Nebraska Enterprise Fund

Training, Mentoring/Coaching, Technical Assistance, Micro and Small Business Loans up to $150K 2013 Jim Reiff, became Executive Director, and located in Omaha with staff. Today, NEF provides loan capital to businesses and programs across Nebraska. In addition to offering direct loans to businesses from $5,000 to $150,000, NEF collaborates with other lending programs or financial institutions when gap financing is needed. NEF offers Business Acumen Training a 5 week program. NEF has staff in Omaha, Oakland, North Platte and Norfolk. In 2000, Rose Jaspersen was then hired as Executive Director of the organization. NEF received public charity status from the Internal Revenue Service in 2008. Due to the growth of NEF and NCF it was decided to separate the two organizations at that time, allowing NEF to bring its bookkeeping in-house. The history of the Nebraska Enterprise Fund began in 1994. With multiple micro programs developing across the state at that time, it became apparent that there was a need for an organization to assist in procuring grant and loan funds to meet long-term operational and lending needs. Gene Severens set out to work on the design and development of the Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund (NMPF), a statewide microenterprise intermediary, and served as the first director. NMPF's name was changed to Nebraska Enterprise Fund (NEF) in 2008, but the mission and purpose remained the same.