Our loan programs are flexible and can provide funding for nearly any business need—from hiring employees and purchasing equipment to acquiring real estate.

Your interest rate and repayment term will be customized for your business. Your lender will discuss these factors with you as part of the loan application process. Grow America offers highly competitive interest rates and loan terms of up to 25 years, which results in affordable monthly payments for borrowers. 

Remember to consider both your interest rate and term when evaluating loan options, as these factors together will determine the affordability of your monthly payment.

There are no prepayment penalties for loans under 10 years. For loans with terms of 10 years or more, prepayment penalties are low and the penalty disappears after 3 years of repayment.

Fees will be customized for your loan, and are very transparent and will be itemized for you. Grow America charges modest and customary fees. We do pass on fees that are required for loan closing, such as appraisals, liens, and required third-party reports.

Your lender will work with you one-on-one to discuss your business and financial situation and see if your request is a fit with one of our loan solutions. However, in general, if you answer “yes” to all or most of the following questions, your business is ready to take on debt:

• Is your business profitable (if not, can you show how a loan will help to turn that around)? Or, is your business a start-up with strong projections?
• Do you pay yourself a salary? If you do not, does your business generate enough cash and profits to pay you a livable salary?
• Are you current on all personal and business taxes?
• Can you comfortably pay any existing business debt or other loans?

• Step 1: To start the process with Grow America, submit an initial inquiry here.
• Step 2: After you submit an initial inquiry, your lender will let you know if you are pre-qualified for a loan in approximately 2 business days. If so, they’ll set up a one-on-one meeting to meet you and get a sense of how you’ll use the money and the basics of your business’s financial situation.

• Step 4: Your lender will then put together a customized application and document list for you based on your needs, guiding you along the way as to what’s required.

• Step 5: Your loan is approved and disbursed.

The length of the process greatly depends on your ability to provide the necessary documentation and respond to your lender’s questions. A typical loan process takes 45-60 days from application to funding.

You will need to submit four basic documents to get started and submit a loan inquiry:

• Most recent business tax returns
• Most recent personal tax return
• Year-to-date business profit and loss statement (P&L) 
• Personal financial statement (PFS), which is a summary of your total assets and liabilities. Grow America can provide a template for the required PFS or can provide you with access to its easy-to-use online platform so that you can complete the form

After reviewing these documents, your lender will provide you with a customized list of other documents and pieces of information that will be required to move forward.

The SBA provides a guarantee for a portion of each 7(a) loan to Grow America, which increases the level of risk we are able to take on a loan. This means we are able to approve loans that fall outside the criteria for traditional bank loans and help both established and new businesses gain increased access to funding.

We recognize that SBA 7(a) loans are rigorous, as the SBA requires a comprehensive application process and supporting documentation in order to provide the loan’s guarantee. This investment of your time is a tradeoff for longer terms and lower monthly payments. This supports your business’s growth in the long run and will help unlock access to other financing opportunities in the future.

To start the process for a new Grow America loan, please submit a loan inquiry here. If you are an existing borrower with a question about your account, email servicing@growamerica.org.

You can access your account details, including balance, payment history, and statements by contacting the loan servicing department or viewing your monthly statements.

Your next payment due date is listed in your monthly statement. If you still aren’t sure what your loan payment date is, please contact the loan servicing department for clarification.

Yes, but please check your loan agreement for any prepayment penalties. Some loans allow early payments without fees, while others may charge a percentage of the outstanding balance. If you aren’t sure, contact the loan servicing department.

Please contact the servicing department and we will send you an ACH authorization form to complete. You will need to return it along with a voided check.

Please contact the servicing department. Payoff letters typically take 1–3 business days to process.

These documents may be available in your Spark account portal. If they are not available there, please contact the servicing department and we will provide them to you.

Please notify the loan servicing department via email and provide documentation such as an updated business license, utility bill, or business lease agreement.

Business ownership or legal structure changes must be reported immediately, as they may affect your loan terms. This requires a review and approval before finalizing any changes. Please contact the servicing department if there are any legal changes to your business.

Yes. Your loan agreements require annual or quarterly submission of financial statements, tax returns, updated debt schedule, and other financial information as needed.

The rules vary but might include things like making sure you earn enough to cover your payments, not taking on too much debt, or keeping enough cash on hand. We’ll review your financial statements once or twice a year to make sure you’re meeting these requirements.

Yes, depending on your situation and specific loan policies. Contact the servicing department to start the review process.

Please notify the servicing department in advance, typically 60–90 days before your loan term is scheduled to end. You will need to provide updated financials and undergo a financial review.

If you’re having trouble paying your loan, please contact the servicing department immediately. Early communication can open up options such as restructuring, payment plans, or temporary relief.

Yes. The loan agreement requires you to keep any insurance policies that were required during the closing process active. This may include active property, liability, worker compensation, and/or life insurance.

If your insurance policy expires, you will be in default under your loan agreement. We may then buy insurance for you and charge you for it. This insurance usually costs more than regular insurance and only protects us, not you.

In many cases, yes, especially for loans secured by real estate. Please submit paid tax receipts annually or as requested.

Contact our servicing department and send us proof that the property has been fixed or replaced and that no one else has a lien on it.

We’ll use the life insurance payout to pay down what you owe on the loan.

Contact the servicing department or call the servicing department’s main line listed on your statements and your closing package.

Email: servicing@growamerica.org
Phone: 1-800-501-7489 option 2.

Please report the issue to the servicing department in writing as soon as possible. Include supporting documentation to help us look into the issue quickly.

You’re in default of your loan if you miss payments, break the loan rules (covenants), file for bankruptcy, lose or damage your collateral, or don’t provide us with the financial documents we need when we request them.

Consequences may include late fees, requests to pay back your loan more quickly or immediately, legal action, seizure of collateral, and damage to your credit.

You need to pay off what you owe or get a new loan before the end date. If you can’t pay it off or get a new loan from another lender, please let us know 60-90 days ahead of time.

Yes, subject to underwriting approval. You may need to submit updated financials and go through a streamlined application process.