Dakota Business Lending (DBL) has been selected by the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund to receive a $70 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) award. This is their fourth NMTC allocation, following two $30M awards received in 2021 and 2022, and a $50M award received in 2024. They remain the first and only North Dakota-based financing entity to be chosen and one of the country’s top 100 community-focused organizations recognized this year.
NMTC is run and administered through the U.S. Department of Treasury. This year, the program awarded a total of $10 billion in allocation authority to 142 of the 216 Community Development Entity (CDEs) applicants across the nation through a competitive and challenging application process, who then use their NMTC awards to further the mission of the program by encouraging small business growth and expansion, domestic manufacturing and reliable job-producing projects, and rural hospitals and essential health care infrastructure. DBL’s NMTC priorities remain the same as prior years in assisting small businesses in low-income or distressed areas and creating lasting employment opportunities in those areas through jobs that are both quality and accessible.
To date, DBL has allocated a total of $81M in NMTC awards to nine qualifying small businesses located in low-income/distressed areas in Bismarck and Fargo. These allocations have had a $247M+ direct project impact and helped create and retain 646 permanent jobs for citizens across the state. “We are incredibly honored to receive another NMTC allocation and excited to continue bringing this powerful program to the businesses that need it most,” commented Steve Dusek, President & CEO. “This program allows us to partner with businesses and local communities in a way that sparks growth, expands opportunity, assists domestic manufacturing, strengthens the local small business economy, drives private investment, and produces measurable and lasting outcomes for which the program was intended. We’re excited to continue building projects that make a difference and to remain a trusted resource for the people and places we serve.” DBL continues to maximize and spread economic impact by encouraging the “pay-it-forward” concept, asking businesses assisted through the program to “repay” the kindness by financially supporting local organizations in need. To date, seven businesses have participated in DBL’s “pay-it-forward” initiative and donated more than $350,000 to 14 local non-profits.
DBL uses the NMTC program as a unique financing mechanism that provides gap financing with interest only payments for seven years and then converts to equity in the business – principal payment is not required. Projects must be in a NMTC eligible area, large scale and transformative projects (greater than $7 million), and provide quality/accessible jobs or services to low income and distressed populations.
DBL has several projects in the pipeline for consideration and will begin working on their application for the next round of funding in 2026. Please contact one of the DBL loan officers with any potential projects and visit www.dakotabusinesslending.com/loans/new-markets-tax-credit for more information. The organization looks forward to providing this opportunity and continuing to impact this great state.
