Revolving Loan Fund programs are diverse tools that communities can use to support small and mid-sized businesses, environmental remediation and even affordable housing. Revolving Loan Funds are designed to be evergreen as they are maintained by the repayment of principal and grow through interest payments.
Establishing a revolving loan fund provides access to a flexible source of capital that can be used in combination with more conventional sources. Often the RLF is a bridge between the amount the borrower can obtain on the private market and the amount needed to start or sustain a business. For example, a borrower may obtain 60 to 80 percent of project financing from other sources.
Quality RLFs issue loans at market or otherwise competitive and attractive rates. Many RLF studies have shown that access to capital and flexibility in collateral and terms is more important to borrowers over lower then market interest rates. RLF programs should be built on sound interest rate practices and not perceived as free or easy sources of financing. RLFs must be able to generate enough of an interest rate return to replenish the fund for future loan allocations. With competitive rates and flexible terms, a RLF provides access to new financing sources for the borrower, while lowering overall risk for participating institutional lenders.
Throughout the CDFA EDA RLF Best Practices Program, several common characteristics emerged from high performing RLFs. The best practices outlined in this guide synthesize these exceptional traits and address the strategies employed by successful EDA.
This article provides information on fund capitalization, RLF committee, program marketing, and loan servicing for revolving loan funds. It was written by CDFA and appeared in the third issue of Development Finance Perspectives.
This report, produced by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation and the Development District Association of Appalachia, examines the role of public sector loan funds and includes discussions on best practices
This fact sheet, produced by the Ohio State University Extension, discusses how to establish a loan fund to encourage small business development in a community. Included in this fact sheet is a discussion on the role of Revolving Loan Funds and the basic steps in establishing a Revolving Loan Fund.
This fact sheet, produced by the Ohio State University Extension, discusses the basics of administering a Revolving Loan Fund. The fact sheet includes advice from application through loan servicing.
This brief analyzes U.S. EDA data from 2010 to 2019 to paint a broad picture of the agency’s programs and grantmaking activities. During this period, EDA invested an average of $361 million a year across its programs.
This presentation from the EDA discusses Revolving Loan Fund de-federalization and implementation of the RLF Act passed in late 2020.
Throughout the CDFA EDA RLF Best Practices Program, several common characteristics emerged from high performing RLFs. The best practices outlined in this guide synthesize these exceptional traits and address the strategies employed by successful EDA RLFs of all sizes. Each recommendation includes a basic description and several resources for expanded learning. This RLF Best Practices Handbook serves as an overview of the best practices that EDA RLF recipients should consider to maximize their lending capacity, support local businesses, and enhance the economic development financing ecosystem in their community.
Based on the input of our 500+ members, CDFA has developed a set of policy proposals that would allow state and local governments, through development finance agencies, to be immediate problem solvers that can help alleviate the extreme economic challenges facing small businesses and communities to put America securely on the path to recovery.
Fund recapitalization can come from many sources, including local, state, and federal governments or financial and philanthropic institutions. Depending on the source, there may be certain requirements that need to be satisfied when moving through the actual lending process.
The purpose of this training webinar is to assist applicants with understanding the guidelines for Assessment Grants (Community-wide and Site-specific), Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants. This document includes: a general overview, types of Available Grants, changes to the program/guidelines, application submission requirements, tips & resources, overview of threshold criteria, overview of ranking criteria, EPA Brownfield Program contacts.
There are over 300 Superfund National Priorities List sites and thousands of Superfund removal sites located in or partially in Opportunity Zones. This webinar discussed Opportunity Zone tax benefits in the context of redeveloping Superfund sites and other types of contaminated properties and how communities, local governments, and developers can utilize these benefits.
EPA’s Brownfields Program provides direct funding for brownfields assessment, cleanup, revolving loans, environmental job training, technical assistance, training, and research. To facilitate the leveraging of public resources, EPA’s Brownfields Program collaborates with other EPA programs, other federal partners and state agencies to identify and make available resources that can be used for brownfield activities.
