Company: Seedco Financial, New York, NY
Entry Submitted By: Stanton Public Relations & Marketing
Company Description: Seedco Financial is a national Community Development Financial Institution that fills niche gaps -- providing affordable capital, hands on technical assistance and innovative solutions to small businesses and non-profit organizations -- to stimulate economic development in communities that are underserved by traditional banking institutions.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Overall Company of the Year – Service Businesses – up to 100 Employees

Nomination Title: Seedco Financial

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated company during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

Small businesses and nonprofit organizations have been devastated by the
economic crisis of 2008 and continue to face unprecedented challenges. Through
high-touch technical assistance programs and specialized lending products, Seed
co Financial makes a difference in the lives of our borrowers, which in turn
become more deeply rooted in their communities.

From July 1, 2008 through September 29, 2009 Seedco Financial has:
•             Provided 214 loans to small businesses and nonprofits totaling $ 16 million
•             Created 327* new jobs and ensured the retention of 636" ("projected)
•             Disbursed 120 loans to minority and women-owned businesses totaling $7.5 million

Specific projects include:

Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Louisiana in August 2008, just three years
after hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf coast. Gustav was the second
most destructive hurricane of the 2008 season, triggering the largest evacuation
in US history. With experience gained from providing crisis response during
Hurricane Katrina, Seedco Financial sprang into action. Within one week Seed co
Financial offered small businesses: (a) deferment of loan repayments to
borrowers in good standing; (b) technical assistance to manage business
interruptions; and (c) emergency support for fisheries in the region, including
recovery loans and temporary payment relief as well as the development of a
custom seasonal loan repayment schedule that accommodates borrowers with reduced
payments during the off-season. Since the storms hit the region, Seedco
Financial has deployed more than $26 million in emergency loans to approximately
1,000 small businesses.

In January 2009, Seedco Financial provided $8 million to support the
construction of a new outpatient facility in Fresno, CA. Currently underinsured
or uninsured community members have to go to the emergency room for basic care.
The investment provides for construction of a Care Center located in downtown
Fresno to serve the community's low-income, predominantly Hispanic residents.
Additionally, the project creates 1 50 construction jobs in a community where
unemployment is more than 1.5 times the national average.

Helping low-income families and the environment are the keys behind an energy
efficiency grant Seedco Financial disbursed in November 2008 in partnership with
Habitat for Humanity in Rutherford, TN. Tameka Nelson, 31, a single mother of
six children supports her family as a floor manager at the local McDonald's. She
went from paying $380 a month in rent for a low-income subsidized apartment to
just $370 a month as the owner of her own certified affordable EarthCraft™ House
(central Tennessee's first certified affordable housing project). Her 3D-year
mortgage is a no-interest loan. "It has really boosted my children's
self-esteem," Nelson said.

An energy project resulting in a 27 percent reduction in a building's overall
energy use, the equivalent of taking 15 households permanently off the electric
grid and saving 30 households' worth of natural gas each year .- is exactly what
happened when Seedco Financial identified a financing gap in energy retrofits
for multifamily apartment buildings in New York's underserved neighborhoods.

These are the kinds of projects that Seedco Financial believes in - funding
projects that build roots enabling communities to grow.

List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

CNN Video Clip of Louisiana Fisheries Support:
http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2009/08/21/n_cmr_nola_seedco.cnnmoney/

Links to Various News Reports on Communities Supported by Seedco Financial:
http://seedcofinancial.org/coverage/

Hurricane Gustav Support:
http://seedcofinancial.org/email/2008-09-08-louisiana/

Commitment to Support Small Business During Economic Crisis:
http://www.seedcofinancial.org/email/2009-02-05-newsletter/letter.pdf

Lesia Bates Moss Appointed President of Seedco Financial:
http://seedcofinancial.org/press/?id=105

Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated company (up to 100 words):

Lesia Bates Moss is President of Seedco Financial Services.

Previously, at Fannie Mae, she led efforts to revamp financial and credit risk
analysis activities. Through her leadership, Lesia mitigated risk to minimize
losses from distressed sub-prime lenders, and the company was able to avoid
several hundred million dollars in losses. Lesia has also held positions at
Moody's Investors Service and Chemical Bank.

Committed to community service, Lesia serves on the Board of the
Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, and is a member of the Executive
Leadership Council. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Lesia holds a
Masters from New York University.