South Carolina Community Loan Fund

The experience with this institution is subpar. Over 120 days into this process and still hearing excuses and repeated promises. No closing date has been given but our rates have gone up because they are taking their sweet precious time. Our loan officer is Joseph Dukes. The lack of communication is appalling for such a profession. The one person who was very communicative and got the process moving quicker was fired. We have involved the CEO to hopefully get things finalized. Our loan is incredibly small for such a long timeline theres no excuse for this institution. Avoid at all cost. We will never use them again.
Jan 29th, 2023

It seems to be a hit or miss with this organization. In order to apply for a business loan, you must fill out and submit a two-to-three-page questionnaire. From there, a loan office is supposed to reach out to you within two weeks. It's nearing three months, and I have not heard from anyone yet. We have decided to seek funding elsewhere.
Nov 24th, 2022

Joseph Dukes has been absolutely AMAZING to work with. He is very accessible, friendly & helpful! I highly recommend him and will definitely use him again in the future for our loan needs!!
Jul 8th, 2022

This organization seems to have good programs, but there systems and employees are terribly flawed. I needed a business loan and was told to reach out to the loan officer for my area (Joseph). I reached out over 5 times through email (documented) and many more times over the phone. I even wrote their Facebook page out of desperation and was told them same thing, Leave him a message and he will call you back. Nobody ever followed up even after I complained to the operator(only person I could get on the phone), about their broken system. I finally gave up and searched for other institutions that could help me. I ended up going with United Bank in Summerville and Im closing on my business loan in December. If you arent getting a response out of them, my advice is to find an institution that will value you as a customer and treat you will respect and dignity.
Jun 18th, 2022

Lillie and Carl Smalls: We are in the process of opening a bakery in the West/Ashley/Johns Island area. We are first time business owners and had a terrible time acquiring a business loan. We were referred to the South Carolina Community Loan Fund (SCCL), we applied and Joseph Dukes became our loan officer. During the process of acquiring the loan, we encountered different loan officers that were rude, did not believe in us, and or just outright untruthful. When we were assigned to Joseph Dukes, he was God sent. Mr. Dukes was completely different from all the previous loan officers we were assigned to. First, Mr. Dukes believed in our vision. He trusted us and made us feel like we were not just potential borrowers, but people with a vision and looking for help. Mr. Dukes was very thorough with all of his instructions. He made sure that we understood the process. Mr. Dukes was extremely knowledgeable in aspect of his business. He (Mr. Dukes) has a calm demeanor and is very patient. His patience was the major attribute that he exhibited. He understood that we were inexperienced and had a lot of questions. He would call us, just to see if we needed anything from him. He never once seemed in a rush to get off the phone. Every phone call we encountered with Mr. Dukes, he would answer all of our questions, regardless of the redundancy. An example of Mr. Dukes timeless efforts to help us, was on a Saturday night, around 10 pm, we emailed questions to Mr. Dukes, expecting to hear from him on Monday morning. Sunday morning, we checked our email and Mr. Dukes answered our question. Due to Mr. Dukes, tireless efforts, and around the clock check-ins, we were able to close on our loan. Joseph Dukes is a blessing to us. He believed in us, our vision and treated us with respect. He was honest, truthful, and forthright. Anyone attempting to acquire a business loan would be blessed to have, Mr. Dukes, as your loan officer.
Jan 20th, 2022