The Community First Fund began on a wing and a prayer.

Started in Lancaster in 1992 by the late James Hyson and a few other community leaders determined to spur economic development in low-income areas, the organization had a small loan fund and one staff person and held meetings wherever it could find space.

"We had nothing," original board member Jim Shultz said.

Today, Community First Fund has offices in  Lancaster, York, Harrisburg and Reading, operates in 17 southcentral Pennsylvania counties and has a lending fund of $25 million.

"That will give you an idea of where we started and where we are now,"  said Shultz, now a member of its senior loan committee.

On Tuesday, the Fund celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gathering at the Lancaster Marriott. About 450 friends, members and investors gathered to remember the Fund's first 20 years and present its annual Hyson Awards to worthy loan recipients.

One of those was Marquita Jones, owner of the Harrisburg-based Heaven Sent Academy, an early learning center with 50 students between the ages of 2 and 12. Jones received a loan in 2007 that helped with the purchase of her present facility.

"When they told me I was being recognized, I cried," Jones said. "It's such an honor."

Jones said that her previous attempts to get a loan through conventional banks "met a brick wall."

She turned to the Community First Fund.

"They helped us get the mortgage," she said. "They worked very well with us.

"They've truly been a blessing."

Also given the award this year was Michael Rivera, assistant vice president of business services at the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Shultz said Community First projects are aimed primarily at minorities, women and others whom conventional lenders "are not going to look at."

Current board chairman Eric Menzer said the Fund focuses on "the people part of economic development," those "starting out on that American dream" of owning a business.

"We don't get to do fancy ribbon-cuttings," he said. "But what we do get to do is deal one-on-one with individuals."

The Fund has made a substantial impact in Lancaster, said its president and CEO, Daniel Betancourt. Projects include Ric's Bread, the House of Clarendon, Champs Barbershop and the Lancaster Arts Hotel. The Fund also has helped SACA and HDC create affordable housing.

Funding comes from banks, foundations, government agencies and other investors, private and corporate.

Former board member Betty Hurdle, who was there at the start, said seeing the Fund today is like "watching a baby grow up."

"It's wonderful," she said, "the things they've been able to do. We dreamt of this."

Another original former board member, Gwen Glover, is proud of how the Fund has been accepted by the community.

"It was a tough struggle in the beginning, but we had really good people working together," she said. "I'm grateful for that."

Reflecting on the crowd Tuesday, Shultz thought about Hyson, who died in 1995.

"This was Jimmy Hyson's dream," he said. "And oh man would he be impressed."
lalexander@lnpnews.com