Artonyon

When Artonyon Ingram came to Washington State nearly three decades ago after leaving the Air Force, he knew he wanted to help people. He first became a case manager, working with young people and encouraging them to pursue education, and went on to get a Masters degree in guidance counseling from City University. Artonyon heard about Northwest Access Fund in 2010, when he came to set up his own practice as a licensed counselor. Our funding provided Artonyon the means to purchase the equipment he needed to set up his home office and consulting room. He has now received five loans from Northwest Access Fund, allowing him to run his small business that subsidizes his Social Security Disability Insurance income. “I get loans from Northwest Access Fund that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I applied for multiple business loans but they would only give me a Visa credit card. The smallest loan they would consider was for $30,000, and I couldn’t do that.” Artonyon credits Northwest Access Fund with providing the small-dollar loan he needed: “You can start with the small picture and build from there. Just use it wisely.”