Dakota Business Lending is excited to announce that they have been selected by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund to receive $30 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation. This is a landmark achievement given that Dakota Business Lending is the first North Dakota based financing entity to be chosen and one of the country’s top 100 community-focused organizations recognized this year.
Created in 2000 through the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act, NMTC is run and administered through the U.S. Department of Treasury. This year, the program allocated a total of $5 billion to Community Development Entities (CDEs) throughout the nation through a competitive and challenging application process, who then use their allocations to further the mission of the program: to encourage and jumpstart investment in low-income census tracts to create jobs, bring new opportunities to qualifying areas, and fill a financing gap for transformative projects.
As North Dakota’s top SBA 504 lender for the past 11 years, Dakota Business Lending provides creative and affordable small business financing solutions and technical assistance that promotes economic development and prosperity in our communities.
To fund NMTC, Dakota Business Lending will work to fill a financing gap through a process of investing and monetizing tax credits. All projects done through the NMTC program must either be located in a qualifying low-income census tract, be transformative in size or scale to the (re)development of a distressed area, and adaptable to the unique structure and requirements of the program.
In addition to the NMTC program, Dakota Business Lending will continue to maximize and spread economic impact by encouraging the “pay-it-forward” concept. Businesses assisted through the NMTC will be asked to “repay” the kindness by passing along assistance and support to others in need.
Since inception, the NMTC program has made 1,354 allocation awards totaling $66 billion in tax credit authority, invested over $55.9 billion in low-income communities, and supported the construction of more than 231 million square feet of manufacturing, office, and retail space. With numbers like these, it’s no doubt that this program is making an enormous impact in local small business, communities, and economies nationwide, and Dakota Business Lending looks forward to providing this opportunity in North Dakota and helping the state continue to thrive.
Over the next several weeks, Dakota Business Lending will be working through the details of the NMTC allocation, seeking qualified projects, and providing more information on the program and how it can help businesses throughout North Dakota. Please contact one of the Dakota Business Lending loan officers with any projects come to mind and visit their NMTC webpage for more information. The organization looks forward to providing this opportunity and continuing to impact this great state.