December 2023 SBA and Resource Partner Workshops
CDR Receives a $10,000 Impact Grant from FNBO
MBJ - Meeting a Housing Need: CDR Expands
https://mbj.com/meeting-a-housing-need-community-development-resources-expands/
CDR Welcomes New Executive Director
Community Development Resources (CDR) Board of Directors recently announced the selection of Farshad Maltes as its new Executive Director. Farshad started with CDR in early December following a national search for an executive director which CDR has not had in place since the passing of their founder Rick Wallace in 2016.
“Farshad brings a unique set of skills and abilities that will truly advantage Lincoln’s aggressive affordable housing development goals,” said Mark Hesser, CDR board chair. “He is recognized as a national expert on many of the complex financial instruments CDR seeks to incorporate into our local affordable housing development efforts, and we are lucky to bring his skills to our community.”
Community Development Resources is a nonprofit community development financial institution whose purpose is to provide financing for economic and affordable housing development activities that primarily benefit low-income populations and neighborhoods. CDR was originally founded in 1994 to provide loans and technical assistance to low income and minority individuals looking to start or grow their small business.
In early 2022, CDR went through a strategic change adding financing and technical assistance for affordable housing to their portfolio of work. The transition to the new strategy and purpose was led by Mark Hansen, who served as interim executive director until Maltes was hired.
Maltes joins CDR with more than 30 years of experience in community development financing. He most recently served as the President/CEO of Community Capital New York, and prior to that worked for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Throughout his career Maltes has overseen multiple small business, commercial real estate, and affordable housing lending programs benefit low-income communities, managing portfolios as large as $575 million.
“Both Lincoln and Nebraska in general have a refreshing unified focus on solving the affordable housing challenges in our communities,” said Maltes. “There is agreement on the need for more affordable housing to support economic growth and the well-being of our neighborhoods. I am looking forward to working together on this goal.”
Maltes earned a Bachelor’s Degree with high honors from Haverford College. He also has a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.
PROSPER LINCOLN
Local Ice Cream Success Story Started With a Dream
Tyler Mannix didn’t grow up thinking that he would own an ice cream shop someday. Tyler was building a solid career for himself at a local software company when he came up with the idea to open an ice cream shop. The idea wouldn’t go away.
Key to Success—Managing Risk
Tyler started 402 Creamery in 2017. For several years he continued to work his full-time software job to support his family. He made ice cream on the side as his second job at night. Retaining his day job was the first way he reduced risk during the ramp up of the new business. It took a lot of hours to do both!
His first location in Lincoln was downtown on N Street, where he shared space with another food business. Sharing space was the second strategy Tyler used to reduce his startup risk and sharing space increased customer traffic.
Key to Success—Quality & Creativity
Tyler’s dream from the beginning was to make ice cream from scratch with local ingredients when possible and to have unique blends of flavors. His philosophy is stated on the first line on his website: “Small batch, super premium, made from scratch ice cream.”
402 Creamery has developed a very loyal customer base by providing Signature Flavors that are available year around and by introducing new Seasonal Flavors. If a new flavor is a big hit, Tyler adds it to his always available Signature Flavor list. Some of his ten Signature Flavors include: Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Lemon Blueberry, Mint Chip and Monster Cookie (#1 seller). His current Seasonal Flavors include Pumpkin Scream Cheese, Creepy Crawlers, Twix-Or-Treat and Say Cheez (peanut butter ice cream with Cheez-it crunch and fudge brownies).
Key to Success—Adaptability
402 Creamery weathered the Covid pandemic by providing carry-out pints and rolling out online ordering and delivery via Grub Hub. In addition, they stayed in touch with their customer base using social media. Tyler was very humbled by the support he received from his customers and the community during this period. “A lot of gift cards were purchased by customers and the community at large. Lincoln has a generous heart and that kept us going” Tyler said.
Key to Success—Finding a Financial Provider
Like many small businesses, Tyler needed startup capital to purchase equipment, mixers, and freezers. He turned to Community Development Resources (CDR) (www.cdr-nebraska.org) in Lincoln for an SBA Microloan. CDR was also able to assist Tyler with early start-up advice and counseling. CDR loan officer Jeff Breunig identified a few characteristics about Tyler and his business plan that helped get the loan approved, “Tyler had a good idea and a well-prepared written business plan. The plan included back up cash flow to reduce risk to the lender. His passion and persistence were very evident when he applied.”
Tyler had this to say about the assistance he received from CDR: “I had a dream. I realized quickly, I needed to surround myself with good advisors to help me be successful. That includes a good accountant, a good lawyer, and a good banker. CDR believed in me and gave me the necessary capital to get this dream off the ground.
The 402 Creamery has grown to two locations in Lincoln, located at 311 N. 8th Street in the Haymarket and 7101 Kentwell Lane in Village Gardens. Pints are also available at the A Street Market at 3308 A Street. The Creamery also has an ice cream truck that provides ice cream treats at special events in the area. You can follow 402 Creamery on Facebook and Instagram, in addition to their website (www.402creamery.com).
Community Development Resources (CDR) is a non-profit 501c (3) organization whose mission is to provide capital, technical assistance, and training opportunities for small business and housing in the state of Nebraska. Community Development Resources lends to start-up and existing businesses that have a viable business plan to create or maintain business. CDR is located at 912 N. 70th Street in the Meadowlane Shopping Center. For more information about CDR and how we “Open Doors for Small Business”, see our website at cdr-nebraska.org or call 402-436-2387.
See Lincoln Journal Star's article here.
See Strictly Business article here.
