A gift can be eligible toward equity injection of an SBA loan if it is from immediate family (father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, etc.)  The funds must not be borrowed.  The gift-giver will need to verify accounts with statements to show where the funds were derived from.  There will also be a gift letter executed to evidence agreement that the funds are a gift, with no expectation of repayment.  This does not mean that the gift-giver cannot be repaid.  It simply means that there is an agreement and an understanding that the repayment is not required and hence subordinate to the SBA loan.  If a friend would like to supply a gift, the friend would need to have some type of small ownership shares in the company.  We can advise on this subject further.  A small share of ownership would not require the individual to be a guarantor on the loan.