U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Lisa Mensah today highlighted an innovative public-private partnership in which USDA is investing $10 million to build and improve infrastructure in some of South Carolina’s poorest rural communities.
USDA is providing the money to the South Carolina Community Loan Fund through the Community Facilities Relending Program. The fund will use the money to make long-term, low-interest loans for community facilities and for services such as education, health care and infrastructure.
“This investment will help rebuild and develop parts of South Carolina that have yet to realize their economic potential,” Mensah said. “The South Carolina Community Loan Fund has a long track record of providing important services and promoting economic development throughout the state. I am proud to announce USDA’s partnership in this groundbreaking initiative. The relending program complements other poverty-fighting tools the Obama Administration has developed to implement place-based investment strategies that rely on local expertise and community involvement.”
Mensah made the announcement at City Hall in Columbia, S.C.
The South Carolina Community Loan Fund is certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). As a CDFI, it has extensive financial and managerial experience working in areas that have persistently high rates of poverty.
This new relending program has two unique features. First, private financial institutions, including Bank of America, National Cooperative Bank, and others, will provide guarantees for a portion of the loans. Second, the recipient community development organizations, or “re-lenders,” may also have an opportunity to secure grants provided by seven of the nation’s premier philanthropic organizations through a $22 million fund to assist in managing and capacity building. The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation will manage this grant fund. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a complete list of recipients Oct. 6.
USDA Rural Development has a $7 billion loan portfolio in South Carolina and nine offices throughout the state. The agency annually invests $1 billion, on average, in the state’s rural communities.
Since 2009, USDA Rural Development (@USDARD ) has funded nearly 9,200 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; invested nearly $13 billion to start or expand nearly 112,000 rural businesses; helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. USDA also has invested $38.2 billion in 1,057 electric projects that have financed more than 198,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines serving 4.6 million rural residents. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.
To read more about USDA’s investments in rural America and its successful turnaround, visit USDA’s entry on Medium.com, Rural America Is Back in Business .