Business financing in Charleston County.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
6 institutions are headquartered inside the Charleston County line, Charleston included, and 2 more keep a branch here. Below, we say which is which.
Not this lane? Home FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Charleston 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.
- 8
- DOORS HERE
- 6
- BASED HERE
- 35
- SC COUNTIES WITH DOORS
- Lane
- Business Financing
- People
- 408Kresidents of Charleston County
- Covers
- Charleston
- Elsewhere in SC
- Greenville County →17 doors — the biggest list of any other county in South Carolina
- State
- South Carolina →35 of 46 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.
Charleston Redevelopment Corporation · CLIMB FundOwned 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.
Cpm Credit Union · Rev Credit Union- Charleston Redevelopment CorporationCommunity lending · Business capital
- CLIMB FundCommunity lending · Business capital
- Cpm Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- South Carolina Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- South Carolina Community Loan FundCommunity lending · Business capital
- IN THIS LIST
4 of the 8 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.
- Latitude 32 Credit UnionPersonal · Home
Based elsewhere, with a member-facing office inside the Charleston County line. You can walk in.
- Rev Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedPersonal · Home · Business capital
- State Department Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- 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 (Mar 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.
Charleston County has a growing network of local lenders, CDFIs, credit unions, and nonprofit organizations that can help solo contractors and small real-estate investors access affordable financing. This guide walks you through what business financing looks like, who qualifies, what documents you'll need, and which local institutions actually serve this market. We also cover South Carolina-specific rules and common predatory traps to watch out for. Take your time — the right financing relationship is built on trust and fit, not speed.
- 8
- DOORS HERE
- 37
- ACROSS SC
Based in Charleston, South Carolina. 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 FORCommunity lending where a bank has already said no, and working capital, equipment and payroll for a small business.Based in Charleston, South Carolina. 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 Charleston, South Carolina. 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 Alexandria, Virginia. 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.Everything below is set by South Carolina, and it reads the same in every county in it. The 8 marks above are this county's own doors — who opens one is decided by them, not by the state.
The rules where you are.
None of this is set by a lender. South Carolina sets it, and it applies the same in every county in the state — which is why it is worth knowing before you knock on any of the doors above.
- BUSINESS TAX5.0%
What South Carolina charges on top of federal. It is the first thing a lender reconciles when your numbers do not match your tax return.
- CORPORATE INCOME TAX5.0%
It depends on how the business is registered. A sole proprietor almost never pays it — worth knowing which side of that line you are on before you apply.
- SALES TAX6.0% state · 1.5% avg local
What you collect on a job, and what your materials cost. It is the gap between a bid that holds and one that does not.
- WHERE THE MONEY IS HEREAutomotive Manufacturing · Aerospace & Boeing · Tourism & Hospitality
South Carolina's three biggest sectors. A local lender reads your file against them — a trade that serves these is a trade they already understand.
Sources: Tax Foundation 2025 · Census ACS 5-year 2023 · BEA/MERIC COLI 2024 · Zillow 2026-Q1. As of 2026-04.
The short version.
- 01
8 doors sit inside the Charleston County line. They are up the page, by name and by town — and none of them paid to be there.
- 02
4 of them are certified by the U.S. Treasury as CDFIs. Lending where a bank will not is their mandate, not a favour.
- 03
This page did not ask you for a name, an email, or a number, and nothing on it changes based on who you are.
- 04
35 of South Carolina's 46 counties hold a door in this lane. If Charleston County does not have the one you need, the whole state is one click away.
Same county, another question.
Home FinancingPurchase, renovation, HELOC, and bridge loans for homeowners and investorsSEE IT IN CHARLESTON COUNTY →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN CHARLESTON COUNTY →35SC COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in South Carolina, in this same lane.37 institutions fund small businesses inside South Carolina 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.