ascendus.org — Local services in New York

I'm going to write this and some anonymous person from the company is going to find a way to blame me for their failures, please keep that in mind.

What a total waist of time and effort. I can only guess that the reviews that are posted here are bought and paid for because there is no possible way this place is legitimate. A little about me for background, I am a small business owner in NY I have been in business since 2016 I have made profit since 2020. I have completely financed this company from my own pocket from the beginning. This year I decided that we had gotten to the point of taking the step of incorporating for insurance and tax purposes. I decided to seek a small business loan through the Federal Government (SBA) and this "Lender" was matched to me. I applied and very quickly received a response. The "Loan Officer" I delt with asked for many different items for verification from ID to Taxes all of which I provided. This included a Schedule C from last year that showed 53k of revenue for the business. Something I was quite proud of for part time work. There seemed to be no end to the documents required, no master list to things to send. Finally I received a call stating that while they would not offer approval for the full amount asked they would finance 1/5 of it and reevaluate my status in 3 months. My Personal credit was low due to recent events. Despite an extremely high interest rate of 16% I agreed to the terms and awaited the loan documents, knowing i was new to business credit and this was probably a good deal for the time. After that it was more documents, personal bank records, pay stubs from my full time job. And Nothing... See, in June I lost my Dad to a long term illness, my personal finances took a hit not only due to the large costs of funerals but also the loss of work for that time. Rather than take my stellar business performance, my extremely well paying full time job, my perfect payment history into account they saw a few negative balance alerts and an NSF or two on my PERSONAL not BUSINESS checking account and dropped the entire deal. They provided little explanation other than to say it was part of there not for profit that they cant take the risks. Not for profit at 16%??? right!! Remember this was after a verbal confirmation that they loan had been approved and we were just waiting to close.

Now, there are three sides to every story Theirs, Mine and the truth, so take this for what its worth as I said I have little doubt that someone probably high ranking will respond to this and make it all my fault and attempt to render themselves blameless.

If your planning on doing business with this company Id re-read this a time or two and perhaps decide if you want your...

🚨 Ascendus: Not for Minority Business Owners — All Optics, No Substance

I applied to Ascendus because they proudly market themselves as a nonprofit lender that supports underserved, minority-owned businesses with “equitable” financing solutions. As a Black woman business owner with a registered LLC, no late payments, and a stable $300K+ W2 salary, I thought I’d finally found an organization that would look beyond surface-level credit data and offer real support.

What actually happened was worse than a denial — it was a slap in the face.

Ascendus: • Pre-qualified me for $10K — far below the $45K I needed — without explanation • Completely ignored my W2 income even though I submitted a Personal Financial Statement and explained that I fund my business personally • Claimed to do manual reviews, but treated my application like a number run through an algorithm • Failed to respond to multiple follow-ups — my loan officer never returned emails or gave me a realistic pathway forward • Markets support for “Black, Latina, AAPI, and women entrepreneurs” but offers nothing but automated denials and vague communication

I even offered collateral and proactively submitted every document they requested, including full business tax returns, banking info, and proof of business structure. Still, I was pushed aside with a templated email and no respect for the story behind my numbers.

Let me be clear: I’ve never missed a payment. I’ve carried my business using my personal credit because the system hasn’t opened its doors — and Ascendus is just another locked door pretending to be open.

If you’re a woman of color hoping for real access to capital, don’t let the branding fool you. This organization doesn’t do what it claims, and worse — they profit from the illusion that they do.

Shame...

Ascendus is a strong supporter of small businesses and truly wants to see these businesses thrive. They offer financial funding via loans that help to meet the needs of small businesses while setting favorable loan terms and interest rates in a way that is fair and affordable. They are not greedy and you will absolutely not find any loan sharking interest rates here!! My favorite part of the very easy loan process was working with Juan Guzman, who is the Senior Loan Consultant. He was so very personable and kind, not to mention very patient. He did not rush us through the loan process at all, but really took the time to explain all the financial terms and the workings of the entire process. We had his undivided attention! Any questions we emailed to him or phone calls made were answered immediately. He was very accessible and super professional. I enjoyed speaking with Juan because he was personable and relatable. He happily shared relevant details of his life and career that just humanized him all the more and made him very likable and trustworthy. It really felt like we were getting the loan from a friend and not someone who prior to the first call was a complete stranger. We would definitely recommend Ascendus to other small businesses and look forward to working with Juan again in the future. He's the best and my favorite part of the loan process.Thank you for reading my review. You will have no regrets working with...