On Wednesday, June 23, NewTown Macon announced a $1 million pledge has been made by the Phil J and Alice S Sheridan Foundation to NewTown Macon’s Godsey Initiatives Fund. This pledge will help start Central Georgia’s first Community Development Financial Institution, known as NewTown Loans. Supported by parent company NewTown Macon, NewTown Loans works with underserved real estate developers and entrepreneurs and provides them with the coaching, funding, and inspirational capital needed to improve properties, grow sustainable businesses, and transform neighborhoods.  

“Phil and Alice Sheridan were a nurturing couple and nurturing these entrepreneurs, who can then grow to nurture others, is exactly how they wanted to give back,” said Chris R Sheridan, chairman of the Sheridan Foundation Board of Directors. “NewTown is a great partner in this pursuit.”  

The Sheridan Foundation’s pledge will be invested into the Godsey Initiatives Fund over the next five years and will provide loan capital to support businesses and real estate projects owned by entrepreneurs of color and women in Macon-Bibb County. Additionally, the gift will help support NewTown Loan’s coaching and technical assistance services that help entrepreneurs build the skills needed to operate successful and sustainable businesses. On average, NewTown Loans staff spend 275 hours coaching each individual loan borrower.

This investment will help NewTown Loans create pathways out of poverty by assisting entrepreneurs who have traditionally been denied access to capital, which is a giving priority of the Phil J and Alice S Sheridan Foundation. According to a study by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, black business owners have a net worth that is twelve times greater than black non-business owners. Investing in individuals to help them own and operate successful businesses provides an opportunity to decrease the poverty rate in Macon-Bibb County and build generational wealth. 

“Many of our clients at NewTown Loans are first-time borrowers, low-income residents, women, or entrepreneurs of color who need an accessible and trusted financing source like NewTown Loans to fund and build their business,” said Bethany Rogers, Executive Director of NewTown Loans. “The generous gift from the Sheridan Foundation greatly improves our capacity to invest in and support our client base and, ultimately, to help them grow their personal wealth and better provide for their families.”   

Additionally, the Sheridan Foundation’s pledge will help leverage a $1 million challenge grant from the Atlanta-based Woodruff Foundation. The Woodruff Foundation’s challenge grant will also be invested in the Godsey Initiatives Fund to support coaching services and provide capital for real estate developers and entrepreneurs who cannot access traditional financing. 

Entrepreneurs and commercial real estate investors who cannot access financing or are interested in training opportunities from NewTown Loans can visit www.newtownmacon.com/loans for more information.