell, assign and
     release such securities;

          C. To equip, furnish, improve, develop and manage any property, real
     or personal; to invest, trade and deal in any personal property; to
     encumber or dispose of any personal property at any time held or owned by
     the Corporation;

          D. To engage in, operate and acquire interests in any kind of
     business, of whatever nature, which may be permitted by law;

          E. To import, export, produce, buy, sell and otherwise deal in and
     with, goods, wares and merchandise of every kind, class and description;

          F. To acquire all or any part of the good will, rights, property and
     business of any individual association, partnership, joint venture,
     corporation or other legal entity; to hold, utilize, enjoy and in any
     manner dispose of the whole or any part of the rights, property and
     business so acquired; to assume in connection therewith any liabilities of
     any such individual association, partnership, joint venture, corporation
     or other legal entity;

          G. To acquire, by purchase, subscription or in any other manner,
     take, receive, hold, use, employ, sell, assign, transfer, exchange,
     pledge, mortgage, lease, dispose of and otherwise deal in and with any
     shares of stock or other shares, voting trust certificates, bonds,
     debentures, notes, mortgages or other obligations, securities or evidences
     of indebtedness, and any certificates, receipts, warrants or other
     instruments evidencing rights or options to receive, purchase or subscribe
     for the same or representing any other rights or interests therein or in
     any property or assets, issued or created by any individual, association,
     partnership, joint venture, corporation, government (or subdivision or
     agency thereof) or other legal entity, wherever organized and wherever
     doing business; to possess and exercise in respect thereof any and all of
     the rights, powers and privileges of individual holders including, without
     limitation, the right to vote any shares of stock so held or owned and,




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     upon a distribution of the assets or a division of the profits of the
     Corporation, to distribute any such shares of stock or other shares,
     voting trust certificates, bonds or other obligations, securities or
     evidences of indebtedness (or the proceeds thereof) among the stockholders
     of the Corporation;

          H. To erect commercial buildings and other buildings, private or
     public of all kinds, and to sell and rent the same; to contract, enlarge,
     repair, grade, pave, dedicate, remodel or otherwise engage in any work
     upon buildings of every nature, roads, avenues, highways, paths, walks,
     parks, playgrounds and sidewalks; to engage in iron, steel, wood, brick,
     concrete, stone, cement, masonry, glass and earth construction; to execute
     contracts or to receive assignments of contracts therefor or relating
     thereto; to manufacture and furnish the building materials and supplies
     connected therewith;

          I. To apply for, obtain, purchase or otherwise acquire any patents,
     copyrights, licenses, trademarks, trade names, rights, processes, formulae
     and the like; to use, exercise, develop and grant licenses in respect of,
     sell and otherwise turn to account the same;

          J. To purchase (or otherwise acquire), hold, sell, retire, reissue or
     otherwise dispose of shares of its own stock of any class in any manner
     now or hereafter authorized or permitted by law, and to pay therefor, with
     cash or other property;

          K. To borrow or raise money and to issue bonds, debentures, notes or
     other obligations of any nature (and in any manner permitted by law) for
     money so borrowed or in payment for property purchased, or for any other
     lawful consideration, and to secure the payment thereof, and of the
     interest thereon, by mortgage upon, pledge, conveyance or assignment in
     trust of, the whole or any part of the property of the Corporation, real
     or personal, including contract rights, whether at the time owned or
     thereafter acquired; to sell, pledge, discount or otherwise dispose of
     such bonds, debentures, notes or other obligations of the Corporation;

          L. To aid, by loan, subsidy, guaranty or in any lawful manner
     whatsoever, any individual, association, partnership, joint venture,
     corporation or other legal entity whose stocks, bonds, notes, debentures
     or other obligations, securities or evidences of indebtedness are in any
     manner directly or indirectly held or guaranteed by the Corporation, or by
     any corporation in which the Corporation may have an interest directly or
     indirectly as stockholder, creditor, guarantor or otherwise, or whose
     shares or securities are owned by the Corporation; to do any and all
     lawful acts and things designed to protect, preserve, improve or enhance
     the value of any stocks, bonds, notes, debentures or other obligations,
     securities or evidences of indebtedness of any individual, association,
     partnership, joint venture, corporation or other legal entity in which the
     Corporation has an interest directly or indirectly as a stockholder,
     creditor, guarantor or otherwise, or whose shares or securities are owned
     by the Corporation, or to lend money with or without collateral security;

