With the recession still bearing down on small businesses, not to mention the subprime mortgage fallout and credit crunch making it increasingly difficult to obtain loans, many small business owners are on the lookout for help and support.

Thanks to Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), that's what hundreds of New Hampshire small businesses got this week at the Small Business Financing Fair in Manchester, NH.

The fair, which took place at the Southern New Hampshire University gym on Monday, matched over 400 small business owners looking for financing options with 45 banks and government agencies that are willing to lend.

The attendees were a mix of prospective entrepreneurs in search of startup capital and established small business owners looking for financing, Dallas Lagerquist told the Nashua Telegraph. Lagerquist is a business development officer for Manchester-based Hampshire First Bank.

The director of the New Hampshire chapter of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Wit Jones, told the news provider that the chapter has seen an increase of $10 million in loans and loan guarantees in the last four months - a spike he attributes to the stimulus package.

Only 19 percent of small business owners reported using bank loans as the source for capital when starting their small businesses, according to the latest Discover Small Business Watch. Personal savings was the number one choice at 45 percent.