As a small business owner, I know what it feels like to face a project and wonder, “How am I going to pay for this?” More importantly, “How am I going to do it with sky-high interest rates?” The first question is one all small business owners will face at some point in their careers. The second is one we’re experiencing right now, but together we can get through it with a tool many Iowa small business owners and their financial institutions might not know about.
As state treasurer, I oversee Iowa’s Pooled Money Fund. This particular account in our state’s portfolio is created to invest public funds not immediately needed to meet current expenses. A portion of the Pooled Money Fund can be used for investment back into our state to help spur economic growth and make our communities stronger. This portion, called Iowa’s Linked Investments for Tomorrow (LIFT) Program, awards small businesses in Iowa with low-interest loans through their local financial institutions. In an effort to make meaningful investment into our communities both rural and urban, LIFT is targeted at small businesses with net worth below $975,000 and gross annual sales of $2 million or less. If your business is looking to acquire new machinery, expand operations or build new capital, LIFT could be the right opportunity for you to get a low-interest loan and make those improvements you’ve needed.
Each year, financial institutions approach my office to offer low-interest loans to Iowa small businesses through LIFT. While this program sees ebbs and flows depending on prime interest rates in the normal market, when rates are high, like they are now, taking a look at a LIFT small business loan might be a good avenue for your loan portfolio.
While the LIFT small business loans are open to any Iowa business, half of the available program funds each year are reserved for those businesses majority owned and operated by one or more women, an individual with minority status, an individual with a disability or a veteran of the United States.
In order to get started with a LIFT small business loan application, approach your financial institution and complete the normal lending process. Once they give the OK, the financial institution can apply on behalf of the small business for the LIFT program administered by my office. If approved, my office will purchase a certificate of deposit at the financial institution and in turn, they’ll use those funds to make the loan to the small business.
Across the state, participation in the LIFT small business loan program varies from lender to lender. If you approach your lender and they have questions about the program, please don’t hesitate to have them reach out to my office or visit IowaLIFT.gov. It’s my hope that together we can get through these times of high-interest rates and still make meaningful investments and grow businesses right here in Iowa.
Roby Smith is Iowa’s State Treasurer. He began his tenure in 2023.
