Bear Paw offers loans, services to businesses

Northern Montanans who want to start or expand a business may be eligible for help under a program operated by Bear Paw Development Corp.

Bear Paw, a Havre-based nonprofit development corporation, has funds available to lend at favorable terms and in-house assistance available to help with completing loan application paperwork.

Bear Paw partners with area banks to offer a full range of business financing options and to help fund larger projects.

“Spring always seems like it’s a pretty good time for business owners or aspiring entrepreneurs to take the next step to open a new business or expand an existing one,” said Paul Tuss, Bear Paw’s executive director.

“The good news is that we have money to lend, our terms are great, we have all the technical assistance you’ll ever need to help complete a loan application and every dollar in our loan fund stays right here in northern Montana to help the next business who may need assistance.”

In addition to funding available to lend to businesses, every new loan created between now and Sept. 30, would automatically receive a $125 gift certificate to one of two great Montana-made businesses located in the region. Bear Paw has partnered with the Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton and Bear Paw Meats of Chinook and Havre to offer a $125 gift certificate to every new business that books a loan with the organization this year.

“We work with great businesses every day that are doing incredible things to grow our regional economy,” Tuss said.

“We simply want to do what we can on our end to make sure that the business financing needs in our area are being met,” said Tiffany Melby, loan officer for Bear Paw Development. “Whether it’s financing that also includes a bank or stand-alone financing through just our loan fund, we want the entrepreneurial community to be aware of what we have to offer,” she said.

The organization is host to the regional Small Business Development Center, funded in part by the federal Small Business Administration, Montana Department of Commerce and local banks.

“The SBDC’s mission is to prepare entrepreneurs to take the next step and help them be successful. The technical assistance and business counseling services we have here at Bear Paw really make us a one-stop-shop for nearly every entrepreneurial need you can imagine. This takes a lot of the guesswork and confusion out of the business plan development and loan application process,” Tuss said.