Craft3 is a Seattle-based Community Development Financial Institution. Its last five-year strategic plan (2018-2022) calls for investments of $200 – $300 million in small businesses in Washington and Oregon, with an emphasis on businesses owned by people of color, women, immigrants, and veterans.
Craft 3 reserves the bulk of its capital for loans in the range of $250,000 to $3 million. This range exceeds the capacity of most community-oriented lenders. Craft 3 offers loans for business acquisition or partner buyouts, inventory financing, equipment purchase, real estate purchase or improvement, and debt restructuring.
Outcomes
In 2020, the latest year for which data is available, Craft 3 made 161 commercial loans for a total of nearly $34 million. It financed 28 startups (in operation for less than a year) – 96 businesses owned by people of color, women, immigrants, or veterans – and 77 businesses in high-poverty areas. Its lending created or retained over 300 living-wage jobs.