          M. To guarantee the payment of dividend upon any shares of stock of
     any other association or corporation; to guarantee the performance of any
     contract by any individual, association, partnership, joint venture,
     corporation or other legal entity; to endorse or otherwise guarantee the
     payment of principal and interest, or either, of any bonds, debentures,
     notes, securities or other evidences of indebtedness created or issued by
     any such individual, association, partnership, joint venture, corporation
     or other legal entity, it not being necessary that any such guaranty or
     endorsement shall be intended to result in any benefit to the Corporation
     (it being understood that in no way shall the Corporation act as a surety
     company);

          N. To carry out all or any part of the purposes set forth herein as
     principal, broker, factor, agent, contractor or otherwise, either alone,
     through or in conjunction with any individual, association, partnership,
     corporation or other legal entity; to make, execute


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     and perform any contracts or agreements and to do any other acts and
     things for the accomplishment of any of the purposes set forth herein or
     incidental to such purposes, or which at any time may appear conducive to
     or expedient for the accomplishment of any such purposes;

          O. To carry out all of the purposes set forth herein in any or all
     states, territories districts, dependencies and possessions of the United
     States of America and any foreign country; to maintain offices and
     agencies in any or all states, territories, districts, dependencies and
     possessions of the United States of America and any foreign country;

          P. To organize, incorporate, reorganize, liquidate and dissolve any
     association, partnership, joint venture, corporation (subsidiary,
     affiliated or other) or other legal entity for any purpose permitted by
     law; to invest in any manner in any association, partnership, joint
     venture, corporation (subsidiary, affiliated or other) or other legal
     entity;

          Q. To do any act or thing and exercise any power suitable, convenient
     or proper for the accomplishment of any of the purposes set forth herein
     or incidental to such purposes or which at any time may appear conducive to
     or expedient for the accomplishment of any of such purposes; and

          R. To have and exercise any and all powers and privileges now or
     hereafter conferred by the general laws of the State of Maryland upon
     corporations formed under such laws.

     The foregoing enumeration of the purposes of the Corporation is made in
furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred upon the Corporation
by law. The mention of any particular purpose is not intended in any manner to
limit or restrict the generality of any other purpose mentioned, or to limit or
restrict any of the powers of the Corporation. The Corporation shall have,
enjoy and exercise all of the powers and rights now or hereafter conferred by
the laws of the State of Maryland upon corporations of a similar character, it
being the intention that the purposes set forth in each of the paragraphs of
this Article shall, except as otherwise expressly provided, in nowise be
limited or restricted by reference to or inference from the terms of any other
clause or paragraph of this or any other Article of these Articles of
Incorporation, or of any amendment thereto, and shall each be regarded as
independent, and construed as powers as well as purposes; provided, however,
that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or permit the
Corporation to carry on any business or exercise any power, or do any act which
a corporation formed under the general laws of the State of Maryland may not at
the time lawfully carry on or do.

     THIRD: The post office address of the principal office of the Corporation
in the State of Maryland is: 5422 Albia Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20816. The
name and post office address of the resident agent of the Corporation in the
State of Maryland are: G. Cabell Williams III, 5422 Albia Road, Bethesda
(Montgomery County), Maryland 20816. Said resident agent is a citizen of the
State of Maryland and actually resides therein.

     FOURTH: The total number of shares of stock which the Corporation has
authority to issue is ten million (10,000,000) shares of Common Stock, with a
par value of One Dollar ($1.00) per share. The aggregate par value of all such
shares is Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00).

     FIFTH: The initial number of directors of the Corporation shall be three
(3) in accordance with the provisions of Section 2-402(a) of the General
Corporation Law of the State of Maryland, which number may be changed pursuant
to the provisions set forth in the Bylaws of the Corporation, but shall never
be less than the number permitted by law, and the names of the directors who
shall act until the first annual meeting of stockholders of the Corporation or
until their successors are duly chosen and qualify are: David Gladstone, David
P. Parker and Thomas R. Salley, III.

