Aspire Community Capital

08/26/2026

Capital readiness starts with understanding your numbers, organizing your financial documents, building a clear business plan, and explaining how funding will help your business grow.

ASPIRE Community Capital is partnering with the AI Business & Career Lab to offer AI for Business Lending, a free virtual program designed to help business owners use AI as part of the loan preparation process.

Over 12 weeks, participants will complete six sessions facilitated by Brandi Fox and learn how to:

✓ Strengthen their business plan
✓ Better understand business lending
✓ prepare financial documents
✓ Build a stronger loan package
✓ Use AI tools to support business growth
✓ Work toward becoming loan-ready
✓ Access one-on-one lending support

Program Details

Classes begin: September 28
Schedule: Every other Monday
Time: 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM ET
Format: 100% virtual
Cost: Free
Availability: 15 seats

Visit www.bteailab.org/trainings

REGISTRATION OPEN NOW!

07/16/2026

Are you ready for capital?

That question is about more than wanting funding.

A business owner may need money to grow, but readiness asks a different set of questions.

Can the business afford the debt?

Are the financial records clear?

Does the owner understand cash flow?

Is there a plan for how the money will be used?

Will the capital help the business grow, or create more pressure?

These questions matter.

Because getting capital before a business is prepared can sometimes create a heavier burden instead of a stronger business.

That is where ASPIRE Community Capital’s work matters.

As a CDFI Certified organization, ASPIRE helps entrepreneurs think through the steps that come before capital: financial education, coaching, technical assistance, planning, documentation, and trusted guidance.

For the business owner, this means support before making a major financial decision.

For lenders and partners, this means more entrepreneurs can enter funding conversations with stronger plans, clearer numbers, and better preparation.

For the community, this means more businesses have the chance to grow in a way that is sustainable.

Capital can open a door.

Preparation helps a business walk through it wisely.

What do you think every business owner should understand before taking on capital?

07/07/2026

What can ASPIRE do now?

Think about a business owner who is ready to grow, but still has gaps.

They may need capital to buy equipment.

They may need help understanding cash flow.

They may need stronger financial documents before talking to a lender.

They may need coaching before they make a major growth decision.

They may need someone to help them figure out whether taking on capital makes sense right now.

That is where ASPIRE Community Capital comes in.

As a CDFI Certified organization, ASPIRE is strengthening its ability to connect entrepreneurs with capital, coaching, financial education, technical assistance, and trusted relationships that help them move forward with more clarity.

For the business owner, this means more support before the next big step.

For the lender, this means a stronger pathway for entrepreneurs who may need preparation before traditional financing.

For the community, this means more businesses with the opportunity to grow, hire, serve, and build long-term stability.

CDFI certification gives ASPIRE another tool to help entrepreneurs become more prepared, more connected, and more ready for opportunity.

Over the next few days, we’ll keep sharing what this means and why it matters for business owners, partners, and the communities we serve.

What would help more small businesses become ready for their next opportunity?

07/01/2026

Who helps the businesses that aren't ready... yet?

Ready for what?

Ready for capital.

Ready for growth.

Ready to understand their numbers.

Ready to scale.

Ready to become stronger businesses.

The reality is that many entrepreneurs already have the drive. They just need the right support at the right time.

That's exactly why Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) exist.

For years, ASPIRE Community Capital has worked alongside entrepreneurs by connecting them with education, coaching, technical assistance, and business resources that help prepare them for long-term success. We've always believed that preparing entrepreneurs for long-term success is just as important as helping them access capital.

Becoming CDFI Certified strengthens our ability to continue that work through expanded access to capital, business coaching, financial education, and trusted relationships.

Strong businesses are built through strong ecosystems. Banks, community organizations, corporations, foundations, and public partners each play an important role in helping entrepreneurs move forward. We believe collaboration creates more opportunities than any one organization can create alone.

Over the next week, we'll continue sharing what it means to be CDFI Certified and why that matters for business owners, our partners, and the communities we serve.

Every successful business has people behind it. Who helped you get where you are today?

07/01/2026

We're officially CDFI Certified.

Years of work led to this moment.

Today, we're celebrating.

Tomorrow, the work continues.

Most people have never heard of a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Over the next week, we're going to change that.

We'll show you why becoming CDFI Certified matters, what it means for entrepreneurs and small business owners, and how it creates new opportunities for the communities we serve across North Carolina.

This isn't just a milestone for ASPIRE Community Capital. It's a win for entrepreneurs. It's a win for small businesses. It's a win for the communities we're committed to serving.

If you're building a business, know someone who is, or believe stronger businesses create stronger communities and stronger local economies, follow along.

And if someone comes to mind while reading this, share this post with them. They may discover a resource they never knew existed.

This changes what's possible.

06/29/2026

Congratulations to Sharai Lavoie, CEO and Managing Member of Lavoie CPA, on being recognized as one of Charlotte Business Journal’s 2026 Most Admired CEO Awards honorees. ()

Sharai is also a valued member of ASPIRE Community Capital’s Board of Directors, and we are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition.

Her leadership, financial expertise, and commitment to helping businesses grow reflect the kind of community-centered excellence that strengthens Charlotte’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Please join us in congratulating Sharai on this incredible honor.

06/18/2026

A milestone years in the making.

We are proud to share that ASPIRE Community Capital has officially been certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

This certification strengthens our ability to expand access to capital, financial education, and business support for entrepreneurs who have historically faced barriers to opportunity.

Since 2016, we've worked alongside business owners to help them launch, grow, and scale. Today marks an exciting new chapter in that journey.

This achievement is not just about ASPIRE.

It's about the entrepreneurs pursuing their vision.
It's about the communities they serve.
It's about creating more pathways to economic opportunity.

The work continues, and we're just getting started.

06/06/2026