When repercussions from the events of Sept. 11, 2001, eventually spelled the end of the production company for which Gavin Grace worked, he wanted to continue to put his carefully honed skills to good use. After nearly a decade of shooting and editing video footage as well as creating graphics and animations, Grace had his sights set on starting his own production company.

There was only one problem: Grace lacked the capital necessary for a full-scale launch of his business. Without this funding, Grace knew it’d be impossible to fulfill his dream of running his own business.

Looking for a backer

Because Grace didn’t have access to credit through his bank, he had to do some digging to find the money that his fledgling company, Blue Peach Media, so desperately needed.

Although his business was still in its infancy, Grace had already managed to land several clients for whom he was regularly producing work. His services were becoming increasingly sought after, making it that much more important to secure funding as quickly as possible.

Despite Blue Peach Media’s sunny outlook, many banks and credit unions continued to reject Grace’s loan requests. Eventually, he turned to a smaller financial institution, New York’s Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, for funding, hoping that they might listen to his story.

Much to Grace’s delight, the credit union was more than willing to hear him out.

“We serve those people who are not given loans by traditional banks,” says Rosa Franco, director of lending at Neighborhood Trust.

“If a borrower doesn’t have access to a traditional bank, we welcome them,” she adds. “We review all types of loans. We don’t approve all, but we look at each one.”

Read the rest at NerdWallet.com