Community Lending Fellow

Fellowship Term: 7 months - November ‘26 - May ‘27

Stipend: $7,500

Location: New York City-based; must reside in NYC and be familiar with Central Brooklyn

Reports to: BEJP Fund Manager

Program Area: BEJP Community Loan Fund

The Brooklyn Economic Justice Project is building a community-centered economic infrastructure rooted in the values, leadership, and lived experiences of Central Brooklyn residents, small businesses, and grassroots organizations. Through its emerging community loan fund, BEJP seeks to expand access to non-extractive, relationship-based capital for small businesses, community-serving enterprises, cooperatives, and other neighborhood-rooted projects that advance economic justice, stability, and shared prosperity.

The BEJP Community Loan Fund is designed to support borrowers who are often excluded from traditional lending systems, while centering trust, community accountability, technical assistance, and democratic decision-making. The fund will prioritize businesses and projects that are rooted in Central Brooklyn, serve low- to moderate-income communities, and contribute to long-term community wealth building.

BEJP is seeking its first Community Lending Fellow to support the launch and early implementation of the BEJP Community Loan Fund. The Community Lending Fellow will serve in a lending associate-style role and work closely with the Fund Manager to support borrower outreach, intake, diligence, loan packaging, borrower support, and loan fund administration.

This fellowship is ideal for someone who is interested in community development finance, small business lending, cooperative economics, reparative capital, neighborhood-based economic development, and non-extractive lending models. The Fellow will gain hands-on experience in the full lifecycle of community lending, from outreach and relationship building to borrower intake, underwriting support, loan review preparation, and post-closing borrower support.

The Community Lending Fellow must reside in New York City and have familiarity with Central Brooklyn, including its neighborhoods, small business landscape, community organizations, and economic justice priorities.

The Community Lending Fellow will support BEJP’s efforts to identify and build relationships with potential borrowers, community partners, and neighborhood-based small businesses.

Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting outreach to Central Brooklyn small businesses, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, nonprofit partners, and community-serving projects.


• Helping maintain a pipeline of prospective borrowers and community partners.


• Participating in community events, borrower information sessions, workshops, and partner meetings as needed.


• Supporting culturally grounded, accessible communication about the BEJP Community Loan Fund and its lending approach.


• Helping explain loan products, eligibility criteria, application steps, and borrower expectations to prospective applicants.


• Gathering feedback from community members and borrowers to help improve the fund’s outreach and lending processes.

The Fellow will help prospective borrowers understand and move through the early stages of the loan application process.

Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting borrower intake calls and initial eligibility screenings.


• Helping applicants understand required documents, application questions, and next steps.


• Assisting borrowers with gathering basic financial and organizational information.


• Reviewing applications for completeness before they move into diligence.


• Maintaining accurate notes and records of borrower conversations and application status.


• Helping identify borrower technical assistance needs, including bookkeeping, financial projections, business planning, governance, or legal support.

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3. Underwriting and Diligence Support


The Community Lending Fellow will work under the supervision of the Fund Manager to support loan diligence and underwriting preparation.




Responsibilities may include:





• Reviewing borrower-submitted materials, including business plans, financial statements, budgets, tax returns, debt schedules, ownership information, and organizational documents.


• Helping prepare borrower summaries, diligence notes, and draft sections of loan review materials.


• Supporting values-based underwriting that considers both financial viability and community impact.


• Helping document borrower strengths, challenges, support needs, and alignment with BEJP’s mission.


• Supporting the Fund Manager in preparing materials for the Loan Review Committee.


4. Loan Review and Approval Process Support


The Fellow will assist with organizing materials and logistics for BEJP’s loan review and decision-making process.




Responsibilities may include:





• Preparing loan packet materials for internal review.


• Helping draft borrower profiles and loan summaries.


• Tracking questions from the Fund Manager, Loan Review Committee, or other BEJP stakeholders.


