Nebraska Enterprise Fund Fuels New Businesses Through Development Services and Financing
- published: 2024/05/29
- contact: NBDC Communications - Nebraska Business Development Center
- phone: 402.554.6256
- email: kjefferson@unomaha.edu
Oakland, Nebraska – This story was originally published in the Nebraska Business Development Center 2023 Annual Report.
The Nebraska Enterprise Fund has been providing capital, training, mentoring and technical assistance to support entrepreneurs and new businesses for more than 30 years and continues to expand its product offerings and services to small business owners across the state.
In 2023, the Nebraska Enterprise Fund (NEF), headquartered in Oakland, partnered with SourceLink Nebraska to offer no-cost training opportunities to urban and rural communities. This collaborative effort, and the valuable services and financing the NEF has offered since 1993, have earned it the inaugural title of SourceLink Nebraska Resource Partner of the Year for 2023.
The fund and its $20 million in assets serve a wide array of entrepreneurs and small business owners, many of whom are either unable to obtain bank financing or are unable to get enough bank financing to fully fund their needs, says Jim Reiff, the NEF’s executive director since 2013.
“We approve about 75 loans a year for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $150,000,” Reiff says. “Many of our clients can obtain bank loans, but only enough to cover 60 percent to 80 percent of their needs.”
In the ongoing effort to provide new services, Reiff says the NEF is rolling out a “quick loan” program that will offer loans of $2,500. “For example, it’s a loan to help with cash flow, or to set up a website or buy a computer,” he says. “As they repay the quick loan, their credit score goes up, and it gives them time to write a business plan that will enable them to secure a larger loan.”
As a statewide microenterprise intermediary and Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the NEF provides critical business development services and financing to micro and small businesses. With a vision for a vibrant small business ecosystem where every entrepreneur has the opportunity to start, grow, and prosper, the fund supports underserved communities by ensuring access to training, technical assistance, and capital.
Specifically, the NEF serves a target market of traditionally disadvantaged small business owners including minorities, low-income individuals, women, and veterans. By empowering these groups with the tools and resources needed to turn their dreams into thriving ventures, the fund fosters both individual success stories and collective economic growth.
SourceLink Nebraska is a statewide program that connects entrepreneurs and business owners to resources that help start, scale, or accelerate businesses. The NBDC is the host for the program.
Since launching in November 2021, SourceLink Nebraska has grown significantly as a resource hub for entrepreneurs and business owners across the state. The program website now showcases more than 950 partner organization resource profiles and provides guides and a training video library tailored to business needs.
SourceLink Nebraska also lists local events for networking and business development. In 2023, SourceLink made 6,046 direct referrals to resource partners, in addition to 133,318 referrals through its search tool, The Resource Navigator®, according to Program Director Scott Asmus. In 2024, SourceLink Nebraska continues to connect entrepreneurs and business owners to the tools, knowledge, and organizations that can support their business journey.
To further economic development, SourceLink Nebraska partnered with the NEF, Cline Williams law firm, and several other organizations to offer “Building a Business: 2023 Legal Series for Small Business” training sessions.
In the series, attorneys provided legal information relevant to small business owners in a mix of virtual and in-person sessions. Topics included hiring best practices, contracts, staying in business, and recurring B.A.I.L (Banker-Accountant-Insurance-Legal) overviews. By making these sessions accessible online and on-site in North Omaha, an Opportunity Zone, the collaboration was able to deliver vital legal guidance to small business owners across Nebraska.
The “2023 Creative Marketing Series” provided information through a collaboration between the NEF, SourceLink Nebraska, Grow Nebraska Foundation, Grow Nebraska Women’s Business Center, SCORE and the NBDC. Offered virtually, the sessions covered core aspects of creative marketing including social media engagement, visual branding, digital advertising, viral content strategies, and leveraging influencers.
Asmus says these collaborative training sessions “have been instrumental in turning around struggling entrepreneurs, while catalyzing growth for existing businesses ready to take their next step.”
He lauds Reiff for his management of the NEF. “Jim has led the Nebraska Enterprise Fund in opening new satellite offices outside of Omaha to be more accessible to rural entrepreneurs,” Asmus says. “He has also diversified the organization’s funding sources, nearly doubling contributed revenue in just three years. Thanks to Jim’s bold vision and principled approach, the Nebraska Enterprise Fund is now larger, more sustainable, and serves more small businesses than ever.”
Jim has led the Nebraska Enterprise Fund in opening new satellite offices outside of Omaha to be more accessible to rural entrepreneurs...He has also diversified the organization’s funding sources, nearly doubling contributed revenue in just three years.
Reiff says he regularly communicates with Asmus and other NBDC program directors, including various NBDC consultants around the state who assist clients with writing business plans and financial projections, as well as consultants with the APEX Accelerator program for government contracting. “We talk with each other to maximize what each of us is doing,” he says.
SourceLink Nebraska, he says, “is really the connector of the ecosystem for small businesses in Nebraska. It is expanding our marketing capacity, and improving overall awareness of the opportunities available to small businesses. It’s truly a partnership.”