History
Thread Capital may be new, but our work has been happening for nearly 30 years. Officially launched by the NC Rural Center in 2018, Thread Capital represents the next step in a long history helping North Carolina’s small-business owners and entrepreneurs.
1987
NC Rural Center founded
1989
The Rural Center makes its first microenterprise loan for $8,500
1994
Capital Access Program launched
1997
The Rural Center receives Presidential Award for Microfinance
2003
Center leads Homegrown Jobs initiative, launches Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship
2006
Milestone: $100 million in lending to over 3,000 businesses
2011
Rural Center launches Small Business Credit Initiative
2014
Milestone: $500 million in small business lending supporting over 30,000 jobs
2018
Rural Center launches Thread Capital
2018
Thread Capital launches Rapid Recovery bridge loan program in response to Hurricane Florence
2018
Milestone: Thread Capital issues $2 million in Rapid Recovery loans
2019
Thread Capital launches Resilient Recovery loan program for long-term disaster recovery