What is DSELF?

Acting under the umbrella of the DSA, the Downtown Stockton Enterprise Loan Fund (DSELF) is a non-profit, multi-bank community development corporation created to facilitate economic development in Stockton’s economically under-served central city.

The DSELF achieves economic development through:

Facilitating the growth of small to mid-sized businesses, and,
Attracting, creating, and retaining new jobs.

The DSELF is intended to provide traditional and “gap” financing by providing small business loans to entrepreneurs who cannot obtain a complete package of conventional financing.

Loan amounts are $25,000 to $65,000.
Interest rates are tied to market rates at Prime, as shown in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), plus two percent (2%).
DSELF Administrator, Courtney Wood, is the initial point of contact for all individuals seeking a DSELF loan. Her contact information is (209)888-8630, [email protected].
Background and financial information required from applicants is similar to the San Joaquin County Revolving Loan Fund. The DSELF’s business loan manager is Steve Lantsberger from the RLF. He provides loan analysis and recommendations to the DSELF Board of Directors.
The DSELF Board of Directors, composed of a mix of commercial lenders, small business owners, and economic development professionals, meet on a monthly basis at the DSA offices to make DSELF decisions, and to declare final loan approval or denial.

Read the following sections of this page to learn more about the DSELF and loan approval process.

Loan Program Summary

Past DSELF Recipient: The Campus Downtown

Eligibility

As a general policy, the DSELF considers only desirable ventures for funding in the Downtown Stockton PBID area. Click here for map.
Loans are typically made to small businesses with growth potential that do not meet traditional lending criteria. Ideal recipients include:
- Businesses with demonstrated growth potential needing loans for operating capital, tenant improvements, and expansion;
- Building/property renovation for projects housing growing downtown businesses, and/or downtown living units on upper floors;
- Start-up businesses providing a needed product or service with a high propensity for success in downtown.
While not excluding start-ups and other higher risk ventures, DSELF recognizes that the risk inherent in such projects warrants special scrutiny.
Not-for-profit organizations are not eligible for loans from the DSELF.
DSELF requires that landlords subordinate to the DSELF if a lease is personally guaranteed.

Past DSELF Recipient: J. Rusten Furniture Studio

Loan Application and Approval Process

The DSELF four-part approval process is outlined below:

Pre-Qualification, which entails the initial application and non-refundable $200 fee, credit score check, executive summary, and interview with the DSELF Administrator
- The initial application can be submitted online HERE, or in person using THIS FORM. Once your initial application has been submitted you have 90 days to submit all remaining materials.
Pre-Approval, which involves the submittal of 19 items outlined in the pre-approval checklist.
DSELF Board Interview
DSELF Board Vote

Specific requirements for each step are outlined in the full DSELF application guide. The applicant will work primarily with the DSELF Administrator to ensure all materials are submitted and steps are completed.

NOTE: Applicants have 90 days from the submittal of their initial application to submit all Pre-Qualification and Pre-Approval materials. It is strongly suggested that applicants review all requirements and prepare all necessary Phase 1 and Phase 2 materials BEFORE submitting an initial application, in order to ensure that they will meet the 90-day deadline.

Length of approval process varies in accordance with the amount of time an applicant takes to generate and submit all materials to the DSELF Administrator.