SBA Sets Workaround for Aiding Restaurants Left Empty-Handed by the RRF
Restaurants shut out of Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) could get another shot at federal relief under changes quietly made in a low-interest loan program run by the SBA. A $500,000 cap on loans awarded under the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans initiative was expanded to $2 million, and the eligibility criteria were recast to match the standards used in the RRF program. The changes are expected to bring $150 billion in aid within easier reach of small businesses.
Commongrounds Cooperative Receives $8M Loan Guarantee from USDA
The Commongrounds Cooperative just received an $8 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The building will be mixed-use and will include workforce housing, a teaching kitchen, office space, an early childcare facility, a food hall, and a small performing arts space.
Promised Land Opportunity Zone Farms Closes $50M Financing
Promised Land Opportunity Zone Farms I, LLC announced that it recently closed a $50 million debt financing with Conterra Agricultural Capital, LLC. The 10-year financing facility expands Promised Land's ability to acquire, improve, and stimulate economic development associated with farmland located in qualified opportunity zones in the United States.
Farmer Mac Announces Strategic Acquisition and Expansion of Loan Servicing Function
The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac), the nation's secondary market provider that increases the availability and affordability of credit for the benefit of rural America, announced that it is enhancing its operations by expanding its internal loan servicing function. To further bolster these capabilities, the company has purchased the loan servicing rights for a portion of its Farm & Ranch and USDA Guaranteed loan portfolios through a strategic acquisition.
Reimagining Healthy Food Access With the Virginia Good Food Fund
Foodshed Capital has partnered with Virginia Community Capital and the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund to build sustainable resiliency and equity into food systems. The Virginia Good Food Fund (VGFF) is envisioned to be a network of food system partners, lenders, funders, technical assistance providers, and other stakeholders who work together and combine our resources to support producers and suppliers.
USDA Provides $700M in Grants to Farm and Food Workers Impacted by COVID-19
USDA announced that $700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs. Additionally, to recognize the essential role and costs borne by front-line grocery workers, $20 million of this amount has been set aside for at least one pilot program to support grocery workers and test options for reaching them in the future.
RSF is Leading the Way in Moving from Impact Investing to Regenerative Finance
Over the last decade and a half, the idea of "impact investing" – where funds are directed to generate not just financial return but also social and environmental impact – has become increasingly popular in investment and social impact circles. More recently, RSF has been pioneering in a new investment area called "regenerative finance."
Oklahoma City, OK Celebrates New Grocery Store Opening
The new, full-service Homeland grocery store opened in northeast Oklahoma City, increasing access to fresh groceries which has been missing from their neighborhoods for more than 20 years. This public-private partnership deal secured over $10 million in new market tax credits from U.S. Bank and Heartland Renaissance Fund, $3.5 million in tax increment financing, and a social impact loan from Metafund's new Impact Accelerator.
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