Frazier Funeral Home commits to community with assistance from Lafayette Bank & Trust and Indiana Statewide CDC

Jason and Leslie Frazier have completed the purchase and remodeling of the Frazier Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Demotte with assistance from one of the nation's most popular small business financing programs. Lafayette Bank & Trust and the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation provided a loan to the Frazier Funeral Home and Cremation Services from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loan program for small expanding businesses. The Fraziers opened their funeral home about eight years ago after buying the Todd Funeral Home. The Fraziers pledged that the Frazier Funeral Home would continue the seven-decade-old legacy of service began by the Todd Funeral Home in 1938. Jason Frazier says, "We want families to feel as comfortable as possible when they ask the Frazier Funeral Home to help with their loved ones' funerals. It takes years to build trust in the community and we are committed to earning the faith and confidence of families in the Demotte area." Indiana Statewide CDC works with local lenders to provide SBA 504 loans to owners of expanding companies. Congress created the SBA 504 program so owners of small businesses could get long-term, fixed rate financing with lower down payments similar to financing commercially available for large companies. Since 1986, SBA 504 loans have funded over $62 billion to over 130,000 small businesses. In turn, those small firms have created or retained over 2.1 million jobs for the U.S. economy. Executive Director Jean Wojtowicz says that the Indiana Statewide CDC has invested more than$415 million in 955 Indiana companies since 1983, creating or saving 26,500 jobs. Indiana Statewide CDC is the leading SBA 504 lender in Indiana. Stan Lease of Lafayette Bank & Trust in Demotte says, "The SBA 504's terms helped the bank offer the Fraziers a loan package that helped them complete the purchase and make the funeral home truly their own."