Minnesota Launches New Flexible Loan Program

Collaborative advantage. That's what it's all about. Minnesota has consistently shown the ability to get people to work together to accomplish their economic development goals. Minnesota's latest accomplishment is in the economic development finance area. Nearly 60 communities and development groups from across Minnesota have banded together to form an innovative new economic development financing organization—the Minnesota Community Capital Fund (MCCF).

The Northland Institute, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization, developed the MCCF over the past two years, and is managing the fund during its start-up period. Scott Martin, Northland's president and MCCF CEO, explained, "the MCCF is a rural economic development initiative of the Institute that is designed to provide more loan capital to rural communities through the pooling of local dollars and by accessing national capital markets".

MCCF will originate loans on behalf of its members and sell all loans to the secondary market. This approach enables MCCF to fully recapitalize its loan fund on a continuous basis, thus ensuring that MCCF will always have money to lend in the communities we serve. MCCF loans will be made only in conjunction with banks or other financial institutions. MCCF loans are intended to fill a project financing gap and provide capital only when needed by a commercial lender to complete the overall loan package.

To learn more about this new initiative, go here.