This monthly message will help explain how American Lending Center has helped small business owners across the country build projects, keep their doors open and grow employment. And I’d like to show you how we can help your business as well.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, ALC turned our passion for helping small businesses to the task of keeping them alive by becoming one of only a handful of nonbank institutions designated as a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender. In the less than three years the program existed, we approved almost 30,000 PPP loans to eligible small business borrowers across all 50 states and Washington DC.
Now that the pandemic has passed, we are returning our attention to the government-backed small business loans we have become known for since our creation in 2009. Between 2009 and 2020, we structured more than 80 qualified SBA 504 projects in 19 states. That contributed more than $1.2 billion to the economy in combined construction and business expansion budgets.
A Little Background
We launched American Lending Center in 2009 – we just celebrated our 14th anniversary earlier this month. From the beginning, we have been focused on small businesses. That’s how we started, and small business growth is how we as a community can prosper.
We started our company in Long Beach, Calif. In October 2021, the headquarters was relocated to Irvine, Calif., near John Wayne International Airport. We’ve continued to grow in staff and value through that time.
Since 2020, we’ve been named one of the fastest growing companies in America three times in a row by both the Financial Times and Inc 5000. On top of that, the Los Angeles Business Journal has named us one of the Top 100 best places to work two years in a row.
We have partnered with the federal government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide commercial loans to eligible small business owners nationwide. The results proved our philosophy – more than 13,000 jobs have been created through our loan programs.
Now our attention has returned to small business loans, and we’ve picked up right where we left off. Job creation and retention continues to be a major focus as we do business.
It’s been quite a ride. So much so that the story fills a book, “Crossing the Swamp,” coming out soon. More about that next month.
It’s been an honor and a pleasure to develop our vision. It’s our goal at ALC to help Develop Your Vision too.
John Shen
CEO & Co-founder
American Lending Center
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About American Lending Center: A Financial Times (FT) Americas’ Fastest Growing Company
American Lending Center (ALC) is a private nonbank lending institution and nationally recognized leader in small business lending. ALC has offered strategically structured senior loan products to 83 qualified projects in 19 states, contributing more than $1.2 billion to the economy and creating more than 13,000 new jobs nationwide since 2009. ALC is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., doing business across the country and the world.
2. APPLICATION PARTNERSHIP – Would you be able to help any ALC borrowers NOT referred by you to file the application and upload documents to ALC’s portal?
3. DUAL PARTNERSHIP – Would you like to refer eligible PPP borrowers to ALC AND help any ALC borrowers not referred by you to complete application and upload documents to ALC’s portal?
Many ALC’s Partners offer free support and services to help file this PPP application. Apply through one of them.
ALC Agreement for Application Partners
By signing below, as an application partner my organization agrees to the Terms and Conditions of this Paycheck Protection Program Application Service Agreement.
Terms and Conditions:
This Agreement explains the terms and conditions governing the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) application service as described in this Agreement. By offering the service, my organization agrees to the following terms and conditions. This agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California. By accepting below or otherwise offering the service, my organization agrees to offer the service only for bona fide and lawful purpose permitted under this Agreement.
1. During the term of this Agreement, my organization shall provide the following service to certain small businesses (“Borrowers”) that intend to apply for PPP loans through American Lending Center LLC (“ALC”): Assisting Borrowers to submit the required information and upload the required documents to the web portal of ALC.
2. My organization shall retain the unqualified right of control over the means, manner and methods by which our service is rendered and performed, and the right to perform that service at the location(s) and time(s) that we independently determine and set forth. We shall be responsible for providing all equipment, materials and supplies that we determine shall be required to timely provide that service which have been requested by the Borrowers.
3. During the term of this Agreement, we understand that ALC shall list my organization as one of the application partners on its PPP application website. Although borrowers filing PPP applications on the website shall not be required to seek assistance from a third party, they may, at their full discretion, decide whether to use the service offered by my organization to submit their PPP applications. If a Borrower requests to use our service, we have a right to accept or deny the request at our full discretion.
