For years, no bank would take a chance on Robin Hunt, a former drug addict and welfare mom who had rebuilt her life and operated a profitable hair salon in her East San Jose home. The number of clients that sought Start Up's programs and services in the 1999 fiscal year, which ended this July, jumped 33 percent to nearly 300 from fiscal 1998. The number of loan applications at Lenders for Community Development also has grown 40 percent from last year. Non-profit Silicon Valley Economic Development has seen demand for their services increase 25 percent in fiscal year 1999 while the number of loan applications grew 40 percent.
Hunt is a testament that such programs pay dividends.
After four rejected loan applications from commercial banks, she was referred to Lenders for Community Development, a San Jose non-profit specializing in financing businesses and entrepreneurs in poor communities. That was a year ago. It's been so successful that Hunt last month began sharing salon space in Palo Alto. It's not just existing businesses that benefit. Silicon Valley Economic Development has trained people getting off welfare to start their own housecleaning and day-care businesses.