The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and the national State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Coalition call on the U.S. Department of the Treasury to fully implement the SSBCI program, and immediately deploy capital to Eligible Governments and Technical Assistance providers. Treasury's prolonged regulatory and review process has exposed the program to Congressional scrutiny.

The Bipartisan COVID Supplemental Appropriations Act would reallocate funding earmarked for small business financing and support initiatives for states, tribal governments, and other jurisdictions through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, or SSBCI – a $10 billion, seven-year initiative that was passed as part of the American Rescue Plan last year. SSBCI was passed as a follow-up to the immediate grant and low-cost debt relief to small businesses in the early days of the pandemics.

The next installment of the SSBCI Learning Series is here! Stay informed and navigate the implementation of SSBCI programs. This session of the SSBCI Learning Series on April 29 will bring together industry experts to discuss piloting new products to support employee ownership, structuring venture debt programs, and strategies for incorporating revenue-based financing.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and its SSBCI Coalition write to provide comments in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Interim Final Rule on Demographics-Related Reporting Requirements for the SSBCI program. Detailed responses to the IFR reflect broad concerns, which are expressed in this letter.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury released an interim final rule requiring new reporting requirements related to the demographics of minority-owned or controlled small businesses that received a loan, investment, other credit or equity opportunity, or technical assistance under the SSBCI that was part of H.R. 1319, the ARPA of 2021.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is seeking a qualified organization or person to develop, manage and coordinate an investment program on behalf of New Mexico and New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) funded by the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). EDD seeks a contractor to work with its team and an investment advisory committee to make investments into multiple venture capital (VC) and equity funds to strengthen and diversify the state's economy equitably.

CDFA held this coalition meeting on March 18, 2022 for a discussion with Treasury to review the Interim Final Rule on Demographic-Related Reporting Requirements. Ronald Kelly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury spoke with CDFA about Resources Released in March 2022.

MassVentures plans to expand its investment reach beyond Boston and Cambridge. President and CEO of the agency that invests in state startups, told the Business Journal he expects that MassVentures will be allocated federal funds through the SSBCI. MassVentures is set to get a part of the over $168 million that were first allocated to Massachusetts.

The Treasury released the application materials for how states intend to deploy the SSBCI Program dollars. What was evident from Treasury's capital allocation to the states and the application materials were two key items: (1) many traditional venture firms will easily run afoul of the current conflict of interest terms set forth in the November materials; and (2) Treasury is highly focused on capital deployment to underserved markets and populations.

Aging infrastructure and associated rising maintenance and repair costs are among the many transportation infrastructure-related challenges that communities face today. Don't miss this free installation in the Infrastructure Finance Series - presented by CDFA in partnership with Frost Brown Todd LLC and its affiliate FBT Project Finance Advisors LLC - where speakers analyze how to finance highways, bridges, parking, rail systems, airports, and shipping ports.

U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC) and U.S. Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI) and Mike Kelly (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill reforming Opportunity Zones, the tax incentive for individuals who reinvest unrealized capital gains into high-impact projects in underserved communities.

2022 SSBCI Coalition Meetings
January 21, February 18, March 18, April 22, May 20, June 24, 2022 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Investing in Resiliency with Green and Blue Bonds
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern

CDFA and guest speakers from The Choctaw Nation and gener8tor held this webinar on March 11, 2022 for a discussion on how Tribal Governments can utilize the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program. During this webinar, CDFA provided an overview of the information included in SSBCI for Tribal Governments, and guest speakers discussed their approach to maximizing the program from the Tribal Government perspective and the perspective of a mission-aligned fund manager.

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