As the NY Times noted last week, a big portion of the ARC loans made so far has been concentrated in a handful of Midwestern states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, to name a few. Below is a visualization of the latest data from the SBA through Aug. 18 that I put together with Many Eyes, a very cool data visualization tool from IBM.

I'm curious to hear from those of you in the trenches trying to get these loans: How much support have you had from different SBA district offices, or lenders in different states? What's going on in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Utah that's not going on in New Jersey, Nevada, or California? Does aggressive outreach account for the differences here?

A reader in Houston recently left this comment on an earlier post about ARC loans:

There has been ZERO arc loans closed in the Houston area. There is a huge disparity on the use of these federal funds. Banks are not advertising the Arc loans and will not give potential customers any information on the loans when there is an inquiry. Banks will not deny your loan and will keep it on their books. This is a loop hole for not having to report. Arc loans are a complete failure in the Houston area and I am working with several institutions that will back me up on this, such as Acion Texas and PTAC. There is absolutely no follow through with the Arc loan program. Bank of America is the main lender that is promising the most when getting the federal funds and delivering nothing. It was very embarrassing to be a small business owner who is excited about the stimulus plan efforts to only be turned away. Where is our voice in all this?

There are substantial regional disparities here, and the reason behind them isn't clear. If you have any insight from your own experience trying to get an ARC loan, let us know in comments below.

Laid-off? 401(k) flattened? House Foreclosed? That’s no reason not to have a day of fun especially if it’s on Sir Richard Branson. The mogul behind the global Virgin Group is taking a decidedly entrepreneurial approach to both the economic blues and the annual Virgin Mobile Festival to be held August 30th at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The idea: if the economy’s got you down, get up, make merry, and volunteer.

This year Branson gave away 35,000 tickets to the all day music festival (with a lineup that includes rock bands Blink-182 and Franz Ferdinand). Another 3,500 additional tickets were earned through volunteer service at youth homeless shelters (Virgin Mobile’s main philanthropic focus) – an incentive that netted 30,000 volunteer hours at centers across the country. Branson, a man who has shown it is possible to have fun, make lots of money, be innovative and charitable says: "In a time of economic challenges and daily sacrifices, we wanted to throw a fantastic party so people could let loose and have a great time -- on us.”

Indeed, the spirit of “Free the Festival” is awash in freebies and philanthropy. Virgin America is providing a plane to fly a number of individuals from the Los Angeles area who donated 13 plus hours of community service to the concert and a shuttle bus will bring in homeless youth volunteers from Boston, Philadelphia and New York City. At the “Lucky Layoff Lounge” festival goers will have the opportunity to win Virgin Mobile phone service, Gibson Flying V guitars, Sony Play Stations, and Virgin America flight vouchers among other items.

It’s not all take, however. During the “Free Fest” concertgoers will be encouraged to give back too. For starters, Branson himself will be playing bartender at the Karma Bar where $1 off every drink purchased will be donated to youth homeless groups. Throughout the day, jumbotrons will direct people to various ways they can donate money or volunteer their time. While Virgin Mobile is the event’s sponsor, it has set up a texting system that will allow anyone -- regardless of their wireless carrier -- to donate $5 to a homeless center.
The message: even free fun can have a price and why not make that a little charity.