How Does an Impact Loan Work?

This Impact Loan Fund is governed by The Community Impact Fund. CIF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization responsible for responding to all inquiries, vetting all applications, and distributing funds to approved applicants.

CIF offers a 0% interest loan with a flexible payback schedule to individuals in need. It is meant to be used to help cover emergency expenses or to pay down high-interest debt that would otherwise set you back further financially. Examples of eligible expenses include:

• Housing expenses (rent, mortgage, utilities) 
• Healthcare
• Childcare
• Transportation
• Food
• Taxes
• Debt
• Other (ex. funeral expenses)

To qualify for a loan, an individual (Borrower) applies to CIF for consideration. CIF conducts diligence to ensure the borrower qualifies for assistance under IRS regulations and CIF policies and procedures. 

Applicants must be part-time or full-time employees at Marine Credit Union and have been employed for at least 30 days. You must be at least 18 years of age.

Loans are based on the needs cited in the application. The minimum loan amount you can request is $500. The maximum amount is $2000.

As part of the application process, applicants must sign a Promissory Note agreeing to pay the loan back within the outlined terms. The Promissory Note exists between the Borrower and the Community Impact Fund. Borrowers must pay back the loan even if their employment with the fund’s sponsoring organization or partnering organization should end.

A loan repayment schedule will be set up automatically for the full loan amount divided over 12 months. For example, payments for a $2000 loan will be $166.67 per month. Payments are automatically deducted from the personal banking account connected by the Borrower. Borrowers have the ability to select the day the payment is deducted and to change this date as needed.

Applicants can apply for as many loans as they need as long as the previous loan has been paid back. Borrowers can only have one outstanding at a time. In order to apply for another loan, applicants must still be employed with the organization and meet the eligibility requirements. Also, the relationship with their organization and with CIF is in good standing.

No, this loan has a 0% interest rate throughout the entirety of its term.

Approval decisions are made based upon the information provided by the applicant.  Applicants are required to provide a completed application, and must meet the criteria reviewed in the pre-check section of the application.

Once your application has been approved, the disbursement of your loan will be initiated by CIF. Your loan will be disbursed in full into the bank account you connected as part of your application. 

You will see your loan disbursement in your account within 1 to 4 BUSINESS DAYS of the loan being approved depending on your financial institution’s account requirements.

REMEMBER, weekends and national banking holidays affect this process as they are not considered business days. For example, if you submit your loan application on a Friday it may not be reviewed until Monday and if there are any outstanding requirements, it may not be approved until Tuesday. Then it can take 1-4 days from the approval date to receive your loan. This is still much faster than most loan applications and your loan will be interest-free! Hooray!

No, Impact Loans are not reported to the Credit Bureaus.

Sometimes you may be in a situation where you can’t make a payment. We do our best to support you by allowing you to occasionally defer a monthly payment. This moves the payment to the end of your repayment schedule so you will still need to pay it eventually but it does not collect interest. Borrowers have the option to make a prepayment to pay off the loan faster and any prepayment will be applied to the final monthly payment schedule. HOWEVER PLEASE NOTE: Making a manual payment DOES NOT cancel your automatic payment that is set to withdraw each month. Therefore, if you don’t wish to have the additional payment withdrawn, you must email loans@communityimpactfund.org at least FIVE DAYS prior to the day your payment is due.

If at any time you would like to change the day of the month that your automatic payment is deducted from your account, please login in to your loan profile via the Borrow Sign-In button at the top of this site and submit a Flexible Payment Request. Please note, you must make this request at least FIVE DAYS prior to the day your payment is due.

Yes, prepayments are applied to the final monthly installment. The borrower can make an ADDITIONAL payment by logging in to their profile and manually making a payment. HOWEVER PLEASE NOTE: Making a manual payment DOES NOT cancel your automatic payment that is set to withdraw each month. For example, if you choose to make a manual payment, it will be deducted IN ADDITION to your automatic monthly payment that is already scheduled. If you made a mistake and do not wish to have the additional payment withdrawn, you must email loans@communityimpactfund.org at least FIVE DAYS prior to the day your automatic payment is due.

Yes, absolutely. The Promissory Note you sign when you apply for and receive your loan is with the Community Impact Fund. Therefore, even if you leave voluntarily or are let go from your company, your loan is still due and we will be remaining in contact to ensure it does.

We want you to have success with your loan. The loan remains a 0% interest loan. If you miss a loan payment it is automatically added to the end of your repayment schedule extending your term. Your payments will continue to be withdrawn automatically each month, with each month’s missed payment still being due. You will be expected to pay next month’s payment and all remaining payments. However, we know tough situations arise (That’s why you applied for your loan in the first place!) The team at the Community Impact Fund is here to help. Rather than going silent, feeling scared or guilty about not being able to meet your monthly payment expectation, email the team at Loans@communityimpactfund.org and let’s figure out something together! Communication is key!

REMEMBER~ Every dollar you pay back on your loan goes back into the fund and allows your fellow employees to apply for a loan so we want to help even if it means paying what you can each month until it is paid off. Please visit the FAQ, What are the terms of the FLEXIBLE REPAYMENT SCHEDULE?, for more information on how to address repayment challenges. 

Any loans received by applicants will not be deemed as taxable income.

Please reach out to the Community Impact Fund’s (CIF) loan administration team at loans@communityimpactfund.org. Email is the best way to reach our team. If you do call, you will need to leave a voicemail with your FIRST & LAST NAME, THE NAME OF YOUR EMPLOYER AND YOUR PHONE NUMBER & YOUR EMAIL. We will do our best to return your call no later than the next BUSINESS day. Please note the CIF office is open Monday-Friday, 8am-3pm MST. We are closed on weekends and all national banking holidays. Loan applications and loan disbursements cannot be processed on the weekends.

10% of each loan is held as a “Savings Incentive Bonus” that will be payable to the Borrower as a bonus if they are able to start building an emergency savings account following the repayment of their loan. Please visit the Savings Incentive page on the main menu to learn about the program requirements.