Community Lending Fellow

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

Reports to: BEJP Fund Manager Program Area: BEJP Community Loan Fund About the Brooklyn Economic Justice Project The Brooklyn Economic Justice Project (BEJP), an initiative of Brooklyn Level Up (BKLVLUP), is building community-centered economic infrastructure rooted in the leadership and lived experience of Central Brooklyn residents, small businesses, and grassroots organizations. Its emerging Community Loan Fund offers non-extractive, relationship-based capital to small businesses, cooperatives, and neighborhood-rooted projects often shut out of traditional lending, centering trust, community accountability, technical assistance, and democratic decision-making.

Position Summary: BEJP is seeking its first Community Lending Fellow to help launch the BEJP Community Loan Fund. In this lending associate-style role, the Fellow will work closely with the Fund Manager across the full lending lifecycle: outreach, intake, diligence, loan packaging, borrower support, and fund administration. This fellowship is ideal for someone interested in community development finance, small business lending, cooperative economics, reparative capital, and non-extractive lending.

What You'll Do: Borrower Outreach and Intake Build relationships with Central Brooklyn small businesses, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and community partners, and help maintain the borrower pipeline. Represent the fund at community events, information sessions, and partner meetings. Explain loan products, eligibility, and application steps in clear, accessible language. Support intake calls and eligibility screenings, and review applications for completeness. Identify borrower technical assistance needs, such as bookkeeping, financial projections, business planning, or legal support. Underwriting and Loan Review Review borrower materials, including business plans, financial statements, tax returns, and organizational documents. Support financial analysis of revenue, cash flow, debt, repayment capacity, and use of funds. Help identify repayment, operational, governance, and market risks. Support values-based underwriting that weighs both financial viability and community benefit. Prepare borrower summaries, loan packets, and materials for the Loan Review Committee, and take notes at review meetings. Borrower Support and Fund Administration Check in with borrowers before and after closing, and coordinate with technical assistance providers. Help create borrower education materials, templates, and tools. Maintain pipeline trackers, borrower files, and loan data, and help prepare internal reports on fund progress. Help document loan fund policies, procedures, and lessons learned. Learning and Reflection Take part in regular supervision and learning sessions with the Fund Manager on community development finance, cooperative economics, and reparative finance. Help document BEJP's early lending model: what works, what needs adjustment, and what community members are asking for. Complete a final reflection, memo, or presentation with key learnings and recommendations for the fund.

What You'll Bring: Interest in community development finance, small business lending, or economic justice. Comfort with basic financial analysis, such as reading financial statements, budgets, and cash flow. Strong organization, attention to detail, and follow-through. Clear, warm communication and the ability to explain financial ideas in plain language. Respect for community voice and the ability to build trust with small business owners and partners. Residence in NYC and familiarity with Central Brooklyn's neighborhoods, small business landscape, and community organizations. Formal finance or lending experience is helpful but not required. We especially encourage candidates with lived, professional, or community-based experience in Central Brooklyn to apply.