Guidelines

CDFA will award up to a total of $750,000 in tax credits to the Community Economic Development Capacity Building program over two years. Community Economic Development Capacity Building program applicants are eligible to request up to $75,000 a year for two years (max $150,000 over two years).

A portion (20%) of the Community Economic Development Capacity Building program tax credit award is set aside to support the administration of the Tax Credit Program, as well as CDFA’s statewide investments, technical assistance, data collection, research, and general operations. Applicants should calculate and submit their total request based on this 80% effective award, taking the set-aside into account. For example, if your Community Economic Development Capacity Building program project needs $60,000 for implementation, the total request would be for $75,000 ($75,000 x .8 = $60,000).

The following section provides further clarification and examples of the funding priorities that are described in the Program Overview and Objectives section.

Applications for the following activities are prioritized:

• Projects or collaborations that build the capacity of priority populations and organizations to implement community economic development solutions and traditional infrastructure projects.
• Groups and organizations that have been historically under resourced and, therefore, have a greater financial need and a reduced ability to raise these funds from other sources.

Examples of high priority Community Economic Development Capacity Building Program type projects:

• An organization or set of partners that have a community asset (for example a building, community space, piece of land, a loan, etc..) in place and need to deepen community engagement or bring in additional relationships to figure out how to engage that asset in ways that will drive the greatest benefit with priority populations.
• An organization or set of partners that have an asset or are looking to acquire an asset and need to identify the right legal, financial, and governance structure to manage the asset.
• A group that is looking to establish a new leadership or governance structure for its organization or project to address a community economic development challenge.
• A priority population organization developing new partnerships and/or collaborating with a well-established organization so that both have the capacity to engage in a traditional infrastructure project.

While not expressly disallowed, applications for the following activities will not be given priority:

• Operating expenses, deficit-reduction or expenses already incurred.
• Pre-development expenses and project costs that are supported through other CDFA funding streams. Pre-development expenses might include architectural designs, energy audits, market studies, appraisals and other expenses that are typical of the pre-development project phase.
• Activities that support an existing/launched/proceeding/underway organizational strategy.
• Requests that are typically the responsibility of federal, state, or municipal funding sources.
• Replacement of typical revenue sources (contributions, grants or earned income, etc.).
• Capital campaign activities not explicitly tied to a specific project or program.
• Projects whose primary beneficiaries are not New Hampshire residents/individuals and/or whose primary activities are not located in or benefit New Hampshire communities.

CDFA has awarded tax credit funds to the following organizations which clearly illustrate the funding priorities of the program.

• 1269 Café Ministries will leverage capacity building resources to deepen its response to the needs of chronically unhoused individuals in Manchester. Capacity funds are used to help transition the organization from all volunteer to paid staff.
• Centro Latino de New Hampshire (CL) is building a self-sufficient, healthy, and civically engaged NH Latino community through education, services, culture, and arts programming. Capacity building funds are for bilingual-bicultural Community Specialists for community outreach to provide connection to programs, services and resources, assistance with understanding and navigating systems, client advocacy, and hosting/attending community meetings.
• GoodWork is using capacity building funds to convene the Seacoast Impact Circle, an emerging coalition of organizations that provide social services to low-income and marginalized people on the Seacoast. Coalition members include those addressing food, domestic and sexual violence, housing, transportation, recovery support, mental health, and other social needs with a goal to transform the current health and human services system to make it more equitable and accessible to the community.
• Franklin Building Partnerships: The Franklin Business and Industrial Development Corporation (FBIDC) will hire a consultant for a collaborative rehabilitation project of the Franklin City Hall and Opera House. Capacity funds will be used to engage the community in visioning, funding and strengthening of the institutional capacity to manage this valuable community asset.
• Business Alliance for People of Color (BAPOC) mission is to leverage local, state, and federal resources to expand diversity, equity and inclusion, wealth building and social capital for the betterment of New Hampshire’s minority owned businesses, underserved communities, and economic vitality. Capacity building funds will assist as they move from an all-volunteer organization to hiring staff.
• Nashua Soup Kitchen uses capacity funds to explore innovative options for improving access to food in four underserved neighborhoods of Nashua with significant low-income populations with a focus on the elderly and children.
• Our Place: Capacity building resources will support Our Place in advancing its mission to provide residential options, services and support designed to meet the needs of adults with developmental disabilities.
• Overcomers Refugee Services (ORS) will deepen capacity and build an initiative to help refugees help other refugees become trained, employed, housed, and contributing citizens of New Hampshire. ORS is led by and works with immigrant community members.
• Positive Street Art works to inspire a passion for the urban arts and to build strong communities through educational workshops, community events and artistic services. They will build capacity to facilitate new and sustained collaboration across organizations and stakeholders in Nashua and the region to support the community and build safe spaces for marginalized populations.
• Victory Women of Vision will use Tax Credits for a new leadership initiative for immigrants and refugees within the greater Manchester and Concord communities with the goal to build economic security and strengthen the safety net for New American families.