Small businesses are what make a place feel like home.
The coffee shop that starts your order when you walk in. The winery where you spend long summer evenings watching the sun drop behind the hills. The hardware store that's been on the same corner for three generations, the brewery in a building everyone thought was past saving.
That's what we fund. Since 1980, we've helped Southern Tier and Southern Finger Lakes entrepreneurs open doors, keep them open, and pass them on to the next owner who cares.
Our Story
We say yes when the bank can't quite get there.
Gap financing. Sometimes a good deal is a little too risky, or a little too big, for a bank to fund alone. We come in alongside the bank, close the gap, fund the project, and get the owner back to doing what they do best.
SBA microloans. For owners who don't quite qualify for bank financing yet. Maybe the business is too new. Maybe there's not enough collateral. We look at the whole story, not just the score.
Business acquisition loans. When a longtime owner is ready to retire, we help the next generation buy the business, so the shops that anchor our communities stay owned by people who live here and care.
A business advisor in your corner. One-on-one guidance before you borrow, mentorship after you close, and free workshops year-round.
What We Do
Two sister organizations and a regional partnership, working as one team.
REDEC, the Regional Economic Development and Energy Corporation of the Southern Tier Central Region, was established in 1980 as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. REDEC provides gap financing loans to businesses in Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben counties.
REDEC Relending Corporation (RRC), established in 1993, is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit providing lending capital and free business guidance to small businesses in Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tioga counties.
We also administer loan funds on behalf of the Southern Tier Economic Development Corporation (STREDC), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit established in 1996. Through grant funding awarded by New York Empire State Development, STREDC provides low-interest loans for economic development across eight counties: Broome, Chenango, Chemung, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins.
If that sounds complicated, don't worry. For you, it's one team, one application, one phone number. Figuring out which fund fits your project is our job, not yours.