The U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded $3.5 billion in new markets tax credits (NMTC) to 73 community development organizations this week.
The NMTC program is designed to help stimulate investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities nationwide.
“Today’s awards will finance projects ranging from manufacturing plants that create jobs to critically needed infrastructure,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “I want to congratulate today’s award recipients for their outstanding work in improving distressed communities.”
The 73 community development entities (CDEs) receiving awarded were selected from a pool of 230 applicants. They are headquartered in 29 different states, as well as Guam, and the District of Columbia. These 73 award recipients are estimated to make more than $685 million in New Markets Tax Credit investments in nonmetropolitan counties.
The NMTC Program has now granted $54 billion in awards, including these latest recipients. Historically, these awards have generated $8 of private investment for every $1 invested by the federal government.
Further, NMTC Program award recipients spent more than $44.4 billion in investments in low-income communities and businesses. This has contributed to the creation or retention of nearly 750,000 jobs and the construction or rehabilitation of more than 190 million square feet of commercial real estate.