Organization’s largest NMTC award to date will continue to create high social impact

Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) has been awarded $55 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) authority from the U.S. Treasury Department Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund. The $55 million allocation marks the 6th such allocation for FCLF – for a cumulative total of $206 million in awards – and reinforces its position as the premier Florida-based practitioner of the innovative federal NMTC program.

This week, the CDFI Fund announced NMTC awards totaling $3.5 billion to 76 CDEs nationally from a total pool of 263 applicants, including some of the largest financial institutions in the country. As a nonprofit with assets of $50 million, FCLF is honored to be among the awardees; only 3 of which are based in Florida.

“As a mission based financial institution, we exist to help capital flow to where it is most needed. We do this in a variety of ways," said Ignacio Esteban, CEO of Florida Community Loan Fund. "NMTC has proven to be one of the most effective tools to make projects successful, to help us achieve our mission, and to improve communities and the lives of people who live there.” 

The Florida Community Loan Fund will use its NMTC allocation award to invest in high impact, mission-focused projects in severely distressed communities throughout the Sunshine State. These projects will create jobs, expand the provision of health care and other services to low-income Floridians, and provide access to healthy food options in underserved areas. 

FCLF is a recognized NMTC expert in the state of Florida, certified as a CDE since 2003, with more NMTC investments and projects than any other Florida-based CDE. To date, FCLF has deployed 97% of its total NMTC allocation into Florida projects, a percentage that ranks high in the industry as many CDEs spread their allocation across multiple states. 100% of this year’s award will be deployed in the Sunshine State.

Florida Community Loan Fund’s NMTC projects to date represent:

• $138 million in investment in distressed communities,
• totaling $412 million in project costs,
• creating 2,863 jobs and
• providing social services to 6131 recipients annually.

Two of these FCLF NMTC Project success stories are:

CASA domestic violence shelter in Pinellas County. With NMTC financing, the shelter will triple its capacity with a new 100-bed facility, allowing the organization to help 1000 low-income Floridians each year. The organization’s clients are offered not only shelter in their time of crisis, but also receive counseling, job training, and other services.

The duPont Center in Jacksonville. The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is renovating an historic library building in downtown Jacksonville, which will bring area nonprofits together in a collaborative space and will also offer them below market, affordable rental rates for office space. The project will catalyze downtown reinvestment and will provide over 350 jobs, both construction and permanent.

Read more about FCLF’s NMTC Program and the communities and projects that have benefited from this and our CDFI lending.
Read the Press Release announcing FCLF's NMTC Award.

The NMTC Program was created by U.S. Congress to increase economic opportunity in severely distressed census tracts across the nation – areas where, if not for the Program, high impact local economic development projects might not otherwise be financed. Financing organizations with local ties are certified as Community Development Entities (CDEs) by the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund to manage the program.

“Every community deserves a chance to succeed, and the New Markets Tax Program is an economic development tool that spurs growth and breathes new life into neglected, underserved low-income communities,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew.

About Florida Community Loan Fund. Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) is a statewide, multifaceted financing entity providing flexible capital and expertise to high-impact projects in low-income communities. FCLF became Florida’s first certified statewide Community Development Financial Institution in 1996, was certified as a CDE in 2003, and in 2014 was one of three U.S. Community Development Financial Institutions awarded the national Wells Fargo NEXT Opportunity Award which recognizes mission-driven community lenders with innovative strategies to preserve and expand affordable housing. As a lending institution, FCLF’s borrowers include non-profits and for-profit mission-focused developers, housing authorities, a wide range of social service organizations, and community health centers. Investors and supporters of FCLF include financial institutions, corporations, foundations, religious investors from various denominations, and federal and state government.

Pictured, FCLF Staff thanks U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart for his support of the NMTC Program.