Albany Community Together, Inc. is a mission-driven small business lender serving Southwest Georgia. ACT! provides access to capital, business development services, and assists in developing networks for our clients to grow and prosper. ACT!’s goal is to provide services to those businesses that are underserved and/or not served by traditional financial institutions. 

ACT! develops partnerships to help them navigate through the business world and to build strong banking relationships. ACT! is a CDFI providing small business loans to predominantly minority-owned businesses in a 38-county region of southwestern Georgia. 17 of the counties are designated as Persistent Poverty Counties and historically this region has been one of the poorest in Georgia.

ACT! was born out of a natural disaster, the Flood of ’94 caused by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Alberto that ravaged the City of Albany, leaving many businesses in South Albany under water. The Southside of Albany was home to many African-American legacy businesses. In response to the disaster and in an effort to assist those businesses with recovery, the city of Albany along with four major banks provided the seed capital to start Albany Community Together, Inc. (ACT!). Today, Albany Community Together, Inc. continues to answer the call to assist businesses in recovery whether from natural or economic disaster.

From ACT!’s first loan in 2001, ACT! has provided $9 million in direct loans and leveraged over $28 million, assisting to create, sustain, and retain 910 jobs.