image by Orphum

Our Affordable Housing Loans category is open to people who are currently living in an apartment that we consider not affordable when compared to present income. It may be that you have trouble paying energy costs or have high transportation costs to get to work or school. Most often applicants don’t feel safe or are living in substandard conditions and better housing can improve their situation in life. We offer loans to secure or top up damage deposit registration with the Rentalsman and, if needed, moving expenses and utilties connection deposits. Ideally, we look to have you move into a place that has an “all included” rent structure to control variable costs.  We do not loan for arrears in rent or utilities as they do not create assets for an individual. The following must apply to your current situation:

• Hold no rent arrears with current Landlord / Property Manager
• Have not entered into a lease or verbal agreement for a new apartment
• Have a good and recent landlord reference
• Willing to have your current and future apartment inspected by us, if necessary

In all cases you must meet some the following criteria like:

• Be living at or near the low income cutoff for family income in NB (Page 5 – here)
• Have little to no liquidable assets
• Poor or zero credit

We can help – please call 506-652-LOAN (5626) to make an appointment to see us and get more details.

The Saint John Community Loan Fund has been helping people create income, build assets and become self-reliant since 1999.

The Saint John Community Loan Fund is an enterprising community based organization that helps people create income, build assets and attain greater self reliance. We recruit investors to build a pool of capital from which we make micro loans. Loans are used for business, employment and for housing. We provide training in business start up, in leadership and financial literacy. We work with many ages including youth in our summer entrepreneur program. Two years ago we bought and renovated a vacant building which provides our office as well as two units of affordable housing. In the next two years we will build a multi use building that will mix enterprising non-profit space with rent to own housing. At the Provincial level we are involved in designing the social enterprise framework for New Brunswick as part of the provinces Poverty Reduction Plan. If you are interested in having an impact and belonging to an enterprising culture, please apply!

Office Administrator and Money Coach

You are an exceptionally well organized individual who has experience providing office administration. You enjoy being given tasks and completing them, as well as trouble shooting problems and creating efficiencies. You are also very comfortable working with people.

This job combines two types of personalities. You will be the office administrator roughly 50% of the time and provide one-on-one money coaching the other 50% of your time. So, you will provide file management, bookkeeping, mailing and correspondence, scheduling, phone and front desk reception support, aka office administration. You will then use your budgeting knowledge and your incredible communicating ability to provide training support and one-on-one money coaching to our post program financial literacy clients.

You will be an expert in Simply Accounting and Excel, and be awesome in other Microsoft programs. This is one of those jobs that will push make use of all of your abilities, making use of your hard and soft skills.

Business and Employment Coach

We’re looking for an individual who has run a business and has energy and experience to share. You have experienced barriers yourself and understand the challenges in starting a business or getting back to work. You are a great communicator, organized, excel at marketing, enjoy trouble shooting challenges and finding creative solutions.

Your job will be to meet with both self-employment and employment training program participants involved in our Enterprising Women and A$$ets programs. You will meet one on one to help individuals attain their goals. You will coordinate post class activity by organizing trade fairs, peer learning opportunities, assist with marketing and website presence, as well as provide some in class support to the Enterprising Women and A$$ets coordinators. You will be in class some days, and other days visiting with self-employed women at their business locations.

You excel in an entrepreneurial environment and embrace change. You have software and communication skills to match.

To apply

Please send your resume and engaging cover letter to Seth Asimakos at loanfund@nbnet.nb.ca by Sunday, January 22, 2012. The position provides a 35 hour work week, three weeks’ paid vacation and flexible office hours. Staff is welcome to join a health benefits plan shared with the organization after three months. The salary range will depend on qualifications and experience. We appreciate all who take the time to apply but we will be contacting only those who are invited to an interview.

Full ads for these 2 exciting positions to share are here and here

                                                                       Jennifer Law of Petit Gâteau Cupcakes 

Loan Fund offering FREE Women’s Entrepreneurial Course!

