CDFA Upcoming Events

The Florida Rural Economic Development Initiative is a newly created program. It offers a variety of programs including loan funds and grants for rural economic development.

This report  focuses on smart growth strategies that can help guide growth in rural areas while protecting natural and working lands and preserving the rural character of existing communities. 

This chart summarizes the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority's loan guarantee program for small business and agribusiness.

This report examines the role of equity capital in job and wealth creation in rural communities. Venture capital is often associated with high-profile tech corridors on the coasts, but this report finds that it also plays a significant factor in rural areas.

This presentation gives a summary of the wide variety of programs USDA Rural Development operates to encourage economic development.

This report by the Kansas City Federal Reserve looks at how the recession has affected rural economies. It also examines conditions that have allowed rural areas, as a whole, to be less affected by the recession than metro areas.

The United States Department of Agriculture looks at ways to take research and development programs to drive technology-based economic development in this presentation.

Judy Canales of USDA Rural Development gives an overview of their economic and community development programs in this presentation, including many direct lending and loan guarantee programs.

A group of 22 towns in the upper Connecticut and White River valleys of Vermont have formed a joint venture to bring fiber-optic broadband communications services to their region. The towns have signed an InterLocal Contract (ILC), known as East Central Vermont Community Fiber (ECF), that will obtain the funds needed to cover the costs of construction, debt service and start-up operating losses. The financing will take the form of a SEC-compliant public offering of Certificates of Participation (COPs) in a tax-exempt municipal capital lease subject to appropriation, with future subscriber revenues ultimately being the source of funds for sustaining the enterprise. Learn more about how the financing of this project is structured and how the new fiber-optic broadband network will be created.

The USDA Rural Development produced this report to assess the progress the agency has made in achieving its goal to increase opportunity and improve the quality of life for all rural Americans. The report looks at its grant, loan and other financing tools as well as a state-by-state analysis of program funding.

This article, provided by the USDA Dept. of Rural Development, highlights the financing opportunities and programs available to rural communities and businesses.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs produced this resource to highlight the development financing programs available including federal, state and local offerings. The document discusses a myriad of financing programs including small business financing, education, USDA, and IDBs among many others.

Rural communities require access to capital and financial resources for new infrastructure, investment, growth and sustainability. However, the challenges facing rural communities are often far removed from urban and suburban needs. Rural communities often require specialized financing options that provide resources relating to agribusiness, broadband development, energy assistance and value-added business assistance. Several federal, regional and state agencies exist to assist in financing rural development. The major programs and players are highlight in the following article.

Kenneth Hubbell and Peter Easton from the University of Missouri-Kansas City examine the use of TIF in that state. They discuss the expansion of TIF usage beyond just urban blighted areas. This short paper also examines TIF usage specific to the Kansas City-area.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City examined the technological innovation and its influence on economic growth. While it's widely accepted that innovation and entrepreneurship is a key element in economic success, many rural communities feel this form of development with outside of their grasp. This report examines how rural communities can capitalize on entrepreneurial investments within their reach.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration funded a study to develop a database and methodology to help rural areas in the U.S. assess their regional economic competitiveness to support growth and development strategies. Principal partners were the Purdue University, Indiana University, Indiana State Government and Strategic Development Group, Inc. The research look to identify linkages between cluster structure, degree or rurality and economic performance. The report also looks at the spatial clustering of industrial clusters and agglomeration economies, as well as growth trajectories.

Rural entrepreneurs are at a disadvantage when seeking venture capital, because typical venture firms tend to seek investments in higher conglomerated areas. The article looks and the Community Development Venture Capital (CDVC) as a form of venture capital that has grown in popularity in rural communities. CDVC provides both equity and near-equity investments in small business. The program works by examining a company’s potential job growth for low- and moderate- income individuals when deciding to invest. The report explains in details the CDVC model, traditional sources of CDVC capital and new sources for CDVC funding.

Sociology Research Brief from the Iowa State University concerning the demographics of farmer entrepreneurship by Peter Korsching and Carly Jacobs - September 2005

The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development is dedicated to research-based information that helps create regional prosperity through entrepreneurial and cluster-based innovation, while assuring balanced uses of natural resources in livable communities in the northeastern United States.

The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, located at Iowa State University, is one of four regional centers coordinating rural development research and education throughout the United States. It is supported by land-grant universities of the North Central region, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and grants and contracts from private foundations.

The National Rural Economic Developer Association was formed to promote rural development opportunities through electric and telephone cooperatives. At the time of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), cooperatives had been a long time advocate of marketing rural locations as a competitive and low cost alternative for business investment. The creation of a national organization, structured to coordinate recruitment resources would provide all members a greater presence to corporate America.

The USDA Rural Information Center provides information services for rural communities, officials, organizations and citizens.

NCOSAFP provides national representation for states that operate finance programs for farmers, ranchers and the agricultural industry. Info on state loan programs and office contacts for agricultural financings.

Information and resources about “Aggie Bond” programs, which coordinate the use of federal tax-exempt bonds to be able to offer eligible beginning farmers and ranchers lower interest rate financing from Communicating for Agriculture.