CDFA Rural Development Finance Update - January 19, 2021

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Features

Announcing the CDFA Community Facilities Technical Assistance Program

The Council of Development Finance Agencies is pleased to announce the CDFA Community Facilities Technical Assistance Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This program is targeted at rural communities that faced a recent natural disaster and need assistance using the USDA Community Facilities Program.

Fannie Mae Multifamily Has Completed $1.5B of LIHTC Investments

Fannie Mae's equity investments involve working with our LIHTC syndicator partners, developers, and housing experts to help preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing. Of the 576 LIHTC properties benefitting from Fannie Mae's equity investments, 177 are in rural communities in 38 states and 41 serve high-needs rural regions and populations, including Native American communities.

Arizona Community Foundation and USDA Announce a Development Partnership Serving Rural Arizona

The Arizona Community Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development have launched a public-private partnership to support rural Arizona. ACF will provide $5 million in a revolving line of below-market rate financing to help rural communities access approximately $40 million annually in USDA funding for infrastructure projects that will improve water systems, schools, affordable housing, firehouses, parks, and related needs.

Using Tax Policy to Promote Rural Development

The yawning economic gap between rural areas and the rest of the United States shows up in higher permanent nonemployment rates, higher minimum-wage employment, opioid abuse, incarceration, and premature death.

HUD Announces $10M in Capacity Building Grants for Rural America

HUD has awarded $10 million in capacity-building grants to five national non-profit organizations which will, in turn, fund rural housing development organizations, Community Development Corporations, Community Housing Development Organizations, local governments, and Indian tribes to carry out affordable housing and community development activities in rural areas for hard-working, low-income families and individuals.

SBA Launches Largest Expansion of Women's Business Centers in 30 Years

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced grant funding and the historic launch of 20 new Women's Business Centers (WBCs) across America to serve rural, urban, and underserved communities alike. The opening of the 20 new WBCs is the largest single expansion of WBCs across America in its 30-year tenure.

FCC Puts $191M Behind Florida Rural Broadband Expansion

The Federal Communications Commission has awarded $191 million to Florida internet providers to expand their infrastructure to pockets of rural Florida. The funding was awarded through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a program established in January to expand high-speed, low-latency broadband networks into unserved rural areas.

Building Resilient Rural Places: Strategies from Local Leaders to Strengthen Rural Assets, Diversity, and Dynamism

As the COVID-19 pandemic tests the resilience of rural economies in real-time, this five-part research series argues that our attention should not be focused on an outdated, inaccurate image of rural America, but rather on understanding, sustaining, and investing in the hyperlocal strategies already working to bring growth and equity to increasingly diverse and dynamic rural areas.

Upcoming Events

Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance WebCourse

CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series: Restoring Local Economies with Federal Partners
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 - 2:00 PM Eastern

The first installment of the 2021 CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series will cover the various forms of financing programs available to state and local governments through Treasury, HUD, and EDA for restoring local economies.

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Rural Broadband and Telehealth Financing
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 2:00 PM Eastern

During this webinar, experts will explain how rural communities can embrace the challenges of financing high-speed internet for the economic and societal gains provided by broadband.

USDA Rural Development News

Trump Administration Invests $16M in High-Speed Broadband in Rural Illinois, Oregon, and South Carolina

The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture is investing $16 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Illinois, Oregon, and South Carolina. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program.

USDA Opens Loan, Grant Applications to Support Rural Microenterprises

Access to Capital | Food Systems Finance | Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) | Rural Development | U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)

The USDA has opened a call for applications for loans and grants to support rural microenterprises through its Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program. The program provides loans and grants to a nonprofit entity or institution of higher education to establish revolving loan funds. These funds then provide loans or training and technical assistance to rural microloan borrowers and microentrepreneurs.

Significant Investment in Rural Communities Seen in 2020

Throughout 2020, a record number of $40 billion of investment was made in rural communities to help bolster their local economies. Investments were made in areas of water infrastructure, high-speed broadband, and business development. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) helped to provide rural areas with a substantial amount of support to strengthen rural businesses and communities.

Building a Deeper Toolbox to Help Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

During a panel at the virtual Emerging Research on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Conference hosted by Farm Foundation and the USDA's Economic Research Service, information was shared for some of the tools passed along from earlier generations. But what happens when a prospective agricultural producer is the first generation to have an interest in farming or ranching? What if a farmer or rancher doesn't have land to inherit or family members to learn the business from?

USDA Invests $11.3M in High-Speed Broadband in Rural Alaska

Federal | Infrastructure Finance | Rural Development | U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)

The United States Department of Agriculture is investing $11.3 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Alaska. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program.

Trump Administration Invests $4.6M in High-Speed Broadband in Rural Georgia

Infrastructure Finance | Rural Development | U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) | Broadband

The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture is investing $4.6 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Georgia. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program.

Rural Development Finance News

The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation's leading and most knowledgeable members of the development finance community representing public, private and non-profit entities alike. For more information, visit www.CDFA.net or email info@cdfa.net.

Council of Development Finance Agencies
100 E. Broad Street, Suite 1200
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 705-1300
info@cdfa.net