• Supporting follow-up with borrowers to gather additional information.


• Maintaining organized files and documentation for each loan opportunity.


• Taking notes during relevant loan review meetings, when appropriate.


5. Borrower Support and Technical Assistance Coordination


The Community Lending Fellow will help BEJP provide relationship-based support to borrowers before and after loan approval.




Responsibilities may include:





• Helping identify borrower needs related to financial management, business planning, compliance, operations, marketing, governance, or other areas.


• Supporting coordination between borrowers and technical assistance providers.


• Checking in with borrowers to understand progress, challenges, and emerging needs.


• Helping ensure borrowers experience BEJP as a supportive, accountable, and community-rooted lending partner.


6. Loan Fund Administration and Portfolio Tracking


The Fellow will support basic administrative systems needed to operate the loan fund effectively.




Responsibilities may include:





• Organizing borrower files and documentation.


• Supporting data entry related to borrower demographics, loan terms, community impact, technical assistance needs, and repayment status.


• Supporting documentation of loan fund policies, procedures, and lessons learned.


• Assisting with meeting preparation, scheduling, note-taking, and follow-up tasks related to the loan fund.


7. Learning, Reflection, and Field Building


Because this is a fellowship, the role includes structured learning and reflection on community lending, non-extractive finance, and economic justice.




Responsibilities may include:





• Participating in regular supervision and learning sessions with the Fund Manager.


• Reading and discussing materials related to community development finance, democratic capital, cooperative economics, small business lending, and reparative finance.


• Reflecting on lessons learned from borrower interactions and the loan fund launch process.


• Supporting documentation of BEJP’s early lending model, including what works, what needs adjustment, and what community members are asking for.


• Completing a final fellowship reflection, memo, or presentation summarizing key learnings and recommendations for the BEJP Community Loan Fund.


Qualifications


BEJP understands that strong candidates may come from many different backgrounds. Formal lending experience is helpful but not required. We especially encourage candidates with lived, professional, or community-based experience in Central Brooklyn to apply.




Strong candidates will bring:





• Residence in New York City and familiarity with Central Brooklyn neighborhoods, communities, small businesses, and local economic conditions.


• Interest in community lending, small business finance, economic justice, cooperative economics, community ownership, or neighborhood-based development.


• Strong relationship-building skills and comfort engaging with small business owners, community members, and grassroots organizations.


• Commitment to racial, economic, and social justice.


• Ability to work with confidentiality, care, and professionalism.


• Comfort working independently while receiving guidance and supervision.


• Proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, or similar tools.








Fellowship Structure


This is a 7-month fellowship with a total stipend of $7,500. The Fellow will report directly to the BEJP Fund Manager and will receive regular supervision, training, and feedback.




The fellowship is expected to include a mix of remote administrative work, in-person community engagement, borrower meetings, and BEJP-related events. Because this role is rooted in Central Brooklyn, the Fellow must be available for some in-person meetings, community events, and borrower-facing activities in Brooklyn.




Expected time commitment may vary depending on the phase of the loan fund launch, but the fellowship is designed as a part-time learning and work opportunity consisting of 10-15 hours of work per week.







Compensation


The Community Lending Fellow will receive a total stipend of $7,500 for the 7-month fellowship. Payment timing will be determined by BEJP and communicated before the fellowship begins.

Location Requirement


Applicants must reside in New York City. Strong preference will be given to candidates who live in, have lived in, work in, organize in, or have deep familiarity with Central Brooklyn.

Equal Opportunity and Values Statement


BEJP is committed to building an inclusive, community-rooted fellowship opportunity. We encourage applications from people with lived experience in Central Brooklyn, Black and Brown communities, immigrant communities, working-class communities, cooperative and solidarity economy spaces, and other communities most impacted by economic exclusion and disinvestment.




BEJP values lived experience, community relationships, and demonstrated commitment to economic justice alongside formal education or professional credentials.