State Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury) and the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce (BVCC) are trying to building partnerships with their affiliates the Central Massachusetts Center for Business and Enterprise (CMCBE), and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC), and others, in an effort is to extend lines of credit to small businesses for expansion and to help hire new employees.

“The lifeblood of our financial strength and stability remains small businesses,” said Senator Moore in a press release. “By giving small business owners the ability to increase their workforce and broaden their consumer base, we’re creating muchneeded jobs that didn’t exist before. It’s critical that we think outside the box in finding lending partners for small businesses, particularly at a time when state resources are limited.”

The CMCBE is a non-profit entity within the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce dedicated to finding alternative funding sources for business development and expansion. New or emerging businesses that have been unable to get financing from traditional lending sources are the targeted groups for the program.

“It’s no secret small businesses need some help with gap lending,” Jeannie Hebert, President and CEO of the BVCC, told The Millbury-Sutton Chronicle.

“It’s the gap lending we’re trying to get off the ground right now, so that we can do some lending here ourselves,” she continued.

Prospective partners include Clark University’s Small Business Development Corporation and Graduate School, SCORE, Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, The Small Business Administration, USDA, MassDevelopment, Massachusetts Office of Business Development, local Community Development Corporations and other state and federal departments and agencies.

Senator Moore worked with the BVCC and one of its partners the MGCC, to lower loan amounts and ease restrictions on businesses with less than 50 employees. According to Hebert, the BVCC has helped close to 40 businesses recently.

Senator Moore continued: “At a time when gap funding is exceptionally difficult to secure, Ms. Hebert has continually achieved small business growth using every possible avenue.”