A Bangor nonprofit that supports economic development with credit, capital and financial services for small businesses has received a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The grant, which requires a 50 percent match, was awarded through the SBA’s Program for Investment in Micro Entrepreneurs Act. MaineStream Finance of Bangor is one of 24 organizations nationally to be selected to receive this funding, which is earmarked for economically disadvantaged communities, according to an SBA release.

The grants are intended to help qualified community-based organizations provide training to businesses with five or fewer employees that are economically disadvantaged, and businesses owned by low-income individuals, including those who live on Indian reservations and tribal lands. Grant awards ranged from $94,000 to $250,000 and totaled $3.5 million.

MaineStream Finance is a community development financial institution, and a subsidiary of Penquis, a nonprofit in Bangor that helps low-income families become self-sufficient.

The SBA focused the program on two technical assistance approaches to strengthening business success:

• Helping entrepreneurs implement automated financial accounting, financial reporting and inventory management systems; and,

• Promoting and assisting in the development of worker ownership and worker-owned cooperatives, especially in low-income and underserved communities.

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