Driving Our Economy Forward: TVFCU Idea Leap Grant

Startup capital is essential for any new business. For 9 years, TVFCU has provided that funding through its Idea Leap Program.

Marcus Cade-Johnson, the Director of Corporate Engagement at TVFCU, said, “IDEA LEAP small business loan program is the Credit Union’s effort to support small and startup businesses in our 17 County service area. So, a quick backstory on that, traditionally it’s very difficult for newer businesses to get startup capital. So what IDEA LEAP does is provide up to $75,000 of startup financing for new or early-stage businesses that operate in our 17-county service area. We’ve been doing IDEA LEAP now the actual Loan program, for 8 years. We’ve had our grant program. We’ve just opened up our eighth annual grant cycle.”

On February 9th TVFCU will be announcing the semi-finalists for the 2025 Idea Leap small business grant.  Cade-Johnson said, “We all know that small businesses drive our economy and so one of the things that IDEA LEAP does is that we provide essentially micro loans. Like, the average IDEA LEAP loan is about $28,000.

“We provide those loan opportunities for those small businesses. And the other key part about IDEA LEAP is that we connect small business owners to other small business incubators around town. So, for instance, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center is one connection point that we have for small businesses to be able to go and get resources whether that’s marketing help, data analytics. We also work with the Urban League and other nonprofits around town that specialize in focusing on helping small businesses in our community.”

Cocoa Assante was the previous grant winner for the Idea Leap grant competition.  Southern Soul Yoga was the grand prize winner for last year’s IDEA LEAP program.

Cade-Johnson added, “We know that Chattanooga is small business friendly. And so, we feel like that our IDEA LEAP Loan program fits perfectly in that. Where if you’re a young entrepreneur, if you’re a newer business and you’re trying to find some capital. And you don’t need you know a ton of capital; IDEA LEAP is the perfect option for you. Follow us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. We make a lot of announcements about just what we do as a credit union. But more specifically about business and commercial services. We’ll be announcing our semi-finalist grant winners next month. So you want to be looking out for your favorite small business. ”

For more information go to tvfcu.com.

Categories: Driving Our Economy Forward, Featured