Nebraska Department of Economic Development

Nebraska Department of Economic Development - Community Development Block Grant Financing - Public dollars available to finance projects at a subordinated interest rate or on performance-based conditions. Funds are used as “gap financing” in an overall financial package. Terms and amounts are subject to the amount of investment in a project, jobs created and are capped at $500,000 per project.

Job Training Funds - Funds may be available for new jobs created in an amount ranging from $500 to $3,000 per job. Funding level is subject to the overall quality of the job in terms of wage, benefit, and targeted industry areas.

Tax Credits - Tax credits can be accessed for a variety of project sizes in the form of the Investment and Growth Act of Nebraska, the Employment Expansion and Investment Incentive Act, and the Invest Nebraska Act. Thresholds to access these credits vary from the creation of 2 jobs to 25 jobs and minimum of $10,000 investment to a maximum of $75,000 investment.

Chadron/Crawford

Community Development Block Grant Financing - Nebraska Northwest Development Corporation administers this loan fund, which is public money used to finance projects at a subordinated interest rate or on performance-based conditions. Funds are used as “gap financing” in an overall financial package. The City of Chadron also has these funds available.

USDA (RBEG) Loans - Nebraska Northwest Development Corporation administers this loan fund, also. This fund facilitates and finances the development of small and emerging private business enterprises in rural areas by establishing small business revolving loan fund, by acquiring land, buildings, and infrastructure to enhance business development, or by providing technical assistance. This fund is used to finance projects at a subordinated interest rate or on performance-based conditions. Funds are used as “gap financing” in an overall financial package.

Recently NNDC was awarded an Intermediary Relending Program Loan for $250,000 to be used for business retention, expansion, and start-up. More information can be found here.

The Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act (LB 840, 1991) authorizes incorporated cities and villages to collect and appropriate local tax dollars (sales and/or property tax) if approved by the local voters for economic development purposes. The Act involves the formulation of the local economic development program plan. The plan forms the foundation for the collection and expenditure of local tax revenues for economic development. Chadron adopted LB 840 in November 2003, and it became effective in April 2004. Ninety percent of funds generated fund economic development activities and 10 percent fund community improvement projects.

The Rural Enterprise Assistance Project's (REAP) Loan Programs focus on providing capital for rural Nebraska-based start-up and existing businesses. REAP's loan products are coupled with business technical assistance and counseling to clients to help them prosper in their business.

Tax increment financing (TIF) in Nebraska is primarily designed to finance the public costs associated with a private development project. Essentially, the property tax increases resulting from a development are targeted to repay the public investment required by a project.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers numerous loan programs to assist small businesses. SBA is primarily a guarantor of loans made by private and other institutions.