This Just In...OCC's Districts
Report on Investment Opportunities for Banks

Northeastern District

John Farrell (617) 482-1643
Denise Kirk-Murray (212) 790-4053

Investing in Sustainable Forestry

Rural banks in northern New England and upstate New York now have the opportunity to invest in a vital industry sustaining their communities: forestry.    Under a new investment fund introduced by Coastal Enterprises, Inc., banks can receive tax credits for their participation in a program providing long term working capital for sustainable timber harvesting and forest management across the northern regions of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.   The project has received an allocation of New Markets Tax Credits, and investors purchasing these tax credits will be capitalizing a fund supporting forest-based businesses such as paper mills while helping to sustain jobs and maintain working forests and receiving a direct credit to federal taxes at the same time. Last year, Coastal Enterprises celebrated its 25th year of providing critical support to community development initiatives in Maine, and is now expanding its market to encompass all of the northern New England and upstate New York.   For further information about this and other funds in these rural geographies, contact Coastal Enterprises, Inc, at (207) 882-7552.

Connecticut Loan Fund Receives Grant

The Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund (GNHCLF)—a certified community development financial institution—received a $175,000 financial assistance award from the Treasury's CDFI Fund.   GNHCLF has been providing flexible, alternative financing in support of affordable housing and other community development projects in the New Haven area for fifteen years.   The Financial Assistance award will be used as a credit enhancement for its loan programs, and will also support it efforts in providing homeownership counseling and financial literacy training for individuals and non-profit developers.   The Fund lends to developers of affordable housing who incorporate sustained affordability into their projects, including community land trusts and limited equity cooperatives.   The Fund is seeking investors, and offers flexible, negotiated rates of return on investments for periods ranging from one to 20 years.   For further information on the Fund's projects or to learn how to make an investment, contact the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund at (203) 789-8690.

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Central District

Paul Ginger (312) 360-8876
Norma Polanco (216) 447-8866

Equity Network in Rural Minnesota

Minnesota Investment Network Corporation (MINC) provides equity financing and business expertise to help small companies located primarily in rural Minnesota grow and prosper, resulting in returns to investors, and jobs for communities.   MINC also helps communities develop local capacity to make equity investments by organizing investors into RAIN® funds - a series of investment funds that pool the intellectual and financial resources of local investors to make equity investments in small businesses.   Since 1998, MINCORP has raised more than $15 million, made 25 investments and helped start seven RAIN® funds in Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota, with three more in process.   MINC is a certified community development financial institution that seeks competitive returns appropriate for the risks.   Banks have referred companies needing equity to MINC, participated as senior lenders in financing companies in MINC's portfolio and have participated in organizing RAIN® funds with MINC .   In addition banks have invested directly in MINC to provide equity investment capital to serve small businesses in the banks' market areas. For more information, contact Steve Mercil at 651-632-2140 or at smercil@mincorp.org.   MINC's web site is http://www.mincorp.org/.

Cooperative Financing in the Upper Midwest

Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund (NCDF) is a for-profit, cooperatively owned loan fund that provides financing, training and expertise to small producer, consumer, affordable-housing, worker and land cooperatives in eleven states in the upper Midwest.   NCDF today has more than $8 million in assets, has made hundreds of loans to cooperatives since its founding in 1978 and has contained losses since 1978 to 0.27% of dollars loaned.   Investors in NCDF include banks, cooperatives, religious orders, foundations and others.   Certified by the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund as a CDFI and as a community development entity, NCDF also has funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help develop and finance rural housing cooperatives, and NCDF last year established a community development credit union that helps members of cooperatives finance their membership shares.   Banks are involved with NCDF as co-lenders, as investors and on the board of directors.   For more information, contact Margaret Lund at (612) 331-9103 or at margaret@ncdf.coop.   NCDF's web site is http://www.ncdf.org/.

Kentucky Tax Credits for Small Business Investments

The Kentucky Investment Fund Act (KIFA) offers a 40% state tax credit to investors in funds that invest in small businesses in Kentucky.   The purpose of KIFA is to encourage capital investment and small business development in Kentucky, to provide jobs to state residents, and to encourage the development of new products and technologies in Kentucky.   After credits are allocated to a fund, the credits are proportionately granted to the fund's investors upon its completion of qualified investments.   The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority and the Office of the New Economy allocate the credits to investment funds and administer the program.   Nearly $3 million in credits were awarded to three investment funds last year, and a new round of applications ended on March 15, 2004.   Investment funds receiving tax credit allocations now are seeking investors.   Banks can participate as investors in funds, can help to form new funds in subsequent rounds of the program, can finance businesses receiving investments from the funds and can refer businesses needing capital investments.   For more information, contact Donna Dutton at 502-564-0531 or at. Donna.Dutton@ky.gov   A complete description of KIFA is available at http://www.one-ky.com/KIFA_TaxCredits.html .

