Many business owners that Thrive Community Lending serves aren’t in Georgia by choice.

Thrive Community Lending is based in Clarkston, Georgia — a small city home to over 14,000 residents from more than 50 countries. Many residents are refugees from their home countries. 

“The refugees didn’t really choose to come to the United States. They often don’t have another choice,” shared John Arnold, executive director of Thrive Community Lending.

When refugees move to the United States, they face several challenges as they establish new lives in a new country.

“One is just language. You cannot really function in another place unless you know the language,” John explained. “Learning another language when you’re an adult is not as easy as when you’re a child. Having the command of English and understanding American culture is a challenge.”

A second challenge is understanding the U.S. financial system. “Having good credit is important in the United States, and that’s not a very common thing in many of the countries where our clients come from. But here, to be able to get mobile phone service, to rent an apartment, you have to have good credit,” John said.

John has worked for 30 years resettling refugees in Georgia. He’s met people from different countries with different backgrounds — things that could divide them from the families around them. But it’s often a love for others and a dream for a better future that unites families from various countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with one another and with local Georgians.

“A few years back, I had the privilege of being the case manager for an Ethiopian refugee who’d finally be able to reunite with her family here,” John explained.

“Little did I know that her older sister was providing loving care for my mother at a senior living community as my mom was slowly declining from her battle with dementia. When the sister and I both realized that we were serving each other’s family members, we were overjoyed and filled with a deep sense of gratitude.”

When John heard about Thrive’s work, he was intrigued. His work had focused on resettlement while Thrive was helping refugees establish themselves in their new homes and build the stability they’d lacked since leaving their home country.

Many refugees were successful business owners in their home countries. Now they not only need to learn a new language but also adapt to new business and financial traditions.

“Running a business in the U.S. might be very different than what they were used to, even though they might have a lot of experience running a business in their countries,” John shared. 

The barriers that refugees face led Inspiritus — an organization committed to empowering families across Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama — to found Thrive Community Lending to provide support and small business loans to refugees and immigrants.

Thrive occupies a unique position in the community as both a nonprofit and a loan management organization. 

“We’re deploying loans and providing business training to folks who are low-income to strengthen their business or help them launch a brand new business,” John explained. “What I love most is the personal contact with borrowers and potential borrowers. I learn about their lives and their dreams for their small business.”

Not only does Thrive provide the funds to help refugees scale their business, but the team also equips their clients with the tools and training they need to succeed after they close on the loan.

“We offer business training for people before they get a loan to prepare them to apply for the loan,” John said. “Then after they close on a loan with us, we’re committed to working with them to make sure their business is successful.

“We have now deployed loans to help launch or strengthen 38 small businesses in the Atlanta and Savannah areas. This represents $425,000 invested into low-income communities, with our supported new businesses creating 64 jobs.”

Last year, Thrive opened a fund with the Community Foundation, and the foundation loaned Thrive $100,000 to help fund small businesses and expand loan opportunities for refugee business owners through its impact investing initiative. 

Soon after, Thrive helped its 27th small business take the next step toward financial success.

This business owner is a Ukrainian refugee named Alex who fled Ukraine in search of safety.

“He’s married with three children, and they were in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. They were tolerating the bombing and disruption that you can imagine happens in the middle of the war, but they decided they needed to leave and go someplace safe for their young children,” John shared.

Alex had been a successful businessman in Ukraine and brought his talents in textured and specialty painting to the Atlanta area.

“But he needed equipment for the mixing of these specialty paints instead of having to order it from Europe and pay the expensive tariffs, taxes and shipping costs,” John said. “He had customers waiting but wasn’t able to serve them quickly because of the lack of this equipment.”

With last year’s funds from the Community Foundation, Thrive closed on a loan with Alex to help him purchase the equipment he needed for a flourishing business. 

“Refugees like Alex fled persecution and came to the United States, not just for a better life but also to spare the lives of their families. He’s a great person — super motivated and hardworking. He’s the kind of person that I think the U.S. needs,” John shared. 

As John and his team at Thrive Community look forward to the next half of 2026, they’re excited to continue growing and partnering with business owners like Alex so the refugee community in Georgia can flourish.

“We’d love to expand our lending capacity to deploy loans to 20+ additional low-income entrepreneurs this year, including those who are served by our parent organization and who either host and care for disabled adults or who were affected by natural disasters,” he explained.

John also hopes others in the community will spread the word about Thrive. From referring low-income entrepreneurs to Thrive to connecting with refugee resettlement agencies, local changemakers can help the refugee community feel welcomed and supported.

Community members can also pray for Thrive.

“Prayer is direct communication with God,” John said. “He’s not a distant God that’s only sometimes available; He’s always there.  Through prayer, we have a powerful connection to Someone Who loves us, cares for us, is just and Who listens and acts on our behalf.”

To learn more about Thrive Community Lending, visit their website or call 470-593-0209. Click here to donate to their fund and further their mission.