SBA presents $750,000 check to New York’s Excelsior Growth fund

ALBANY, N.Y. — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded $750,000 to the Excelsior Growth Fund (EGF) to benefit startup and existing entrepreneurs in New York.

Bernard J. Paprocki, executive director of the SBA Syracuse district office, on Feb. 21 presented the check to Pat MacKrell, CEO of the Excelsior Growth Fund, during a visit to Albany, the SBA said in a news release issued Monday.

The nonprofit, New York City–based Excelsior Growth Fund (EGF) promotes economic development and job creation in New York by providing “streamlined” access to small-business loans and business-advisory services, according to its website.

The U.S. Department of Treasury certifies the Excelsior Growth Fund as a community development financial institution (CDFI).

Intermediaries such as the Excelsior Growth fund use SBA’s microloan-program funds to make small loans in amounts ranging from under $500 up to $50,000 for “typical” business purposes.

The microloan program also provides business-based training and technical assistance to micro borrowers to help them start or grow their businesses, the SBA said.

“We are proud to be partners with Excelsior Growth Fund in delivering valuable assistance in order to start and grow local small businesses,” Paprocki said in the SBA news release.

“The SBA microloan program will allow us to have an increased impact in delivering loan capital to small businesses that experience difficulty accessing financing. We thank the U.S. Small Business Administration for their dedication to growing this important program,” Patrick MacKrell, CEO of Excelsior Growth Fund, added.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

PHOTO CAPTION: Patrick MacKrell (left), CEO of the Excelsior Growth Fund, and Bernard J. Paprocki, executive director of the Syracuse district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), hold the check for $750,000 that the SBA presented to the nonprofit organization on Feb. 21. (Photo credit: U.S. Small Business Administration)