Brightpoint wins $2.5M of Fort Wayne’s Legacy Fund to loan to small businesses | News

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WFFT) — Fort Wayne City Council granted Brightpoint $2.5 million for its Small Business Loan Project Tuesday.

That money will come out of the City’s Legacy Fund, which is meant to invest in transformational projects across the city.

As of December 31, 2023, the account holds $36,674,431.

The Legacy Joint Funding Committee originally denied Brightpoint’s request in May because they said it did not meet the Legacy Fund requirements.

However, City Councilman Russ Jehl, who is an unpaid board member with Brightpoint, pushed for another vote Tuesday, leapfrogging the Legacy Joint Funding Committee.

The vote passed 8-0 Tuesday.

City Councilwoman Michelle Chambers says she looks forward to the ways the loans will serve every area of the city.

“Legacy is transformational dollars… If we can get this $2.5 million out to the deserving entrepreneurs and small businesses, it would be transformational city-wide for that lending opportunity to take place for micro-loans for businesses,” Chambers said.

Brightpoint will loan small local businesses $500,000 a year through 2028 starting in September.

President and CEO Steve Hoffman says the money enables them to help several businesses every year, breathing life into under-served communities.

“I think small business development is perhaps the key strategy that we need in Fort Wayne, particularly in the southeast side and so forth. So this is gonna help us, and we’re all about Fort Wayne and our service area,” Hoffman said.

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