What Community Lending Looks Like

Our Why

Capital designed around the business—not just the application.

Freedom Equity Inc. is a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). We were incorporated in 2021, as an alternative lender in Central Ohio and to improve access to capital for Central Ohio businesses.

We promote economic growth and community development; fostering the success and sustainability of local businesses.

Freedom Equity was established to connect borrowers like you with accessible, affordable capital. All prospective borrowers start their relationship with us by attending an Info Session. The sessions are an opportunity for you to learn about what we do and for us to determine how we can best serve your business and goals.‍

Our Mission: Freedom Equity advances economic freedom in Central Ohio by offering responsible capital, practical support, and trusted connections to entrepreneurs who face ongoing barriers to affordable financing—helping them start, grow, and sustain their businesses.

Invest in Our Work

Invest in Our Mission: Your individual or corporate tax deductible contribution is passed on to the small businesses we serve via loans and services. Click here to contribute to our work..

You can also make grants or private equity loans to be used as loan capital for small businesses and to support our operations.

Please contact us at contact@freedomequity.org for further information.

That evolution is reflected in our mission today:

Freedom Equity advances economic freedom in Central Ohio by offering responsible capital, practical support, and trusted connections to entrepreneurs who face ongoing barriers to affordable financing—helping them start, grow, and sustain their businesses.

Our history explains why we exist. Our mission defines where we are going.

In accordance with federal laws and U.S. Department of the Treasury policy, this organization is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Director, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20220; or send an e-mail to: crcomplaints@treasury.gov.

We started by addressing one clear gap. We learned the gap was even bigger.

Freedom Equity was created in Central Ohio in response to a persistent reality: too many strong small businesses were being overlooked, underfunded, or offered financing on terms that made sustainable growth harder. Freedom Equity was launched by the Franklin County Business Growth and Equity Alliance—led by Franklin County, the Columbus Urban League, and One Columbus—with founding partners contributing capital, staff, and in-kind resources to build this work.

That history remains central to who we are. It taught us something broader as well.

Business owners can be excluded from affordable capital in many ways — because of where they are located, the size of financing they need, limited conventional banking relationships, inflexible underwriting, expensive existing debt, or financial products that simply do not fit the realities of the business.

As Freedom Equity has grown, so has our understanding of the role we can play.

We are still a community-based lender. But our work increasingly extends beyond making loans. We help business owners understand their options, strengthen their readiness, access practical support, and connect to other sources of capital and opportunity when those resources provide a better fit.

Freedom Equity has learned from four years of lending what capital access actually requires. We are evolving from being primarily a source of loans into a more complete source of responsible capital, practical support, and trusted connections.