4. If the Borrower requests our service and we accept the request, we shall neither charge a fee to the Borrower nor require the Borrower to do anything but provide requirement information and documents to complete the PPP application.Our organization’s entire compensation for the performance of the service provided shall be the following service fee paid by ALC: $250 per completed application for each qualified Borrower. ALC shall make the payment within 30 calendar days of the online submission of each Borrower’s application.
5. I shall be responsible for complying with any and all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules, ordinances, regulations, and/or codes that pertain to the performance of the service requested and provided. Our failure to comply with the responsibilities and duties described in this Paragraph shall constitute a material breach of the Agreement.
6. I agree to secure and maintain, at our sole cost and expense, Worker’s Compensation Coverage where required by law and General Liability Insurance, as required by ALC.
7. I shall be solely responsible for filing all tax returns, tax declarations and tax schedules, and for the payment of all taxes required when due, with respect to any and all compensation earned as set forth in accordance with this Agreement. Our failure to comply with the duties described herein this Paragraph shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement.
8. ALC shall report the amounts it pays my organization on IRS Form 1099, to the extent so required under the Internal Revenue Code.
9. I shall not be entitled to any reimbursement by ALC for any cost or expenses outside of the service fee agreed upon for compensation to my organization from ALC.
10. For all intent and purposes, including, but not limited to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”). The Self Employment Contributions Act (“SECA”), the Social Security Act, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (“FUTA”), the Internal Revenue Code and any and all other federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, my organization hereto, including its officers, agents and employees, shall be at all times an independent contractor relative to ALC. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to make or render my organization, including any of its officers, agents or employees, an agent, servant or employee of, or a joint venture of or with ALC.
11. Both ALC and my organization shall guarantee, guard against and hold harmless the other party, any current or former employees, shareholders, partners or any ownership interest and agents from and/or against any alleged claim, including, but not limited to borrower claims, demands, loss, damages and or expense, including any legal or attorney fees that may be in relation to:
12. any negligence, recklessness or any willful misconduct of the indemnifying party or any other party under the direction or control of the indemnifying party;
13. any material breach of this Agreement by the indemnifying party, or
14. any damage, loss or destruction relating to any property of the indemnifying party or its client or clients, injury or death to any individuals that may result from the actions or inactions of any employee, agent or subcontractor of the indemnifying party as such damage may arise out of or is in the course of fulfilling their obligations under and with relation to this Agreement, and to the extent that such damage may be due to any negligence, unlawful conduct, omission or default of the indemnifying party, its employees, agents or subcontractors.
15. The terms of the herein contained Agreement shall commence on the signing date and shall continue as such in full effect and force thereafter until such time as the deliverables are completed as required of my organization.
16. This Agreement may be terminated at any time by ALC should a material breach by my organization remains uncured thirty (30) days after submission of written notice being provided of the breach thereof, or a shorter period of time as may be specified within this Agreement.
17. The herein contained Agreement shall be governed by, construed and enforced pursuant with the laws of the State of California, without giving any effect to any conflicts of law provisions. Any and all disputes between ALC, and including but not limited to its affiliates, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, successors, attorneys and assigns, and my organization, including our affiliates, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, successors, attorneys and/or assigns, relating in any manner whatsoever to this Agreement, and shall be resolved by and through the use of arbitration. Arbitration of such claims shall be done in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, as amended, and shall be conducted within the jurisdiction in which ALC is located. The Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation and enforcement of this paragraph. The fees associated with the arbitrator shall be shared equally by both parties. The parties agree that this paragraph shall survive the termination of the Agreement.
ALC Agreement for Referral Partners
By signing below, I agree to the Terms and Conditions of this Paycheck Protection Program Borrower Referral Agreement.
Terms and Conditions:
This Agreement explains the terms and conditions governing the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) referral service as described in this Agreement. By offering the service, I agree to the following terms and conditions. This agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California. By accepting below or otherwise offering the service, I agree to offer the service only for bona fide and lawful purpose permitted under this Agreement.
1. During the term of this Agreement, I shall provide the following service to American Lending Center LLC (“ALC”): Referring PPP borrowers (“Borrowers”) to file PPP loan applications with ALC.
