The Regional Economic Development Center of Southern New Hampshire (REDC) is pleased to announce the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund has issued an award in the amount of $1,826,265 to REDC through the CDFI Rapid Response Program. These funds were awarded with the purpose of supporting CDFIs responding to the economic challenges small businesses are facing from the COVID-19 pandemic, through activities such as financial products, financial services, development services, certain operational activities, and to enable CDFIs to build capital reserves and loan-loss reserves.
COVID-19 relief funds totaling $1.25 billion were recently awarded to 863 CDFIs by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. REDC is one of three recipients in New Hampshire to receive this award.
Funds from this award will allow REDC to further support New Hampshire small businesses with financial and technical assistance as they continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic. REDC President Laurel Adams stated, “REDC is extremely grateful to be awarded this critical funding. This grant award will enable REDC to support more growing and challenged businesses as they work to create and retain jobs, while dealing with the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been working with a large array of businesses during the pandemic and seen first-hand how not everyone fits in the perfect box for need, and there is still a lot of small business owners who are recovering.”
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen stressed how critical this funding is for New Hampshire in a recent statement: “As institutions that are designed to assist financially underserved communities in our state, New Hampshire’s CDFIs have a crucial role to play in supporting our state’s recovery from the economic impact of this pandemic,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m very pleased to announce this funding, which will allow CDFIs to provide critical financial support that Granite State small businesses and entrepreneurs in some of our hardest-hit communities need to stay afloat and rebound from this crisis, and to make important investments in affordable housing, which is in such short supply in the state. Ensuring Granite State small businesses and communities receive the resources they need to rebuild in the aftermath of COVID-19 will continue to be a top priority for me in the Senate.”
More information on the CDFI Rapid Response Program: https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/programs/rrp