     SIXTH: The following provisions are hereby adopted for the purpose of
defining, limiting and regulating the powers of the Corporation and of the
Board of Directors and stockholders:


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          A. The Board of Directors of the Corporation is hereby empowered to
     authorize and direct the issuance from time to time or at any time or
     times of the shares of stock of the Corporation of any class, now or
     hereafter authorized, any options or warrants for such shares permitted by
     law, any rights to subscribe to or purchase such shares and any other
     securities of the Corporation, for such consideration as the Board of
     Directors may deem advisable, subject to such limitations and
     restrictions, if any, as may be set forth in the Bylaws of the
     Corporation.

          B. No holder of shares of stock of the Corporation of any class, now
     or hereafter authorized, shall have any preferential or preemptive right
     to subscribe for, purchase or receive (i) any shares of stock of the
     Corporation of any class, now or hereafter authorized, (ii) any options or
     warrants for any such preferential or preemptive shares, (iii) any rights
     to subscribe to or purchase any such shares, or (iv) any other securities
     of the Corporation which may at any time or from time to time be issued,
     sold or offered for sale by the Corporation.

          C. The Board of Directors of the Corporation is hereby empowered to
     adopt Bylaw provisions with respect to the indemnification of directors,
     officers, employees, agents and other persons and to make such other
     indemnification as it shall deem expedient and in the best interests of
     the Corporation to the extent permitted by law and Article SEVENTH hereof.

          D. The provisions relating to certain special voting requirements set
     forth in Title 3, Subtitle 6 of the General Corporation Law of the State
     of Maryland and the provisions relating to certain control shares set
     forth in Title 3, Subtitle 7 of the General Corporation Law of the State
     of Maryland shall not be applicable, pursuant to Sections 3-603(e)(iii)
     and 3-702(b) thereof, respectively, to the shares of the Corporation which
     are owned by, or which shall in the future be issued to and owned by, any
     employee stock ownership plan, incentive stock ownership plan or other
     similar plan established now or in the future for the benefit of the
     Corporation's directors, officers, employees or affiliates, and, without
     limiting the foregoing, none of such shares owned by any such plan shall,
     for purposes of such subtitles, be aggregated with any shares owned
     individually by any beneficiaries of any such plan.

          E. The Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, amend,
     alter, repeal or rescind the Bylaws of the Corporation.

          F. The Corporation reserves the right to amend these Articles of
     Incorporation in any way which alters the contract rights, as expressly
     set forth in these Articles of Incorporation, of any outstanding stock of
     the Corporation and substantially adversely affects any of the rights of
     any of the holders of any outstanding stock of the Corporation.

     SEVENTH:

          A. The Corporation shall indemnify (i) its directors and officers,
whether serving the Corporation or, at its request, any other entity, to the
full extent permitted by the general laws of the State of Maryland now or
hereafter in force, including the advance of expenses under the procedures and
to the full extent permitted by law and (ii) other employees and agents to such
extent as shall be authorized by the Board of Directors or the Corporation's
Bylaws and be permitted by law. The foregoing rights of indemnification shall
not be exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may
be entitled. The Board of Directors may take such action as is necessary to
carry out these indemnification provisions and is expressly empowered to adopt,
approve and amend from time to time such Bylaws, resolutions or contracts
implementing such provisions or such further indemnification arrangements as
may be permitted by law. No amendment to or repeal of this Article SEVENTH
shall limit or eliminate the right to indemnification provided hereunder with
respect to acts or omissions occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.


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          B. To the fullest extent permitted by Maryland statutory or
decisional law, as amended or interpreted, no director or officer of this
Corporation shall be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders
for money damages. No amendment to or repeal of this Article SEVENTH shall
limit or eliminate the benefits provided to directors and officers under this
provision with respect to any act or omission which occurred prior to such
amendment or repeal.

     EIGHTH: The duration of the Corporation shall be perpetual.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed these Articles of Incorporation on the
18th day of December 1990, and I acknowledge the same to be my act and deed and
that, to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, all matters and
facts stated herein are true in all material respects and that such statement
is made under the penalties of perjury.



                                         SOLE INCORPORATOR:

                                         /s/ T.R. Salley, III
                                         ------------------------------------
                                         Thomas R. Salley, III


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