Saint John, NB – January 10, 2012: Enterprising Women, a free women’s entrepreneurial training program will begin mid February for women living in Saint John and is offered by the Saint John Community Loan Fund.  Running from February through to June, students will learn the ins and outs of business start up, business plan writing and receive support – all geared toward their business launch.  The only requirement of the program is to have a business idea, and women must be unemployed, or underemployed.

This is the fifth class of Enterprising Women to be offered, and previous programs have helped with the launch of several new businesses in Saint John and the surrounding area.  For women looking to start their business, or need more knowledge in operating their existing business, Enterprising Women can help!

Over the course of 4 months, women will meet 2 evenings per week to learn how to conduct market research, create financials – creating a business plan and learning valuable skills such as conflict resolution, goal setting and more.  With the added incentive of a matched savings program, women will have personal contributions to start their business or leverage to receive additional capital as well as 2 years of post program support through the eXcel program – providing monthly meetings, mentorship and public opportunities for their businesses.

Enterprising Women is being supported with funding from the Canadian Women’s Foundation, which, through its economic development fund, supports innovative programs, policy and research to end women’s poverty.

Applications are now available and the deadline to apply is January 31, 2012. Everyone is invited to contact Melanie Vautour at the Saint John Community Loan Fund to apply or to learn more about the Enterprising Women program or visit us online at www.loanfund.ca

Contact information:

Melanie Vautour

(506) 652-5601

enterprise@loanfund.ca

A special thanks to enterprising women Manon and Jennifer for taking time out of their day to illustrate how their training is having a positive impact on their businesses and fulfilling the mission.

Steven had recently moved back to Saint John and was looking to further his career at sea. Until then he worked aboard Lobster boats and part time in a family business and while that paid the bills he could only work seasonally, so he made a plan. Steven worked with an employment counsellor at Training, Skills and Development and they came up with a “back to school” funding strategy as he needed a certificate in Marine Safety and First Aid offered by Holland College . Well that only covered 50% of the tuition and some allowance for travel so he was referred to our office. Steven had a job offer in hand and a plan, the two basics we required so we partnered with TSD and Steven and happily loaned him the balance of what he needed. He wasn’t able to stay on board with a local Marine operator he went to work for initially due to local ship traffic being a bit lower than expected. That was the challenge. So Steven fanned out his search to Ontario where he had connections and then landed a job with McKiel Marine  a large operator in the Great Lakes where he is working today. Way to go Steven and keep in touch!

photo by SOCIALisBETTER

Our Employment Loans category is open to people who have a confirmed job offer but need something related to that job in order to start off on the right foot. It could be that you’ve been out of the workforce for sometime or you’re getting a higher rate of pay in a new position. Some examples of what you might need are:

• New wardrobe or safety clothing / gear
• Certificates, First Aid / CPR, Second Language
• Licensing Fees
• Tools of the trade
• Computer / Cellular equipment

In all cases you must meet some the following criteria like:

• Be living at or near the low income cutoff for family income in NB (Page 5 – here)
• Have little to no liquidable assets
• Poor or zero credit

We can help – please call 506-652-LOAN (5626) to make an appointment to see me and get more details. Congratulations on the new job!

The Saint John Community Loan Fund has been helping people create income, build assets and become self-reliant since 1999.

Today we join other organizations across the country raising awareness of financial literacy issues we all face. A big part of our job is provide resources and training for individuals from our surrounding community who need a helping hand whether it’s to develop personal budget or tips on how to save money.

Our activities this month will include:

• Sending out some money management tips and facts via Twitter and Facebook
• Engaging with the public at our local shopping center community kiosk
• Hand delivering a brochure for our Money Matter$ program to our neighbourhood.

Personal Finance Tip #1 - Denied credit? Preparing to make a significant financial decision? You need to check your credit file, it’s free and easy. The agencies that look after your file are Equifax and Transunion.

This was timely as the Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities had their annual get-together to discuss today’s complex issues and enrich their research.

We’ll upload the 1 hour radio session Seth hosted when we get a copy.

Think big!