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Southern District

Karol Klim (404) 588-4538
David Lewis (214) 720-7027

Banks Investing in Atlanta's Future

Investing in the Community Redevelopment Loan and Investment Fund, Inc. (CRLIF), a CDFI fund has proven to make a difference to metro Atlanta's most distressed neighborhoods.   An affiliate of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (ANDP), CRLIF became a certified CDFI in 1999. Throughout its 13-year history, ANDP has been engaged in developing housing for people of moderate to low incomes. Their dedication to creating mixed-income neighborhoods has resulted in helping to build or renovate more than 7,800 housing units in the Atlanta metropolitan region. CRLIF assists ANDP with creating affordable housing by providing low interest loans to community development corporations and other nonprofit housing developers. Financial institutions and foundations can donate or invest from $250,000 to $5 million. One of the ways ANDP is able to rejuvenate distressed communities is through CRLIF, because it is able to underwrite risks that typically do not meet traditional lending criteria. CRLIF's CDFI fund totals $12 million and also allows area banks to qualify for the Treasury Department's Bank Enterprise Award (BEA).  For further information, please contact, CRLIF Director K.C. George, (404) 522-2637, or visit their website at
www.andpi.org/housingfindept. 

Promoting Business Expansion and Job Creation at Southeast Community Capital

Southeast Community Capital provides the growth capital businesses across Tennessee and the Southeast need for expansion and job creation.   SCC was created in December 1999 as a statewide effort to increase access to capital for Tennessee's disadvantaged small businesses.   SCC received its CDFI certification in May of 2001. With headquarters in Oak Ridge, SCC has added offices in Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville, TN.   In each city, SCC has created a public-private partnership between the city and financial institutions.   In each location, SCC manages a business opportunity fund, as well as its regional revolving loan fund that services all of Tennessee, northern Alabama, and northern Georgia.   SCC's strategy is to grow each of its funds to more than $5 million so that each fund will be self-sustaining and can meet local demand.   Each fund focuses on disadvantaged areas and individuals for business growth and job creation in the local market.   SCC is in the process of creating two funds, a regional loan fund for East Tennessee as part of the Nine Counties One Vision initiative and a city fund for Baton Rouge, LA. For information or to contact SCC about possible investment opportunities email gwin@sccapital.org or go to www.sccapital.org .

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Western District

Susan Howard   (818) 240-5175
Dave Miller (720) 475-7670

Colorado Revolving Loan Fund Leverages Bank Investments

Bank investments in revolving loan funds like the Colorado Enterprise Fund can improve the future financial strength of entrepreneurs who may develop into future small business borrowers.   The Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) is a non-profit community development financial institution providing financing for small businesses that may qualify for future bank loans but need time and experience to demonstrate that they are bankable.   CEF provides up to $150,000 to entrepreneurs who are unable to obtain financing from traditional sources.   CEF also provides management assistance to their small business borrowers.   CEF provides entrepreneurs access to pro bono professional services for legal, accounting, investment banking, and public relations questions.   CEF loan programs include a specialized loan program designed to facilitate capital investment in childcare businesses.   The expansion of childcare businesses provides a critical service to the employees of many companies as well as economic development.   Investors in CEF include the U.S. Small Business Administration, the State of Colorado, US Bank and FirstBank.   Contact: Colorado Enterprise Fund (303) 860-0242;
http://www.coloradoenterprisefund.org

Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund Provides Critical Funding for Microenterprise Loan Programs

Entrepreneurs build their livelihoods and their communities one job at a time primarily through small, family-operated businesses and farms.   Microenterprises, businesses with five or fewer employees make up the majority of the small businesses in the United States.   Microenterprise lenders are often in small rural communities and lack the resources to raise capital to fund their small business borrowers.   The Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund (NMPF), a community development financial institution, is a statewide financial intermediary providing funding for microenterprise loan programs.   NMPF raises funds from national, state and private sources to fund grants and loans to microenterprise loan programs throughout the state of Nebraska.   Access to funding and technical assistance through NMPF creates significant opportunities for new microenterprise lenders.   NMPF has provided support for two microenterprise loan programs recently certified as community development financial institutions, the Self Employment Loan Fund of Lincoln Nebraska and Northeast Economic Development, Inc. in Norfolk, Nebraska.   NMPF has received investments from financial institutions seeking to increase the level of microenterprise in the communities they serve.   Investors include the state of Nebraska, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Community Development Fund, US Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, and First National Bank of Omaha.
For more information please contact: Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund (402) 846-5757; http://www.nebiz.org

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