The Progress Fund is a business loan fund established in 1997 to provide capital to small businesses in nine counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The region that the applicant serves has faced severe distress over the last few decades - loss of jobs due to the decline of core industries such as iron and railroad, poverty due to job loss, and subsequent heavy migration out of the region. The applicant has tried to link their approach to economic revitalization to the resources/assets available in the region through support of tourism-focused small businesses. The small businesses and facilities supported by the applicant are located in low/mod income communities, owned by low/mod income people or create employment for low/mod income people. Over the last three years, the businesses the applicant funded created or retained 128 jobs directed to low/moderate income residents of their Target Market.