Philadelphia Growth, Resiliency, Independence, Tenacity Fund (PHL GRIT Fund)

Geographic Scope: Philadelphia region and Greater Philadelphia

Focus Areas:

• Support for Black and Brown-owned small businesses
• Access to capital and working capital financing
• Business counseling and technical assistance
• Professional advisory services

Overview:
The PHL GRIT Fund is a $100 million program launched by the Greater Philadelphia Financial Services Leadership Coalition (GPFSLC), a coalition of approximately 30 financial institutions, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CDFI Network, and Urban Affairs Coalition. The fund aims to build capacity of Philadelphia's community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and increase access to capital while providing business counseling through professional services.

Key Achievements:

• Since program launch in February 2022, 525 loans approved
• 70% of loans for Black and Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses
• 30% of loans for Asian, multi-racial, and other minority-owned businesses
• Over 50% of five-year goal of 1,000 loans reached in under two years

How It Works:

• Regional bank commitments partner with CDFIs to provide lending and advisory services
• CDFIs provide initial advisory work and technical assistance
• Businesses can graduate from CDFI relationships to conventional commercial bank customers
• Increased CDFI capacity in three areas: back-office loan operations, capital for investing, and professional advisory services

Member Financial Institutions:
Asian Bank, Bank of America, Customers Bank, Citizens Bank, Fulton Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., M&T Bank, PNC Bank, TD Bank, Univest, United Bank of Philadelphia, Wells Fargo, WSFS Bank

Coalition Partners:
City of Philadelphia, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Urban Affairs Coalition

Participating Philadelphia CDFIs:

• Beech Capital Venture Corporation
• Community First Fund
• Entrepreneur Works
• The Enterprise Center
• Neighborhood Progress Fund
• PIDC
• Reinvestment Fund
• VestedIn Women's Opportunities Resource Center
• IMPACT LOAN FUND INC