Rural Development Partners Receives $90 Million NMTC Award, Boosting Economic Development for Rural America

New Markets Tax Credits Provide a Critical Resource for Underserved Communities Nationwide

FOREST CITY, Iowa, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rural Development Partners (RDP) was honored to receive $90 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation authority from the U.S. Department of Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). This is RDP's fourteenth award totaling $906.7 million. RDP has helped more than 50 businesses & nonprofits lower borrowing costs, enhance liquidity, and create jobs and economic growth in rural underserved communities nationwide.

"RDP is honored to be one of the recent NMTC award recipients named by the CDFI Fund. The award will allow our organization to continue our focus on creating high quality jobs in Rural America and help bridge the gap for food insecure individuals across the Country." – Dan Helgeson, CEO of Rural Development Partners

NMTC Impact

The CDFI's recent release of $10 billion in New Markets Tax Credit allocation authority is largest in the Program's history. NMTCs have drawn $8 of private-sector investment for every $1 of federal funding and provide a critical resource for qualified regions lacking access to capital, especially rural America. Since inception in 2000, the Program has induced:

• $77 billion in Qualified Equity Investments
• $143 billion in Total Development Financing
• Investments in 8,900+ businesses across urban, suburban, and rural low-income communities
• And the creation of more than 1.2 million jobs nationwide.

The new year marks a new era for the New Markets Tax Credit, now a permanent part of the U.S. Tax Code through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The program will leverage billions more in private capital supporting critical infrastructure, business financing, and essential community facilities. NMTCs will continue to strengthen local underserved economies and maximize economic growth for America.

Rural Development Partners

Rural Development Partners is a Community Development Entity (CDE) with a national service area eligible to apply for an annual allocation of federal New Markets Tax Credits. RDP partners with businesses, non-profit organizations, communities and government entities that share in its mission to build public-private partnerships for catalytic job growth and healthy food access in rural America.

Community Investment Program

To enhance NMTC impact, Rural Development Partners privately invest within the underserved communities they serve. RDP knows that a trained workforce helps fill the jobs created; an essential step toward building strong local economies that create opportunities for workers and provide a strong labor pool for businesses. RDP and their local NMTC business partner provide a matching funds grant through RDP's Community Investment Program (CIP). A local Community Advisory Board (CAB) consisting of local leaders, businesses, residents, and educational institutions is established to help coordinate and optimize investment impact. CABs are encouraged to present initiatives that compliment jobs by addressing the needs that support low-income people in workforce training, recruitment, and job retention; given flexibility for locally focused solutions. CIP investments help solidify positive impacts meaningful to each underserved community and provide an avenue for workers to achieve the American dream.

Learn more about Rural Development Partners and the NMTC Program by visiting their Website, FaceBook, or LinkedIn platforms; or hear stories told by the communities impacted on YouTube.

Media Contact:
Rural Development Partners
[email protected]

SOURCE Rural Development Partners