This Monday, the Northside Community Development Fund is hosting a meeting for Northside residents interested in starting their own business. The meeting will be held at The Pittsburgh Project starting at 6 p.m.

This Monday, March 11, the Northside Community Development Fund (NSCDF) is holding a workshop for Northsiders interested in starting their own business. Community residents can stop by The Pittsburgh Project, located at 2801 N. Charles St., 15214, to learn about the funding opportunities NSCDF offers for start-up and existing businesses located on Pittsburgh’s Northside. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and refreshments will be provided.

Direct any questions to Chelsea Newcomer at 412-322-0290 or newcomer@nscdfund.org.

NSCDF was founded in 2000 as a subsidiary of The Northside Leadership Conference with a mission to promote community development and investment on the Northside. NSCDF provides loans, financing and development services to businesses and real estate development projects throughout the Northside’s 18 neighborhoods. In the past year, NSCDF provided 24 loans totaling more than $2.3 million to businesses and real estate development projects, including nine micro-loans totaling $233,000 to help nine small businesses get started or expand. In the past seven years, they have made 147 loans totaling $12.7 million. Twenty-four percent of their existing loans to for-profit companies are to minority-owned firms, 33 percent are to women-owned businesses and 26 percent are to nonprofits, mainly neighborhood-based organizations, to create affordable housing, eliminate blight and provide spaces for businesses serving the neighborhood.