Posts Tagged ‘Congress’

$50 Million to Finance Fund : New Markets Tax Credits Announced Today

This is a pretty important day in the history of Finance Fund. We learned this morning that we have been awarded $50 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the CDFI Fund in the U.S. Department of Treasury. The funding will be used to offer low-interest financing for projects that revitalize both urban and rural low-income [...]

Lies and apathy (Naked again)

We all come naked from the womb, but most of us do not stay that way. Yet again I am amazed at the rhetoric flying about the airwaves and the halls of congress concerning the Shangri-La or inferno of revamping the U.S. health care system. It’s not the topic that is disconcerting but how the [...]

A D.C. Visit

I begin today with two days at the Novogradic New Markets Tax Credit Conference talking about current hot button issues in the industry.
The most prevalent is the recently release GAO report “Minority Entities Are Less Successful in Obtaining Awards Than Non-Minority Entities” that attempts to identify reasons for the lack of success. I have some [...]

Stimulus Funds and CDFI (USA Today)

In yesterday’s USA Today, this story appeared.   It is worth sharing in full.
Stimulus money gives a boost to small start-ups
By Sue Kirchhoff, USA TODAY
LANCASTER, Pa. — The Community First Fund has spent 17 years proving that lending to poor people is good business. It may soon get millions of dollars in fresh capital to help [...]

How about some solutions with the theater?

Media around the world is focused on the U.S bail out. I know this as
a fact, sitting in a hotel room in Venice hearing CNN, CNBC, BBC, &
SKY News spend significant time on bonuses paid with stimulus money.
In the Congress we now have hearings on who knew what about who all of
which I tend to [...]

Shared Destiny.

An article in last week’s Columbus Dispatch solicited comment from the Ohio Congressional delegation about the federal stimulus package. I found it to be an interesting piece that left me with a strange feeling of despair.

Liquidity (ie where’s the money?)

At a CDFI Coalition meeting earlier this week in Washington D.C., the topic was liquidity, which is a fancy word for “where’s the money.” Seems like we have once again applied a “one size fits all” solution.

Listening to behavior.

Last night I listened to President Obama’s address to Congress and admittedly I wanted to be impressed.

What discipline will be needed to make New Markets Tax Credit work and who needs to be involved?

To get an Ohio NMTC program started there needs to be a united and concentrated effort on the part of the Strickland administration and General Assembly.

Can New Markets Tax Credits work at the state level? – Generally can it be scaled?

New Markets Tax Credit is a valuable tool for directing investment into distressed communities.