Business financing in Chatham County.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
9 institutions are headquartered inside the Chatham County line, Savannah included, and 5 more keep a branch here. Below, we say which is which.
Not this lane? Home FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Chatham County.
The CDFIs, credit unions, and microlenders that actually say yes — county by county, in two languages. We are not a lender. Nobody paid to be listed. And where a county has no good doors, we say so.
- 14
- DOORS HERE
- 9
- BASED HERE
- 82
- GA COUNTIES WITH DOORS
- Lane
- Business Financing
- People
- 295Kresidents of Chatham County
- Covers
- Savannah
- Elsewhere in GA
- Fulton County →15 doors — the biggest list of any other county in Georgia
- State
- Georgia →82 of 159 counties hold a door in this lane
Certified by the U.S. Treasury to lend where a bank will not. Nonprofit, patient, and used to a file that is not clean.
Carver State Bank · Catalyst Development CORPORATIONOwned by their members, not by shareholders. They look at your whole story rather than a score, and that is the difference when a bank says no.
Center Parc Credit Union · Georgia's Own Credit Union- Carver State BankPersonal · Business capital
- Catalyst Development CORPORATIONCommunity lending · Business capital
- Small Business Assistance CorporationCommunity lending · Business capital
- Small Business Assistance Corporation (Servicing Southeast GA, and Lowcountry SC)Business capital
- F A B Church Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedMinority depositoryPersonal
- IN THIS LIST
4 of the 14 doors inside the county line are CDFI-certified.
The U.S. Treasury certifies them to lend to the people banks pass over. It is a loan, not a favour.
- Georgia Heritage Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Mercy Credit UnionPersonal
- Savannah Postal Credit UnionMinority depositoryPersonal · Home
Show the other 1Show fewer
- Savannah Schools Credit UnionMinority depositoryPersonal · Home
Based elsewhere, with a member-facing office inside the Chatham County line. You can walk in.
- Center Parc Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Georgia's Own Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Vystar Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Core Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Geovista Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Accion Opportunity FundAccepts ITIN
Nonprofit small-business lender. Accepts ITIN in place of SSN. Serves most states, in English and Spanish.
Business capital - Grameen AmericaAccepts ITIN
Microloans for women entrepreneurs. Requires photo ID and proof of address — no SSN requirement. Branches in major metro areas.
Business capital - Mission Asset FundAccepts ITIN
Zero-interest lending circles and credit building. SSN or ITIN accepted. Works through nonprofit partners across the country.
Personal
How to read this list.
We do not ask for your name, your email, or your number. Nothing on this page changes based on who you are.
A door is headquartered here when its head office sits inside the county line. The rest are based elsewhere and keep a branch you can walk into. We list both, and we label which is which.
Every institution on this page comes from public federal data — the CDFI Fund certified list (Aug 2026), NCUA credit union data (Jun 2026), and the SBA microloan intermediary list (Sep 2026) — plus a short national tier we verified by hand. We refresh each list as its agency publishes. No listing is paid.
Chatham County runs on the Port of Savannah, the trucks and warehouses that feed it, a tourism economy built around Savannah's historic district and Tybee Island, and the military and aerospace jobs that anchor the rest. If you work as a contractor, run a food truck, haul freight, or keep a storefront going, this guide explains how business financing works here, who qualifies, what paperwork to gather, which institutions actually sit in Savannah, and which traps to step around.
It's a process, not a rejection.
Business financing is money you borrow, or occasionally receive as a grant, to start, run, or grow a business. It comes in a few shapes: a term loan you repay on a schedule, a line of credit you draw from when a job needs materials up front, a microloan for smaller amounts, or an equipment loan where the truck or tool itself backs the debt.
Chatham County's economy gives lenders a lot of stories they already understand. The port and the logistics corridor running out toward Garden City and Pooler keep owner-operators, freight brokers, forklift mechanics, and warehouse subcontractors busy.
Downtown Savannah's tourism trade supports tour operators, caterers, short-term rental cleaners, and restaurants.
Hunter Army Airfield, nearby military families, and the aerospace plants bring steady demand for movers, childcare, and home trades. Hospitals, the art college, and the visitor trade keep painters, electricians, and landscapers on call.
What that means for you: a lender in Savannah has seen a business like yours before. Your job is to show them how your money comes in — by the load, by the season, by the job — and how you will pay it back.
Forget what the banks say.
Every lender looks at the same core things: can you repay, what does your credit history look like, how long have you been at it, and does the business make sense in this market. Here is how that plays out locally.
- 01**Truckers and logistics subcontractors
** Port work pays by the load and the contract. Settlement statements, broker pay sheets, and fuel receipts show a real, repeating income stream.
- 02**Tourism and hospitality businesses
** Tour companies, food trucks, and cleaners for short-term rentals earn more in the busy seasons and less in the slow ones. Lenders want to see a full year so they can see both.