David Lloyd from the Environmental Protection Agency provides an overview of the financing programs offered through the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization at the 2019 CDFA Federal Policy Conference.
Charlie Bartsch explains the Federal financing tools available for Brownfield redevelopment in this presentation.
Many economic development organizations (EDOs) have embraced the mission to support entrepreneurial firms in their communities. EDOs engage in their entrepreneurial ecosystems, in part, by providing resources, sometimes in the form of business incentives. The purpose of this report is to provide practitioners and policymakers with insights regarding the use of these incentives and guidance for offering incentives to entrepreneurial firms.
This report describes how three CDFIs drive economic growth in low-income and historically marginalized communities through a model defined by the EFOD Collaborative as Equitable Food Oriented Development (EFOD). EFOD is a development approach that supports locally owned food-based economies. The report details systemic financial barriers that business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs face in marginalized communities.
Throughout the CDFA EDA RLF Best Practices Program, several common characteristics emerged from high performing RLFs. The best practices outlined in this guide synthesize these exceptional traits and address the strategies employed by successful EDA RLFs of all sizes. Each recommendation includes a basic description and several resources for expanded learning. This RLF Best Practices Handbook serves as an overview of the best practices that EDA RLF recipients should consider to maximize their lending capacity, support local businesses, and enhance the economic development financing ecosystem in their community.
Jennifer Sherwin of the Self-Help Credit Union presents on Revolving Loan Funds in rural areas.The City of Hermitage, Mercer County, Pennsylvania operates an Industrial/Business Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide funding assistance in the form of low-interest financing for eligible economic development projects.
This brochure is used to market the Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials EDA Revolving Loan Fund.
This brochure is used to market the Southwestern North Carolina Economic Development District EDA Revolving Loan Fund.
This brochure is used to market the Southwest Iowa Planning Council EDA Revolving Loan Fund.These guidelines are used to market the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission EDA Revolving Loan Fund.
This application is for the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission EDA Revolving Loan Fund.
The RLF Program Database provides details on loan funds throughout the country. Resources are restricted to CDFA members only. CDFA members must login with their unique CDFA username and password to access restricted items. Non-members can join CDFA today to gain access to the entire database. Submit your RLF for this database.
Revolving Loan Funds can be used to achieve many different community and economic development goals. CDFA has collected over seventy case study examples.
Linking development finance and food systems can be a daunting undertaking for any community. Research on the current ecosystem of food systems finance has positioned CDFA to identify key strategies for the path ahead in this work. The Food Systems Finance Best Practices Guidebook defines how traditional development finance tools can be used to launch and expand food and agricultural-related businesses and projects, and create successful food systems finance programs at the local and regional levels.
Regenerative farms rely on small-to-mid scale, aligned infrastructure to process, transport, and market their products. These middle infrastructure businesses help to improve farm income and bolster regional food economies while providing significant social and environmental benefits. However, their unique business models require innovative and patient forms of capital to grow and succeed. This report identifies finance opportunities and pathways to build resilient value chains for regenerative farms.
Food and agriculture-related businesses are often perceived as too risky for traditional lending approaches, yet CDFA research tells a different story. This report, with loan-level data from over a thousand funds nationwide, demonstrates that food system loans perform and that revolving loan funds can successfully support local food system borrowers in their communities.
This report describes how three CDFIs drive economic growth in low-income and historically marginalized communities through a model defined by the EFOD Collaborative as Equitable Food Oriented Development (EFOD). EFOD is a development approach that supports locally owned food-based economies. The report details systemic financial barriers that business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs face in marginalized communities.
Recognizing the urgency of the pandemic and related crises, on June 7, 2021, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York approached the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance to write a report about the current landscape of capital sources for community investment and how emerging capital sources and strategies could help shape the future of the field.