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MISSOULA - If you've been thinking about applying for a loan to start your own company, now might be a good time.

About $4 million will be available in loans and $400,000 in grants for small businesses in the state, in a new program funded by a donation to the Montana Community Development Corporation from Goldman Sachs.

Montana is the first rural state to receive money from the national investment bank's "10,000 Small Businesses Initiative for Rural Regions." It's a new part of the $500 million program that Goldman Sachs announced in 2009, shortly after making headlines for accepting federal bailout money and giving large bonuses to top employees, according to CNN Money.

The $4 million is partly thanks to Sen. Max Baucus, who brought Goldman Sachs representatives to Montana in 2010 and introduced them to the Montana Community Development Corporation's work.

The non-profit Missoula-based Montana CDC works to strengthen Montana's economy by encouraging small businesses.