- 03**Trades working as 1099 subcontractors
** Roofers, painters, and electricians who get paid by general contractors can qualify with 1099s, bank deposits, and a list of the builders they work for.
- 04**Storefronts and service shops
** Barbers, salons, small groceries, and repair shops along the main corridors often run on card sales plus cash. Deposit everything; lenders can only count what lands in a bank account.
Get your papers in order.
Each lender has its own checklist, but these come up almost every time. Gathering them before you call saves weeks.
- 01Government-issued photo ID
Driver's license, passport, or another ID the lender accepts
- 02Your SSN or ITIN, and your business EIN if you have one
- 03Proof the business is real
A Georgia LLC or corporation filing, a trade name registration, or your local business tax certificate from the city or county
- 04Personal tax returns for the last two years
Plus business returns if you file them separately
- 05Business bank statements for the last several months
- 06For truckers
Operating authority if you run under your own, plus load settlement sheets
- 07For trades
1099s, any state license your trade requires, and a short list of the contractors you work for
- 08One-page plan
What the money is for, what it will earn, and how you will repay it
- 09Simple profit-and-loss statement
Even a handwritten one, and a list of equipment you own
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
The doors worth knowing.
Chatham County has more mission-driven lenders based inside its line than most Georgia counties. Start with these.
ALL 14 DOORS, BY NAME AND BY TOWN- 14
- DOORS HERE
- 47
- ACROSS GA
Based in Savannah, Georgia. A community development financial institution, certified by the U.S. Treasury to lend where a bank will not, and used to a file that is not clean.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and working capital, equipment and payroll for a small business.Based in Savannah, Georgia. Treasury-certified as a CDFI, which is a mandate rather than a courtesy: reaching borrowers the mainstream market passes over is the job.
BEST FORWorking capital, equipment and payroll for a small business, and community lending where a bank has already said no.Based in Savannah, Georgia. A CDFI — a mission lender, not a branch network. It is measured on who it reaches, which is why a thin file is not the end of the conversation.
BEST FORCommunity lending where a bank has already said no, and working capital, equipment and payroll for a small business.Based in Atlanta, Georgia. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.
Don't fall into these traps.
Port towns and tourist towns both attract fast-money offers. Watch for these.
These are sold as quick loans but are really a purchase of your future card sales at a steep price, collected daily. A slow season can turn one into a crisis.
Georgia allows title pawns on vehicles. Putting up the truck you earn with to cover a business gap can cost you the truck.
Some lease offers aimed at new owner-operators hide the real cost in balloon payments and penalties. Ask for the total you will pay, in writing, before you sign.
A legitimate lender does not charge a large fee before you receive any money. A request to wire a "processing fee" is a red flag.
A notario público is not a lawyer in the United States. Do not pay a notary or a "consultant" to handle loan paperwork or immigration questions.
Any offer that expires today is an offer to walk away from.
Everything below is set by Georgia, and it reads the same in every county in it. The 14 marks above are this county's own doors — who opens one is decided by them, not by the state.
The rules where you are.
A few state rules shape business financing here.
LLCs and corporations register with the Georgia Secretary of State and renew every year. A sole proprietor using a name other than their own registers that trade name locally. Most cities and the county also require a business tax certificate before you open — Savannah and the unincorporated county handle their own.
Georgia licenses certain trades at the state level, including electrical, plumbing, and conditioned-air work, and residential and general contractors above certain job sizes. Lenders and general contractors increasingly ask to see that license.
If you sell goods, you will need to register with the Georgia Department of Revenue to collect sales tax. Food trucks and retail storefronts should do this before opening.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development and the state's small business development centers can point you toward any current state loan or grant programs. Ask what is open right now; programs change.
The short version.
- 01
Chatham County has real, local options for small businesses. Savannah is home to several community development lenders — Carver State Bank, Catalyst Development Corporation, Small Business Assistance Corporation, and the church-based F A B Church credit union — plus a handful of local credit unions and branches of larger ones.
- 02
Start by getting your paperwork in order: ID, tax returns, bank statements, and a one-page plan that shows how your money comes in. Then call a community lender first, ask your two questions — do you lend to people like me, and what do you need to see — and compare at least two offers before you sign anything.
- 03
If you have an ITIN, ask directly whether the lender works with ITIN borrowers. The national nonprofits listed above say they do.
- 04
Origen Capital is a directory, not a lender. We do not collect your information or sell you anything. Use this guide as a starting point and work directly with the institution when you are ready to apply.
Same county, another question.
Home FinancingPurchase, renovation, HELOC, and bridge loans for homeowners and investorsSEE IT IN CHATHAM COUNTY →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN CHATHAM COUNTY →82GA COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in Georgia, in this same lane.47 institutions fund small businesses inside Georgia county lines.OPEN THE STATE →Still don't see your situation?
Ask Iris. She'll explain it the way it should have been explained the first time.