Dakota Business Lending has 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 their second NMTC allocation. They were awarded $30 million in 2021 and remain the first and only North Dakota based financing entity to be chosen and one of the country’s top 100 community-focused organizations recognized this year.
NMTC is run and administered through the U.S. Department of Treasury. This year, the program allocated a total of $5 billion to 107 of the 199 Community Development Entities (CDEs) applicants 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.
Dakota Business Lending allocated their first $30 full award, received in September of 2021, to four qualifying businesses across North Dakota in under 11 months. The program had a $107 million direct project impact and helped create and retain 325 permanent jobs for citizens across the state. “Given our ability to deploy the funds in such a short amount of time, it is evident that the demand for a unique financing program like NMTC is much higher than anticipated,” commented Steve Dusek, President & CEO. “We are excited to use this second allocation continue to meet that demand, provide this unique opportunity for businesses, and spread the economic impact even further.” Dakota Business Lending will continue to maximize and spread economic impact by encouraging the “pay-it-forward” concept, asking businesses assisted through the program to “repay” the kindness by financially supporting local organizations in need.
As North Dakota’s top SBA 504 lender for the past 12 years, Dakota Business Lending provides creative and affordable small business financing solutions and technical assistance that promotes economic development and prosperity in our communities.
Dakota Business Lending has several projects in the pipeline for consideration and are also working on the application for the next round of funding. Please contact one of the Dakota Business Lending loan officers with any potential projects and visit www.dakotabusinesslending.com/nmtc for more information. The organization looks forward to providing this opportunity and continuing to impact this great state.
About Dakota Business Lending
Founded in 1982, Dakota Business Lending is the oldest, largest, and most experienced 504 CDC in North Dakota. With staff throughout North Dakota and Montana, Dakota Business Lending serves North Dakota, Montana, and five counties in western Minnesota. The mission of this private, not-for-profit entity is to provide small business financing solutions through collaborative partnerships in a supportive, creative environment that grows the economy and creates or preserves quality jobs. Since inception, Dakota Business Lending has provided over $550 million in loans with total project impact exceeding $1.2 billion to small businesses and local economies.
About the New Markets Tax Credits Program
The New Markets Tax Credit Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a non-refundable tax credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in financial intermediaries known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). CDEs that receive the tax credit allocation authority under the program are domestic corporations or partnerships that provide loans, investments, or financial counseling in low-income urban and rural communities. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39% of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. The CDEs in turn use the capital raised to make investments in low-income communities. CDEs must apply annually to the CDFI Fund to compete for New Markets Tax Credit Program allocation authority. Since the inception of the NMTC Program, the CDFI Fund has completed 18 allocation rounds and has made 1,461 awards totaling $71 billion in tax allocation authority. This includes $3 billion in Recovery Act Awards and $1 billion of special allocation authority used for the recovery and redevelopment of the Gulf Opportunity Zone. To learn more about the New Markets Tax Credit Program, please visit www.cdfifund.gov/nmtc.