2. I shall retain the unqualified right of control over the means, manner and methods by which my service is rendered and performed, and the right to perform that service at the location(s) and time(s) that I independently determine and set forth. I shall be responsible for providing all equipment, materials and supplies that I determine shall be required to timely provide the service.
3. During the term of this Agreement, ALC shall assign a priority code (“Code”) to me and I shall be responsible for instructing Borrowers to submit the Code along with other required information and documents to ALC’s PPP application portal. I understand that if the Code is not submitted online as part of a PPP application, it would be difficult for ALC to track that referral and there is no guarantee that I shall receive the referral fee at the end.
4. My compensation for the referral service provided shall be the following referral fee paid by ALC:
1% of the loan amount for loans of $350,000 or under, or
0.5% of the loan amount for loans above $350,000
ALC shall make the payment within 7 calendar days of receipt of the lender’s fee for the referral from Small Business Administration (“SBA”).
5. I shall be responsible for complying with any and all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules, ordinances, regulations, and/or codes that pertain to the performance of the service requested and provided. My failure to comply with the responsibilities and duties described in this Paragraph shall constitute a material breach of the Agreement.
6. I agree to secure and maintain, at my sole cost and expense, Worker’s Compensation Coverage where required by law and General Liability Insurance, as required by ALC.
7. I shall be solely responsible for filing all tax returns, tax declarations and tax schedules, and for the payment of all taxes required when due, with respect to any and all compensation earned as set forth in accordance with this Agreement. My failure to comply with the duties described herein this Paragraph shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement.
8. ALC shall report the amounts it pays me on IRS Form 1099, to the extent so required under the Internal Revenue Code.
9. I shall not be entitled to any reimbursement by ALC for any cost or expenses outside of the referral fee agreed upon for compensation to me from ALC.
10. For all intent and purposes, including, but not limited to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”). The Self Employment Contributions Act (“SECA”), the Social Security Act, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (“FUTA”), the Internal Revenue Code and any and all other federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, I hereto, including my officers, agents and employees, shall be at all times an independent contractor relative to ALC. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to make or render me, including any of my officers, agents or employees, an agent, servant or employee of, or a joint venture of or with ALC.
11. Both ALC and me shall guarantee, guard against and hold harmless the other party, any current or former employees, shareholders, partners or any ownership interest and agents from and/or against any alleged claim, including, but not limited to borrower claims, demands, loss, damages and or expense, including any legal or attorney fees that may be in relation to:
any negligence, recklessness or any willful misconduct of the indemnifying party or any other party under the direction or control of the indemnifying party;
any material breach of this Agreement by the indemnifying party, or
any damage, loss or destruction relating to any property of the indemnifying party or its client or clients, injury or death to any individuals that may result from the actions or inactions of any employee, agent or subcontractor of the indemnifying party as such damage may arise out of or is in the course of fulfilling its obligations under and with relation to this Agreement, and to the extent that such damage may be due to any negligence, unlawful conduct, omission or default of the indemnifying party, its employees, agents or subcontractors.
12. The terms of the herein contained Agreement shall commence on the signing date and shall continue as such in full effect and force thereafter until such time as the deliverables are completed as required of me.
13. This Agreement may be terminated at any time by ALC should a material breach by me remains uncured thirty (30) days after submission of written notice being provided of the breach thereof, or a shorter period of time as may be specified within this Agreement.
14. The herein contained Agreement shall be governed by, construed and enforced pursuant with the laws of the State of California, without giving any effect to any conflicts of law provisions. Any and all disputes between ALC, and including but not limited to its affiliates, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, successors, attorneys and assigns, and me, including my affiliates, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, successors, attorneys and/or assigns, relating in any manner whatsoever to this Agreement, and shall be resolved by and through the use of arbitration. Arbitration of such claims shall be done in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, as amended, and shall be conducted within the jurisdiction in which ALC is located. The Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation and enforcement of this paragraph. The fees associated with the arbitrator shall be shared equally by both parties. The parties agree that this paragraph shall survive the termination of the Agreement.
