NORTHWEST MINNESOTA FOUNDATION HOSTING REGIONAL Q&A ON MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION PROGRAM

August 4, 2021   (Bemidji, MN) – Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) staff will host a Regional Q&A via Zoom web-conferencing to present and walk through the details of Minnesota’s Main Street Revitalization program, which aims to support economic development and redevelopment.

The Regional Q&A will be held from 11 a.m. to Noon on Tuesday, August 10. Registration is not required. Interested participants should log into the zoom meeting through this link: https://bit.ly/3fqBKoh

Administered through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the grant program aims to fund development that will jumpstart and accelerate economic growth, thus bolstering Minnesota’s economy, which has had one of its most tumultuous 18 months in modern memory. There is $80 million available statewide, with no more than $40 million in available in this first round; greater Minnesota will be allocated a percentage of that $40 million.

Projects that support economic development, and redevelopment projects that deliver the most economic impact in communities with the greatest needs due to conditions that have arisen since March 2020, will be considered under the following qualifying conditions: widespread arson and civil unrest, natural disasters, major employer closures and commercial space vacancies, and COVID-19 impacts on travel, tourism, retail and accommodation.

Projects may receive the following, depending on the amount available in our region:

• 30% matching grants up to $750,000 per project
• 80% loan guarantees for up to a $2,000,000 loan per project
• Loan capital sourced from other non-state or federal sources
• Loan guarantees with a maximum period of 15 years from the origination of the loan
• Grants must be matched with nonstate funds at 200% of the state’s portion of the grant

Allowable expenditures include the repair or renovation of real estate property, building construction, landscaping and street scaping, demolition and site preparation, predesign and design, engineering, infrastructure, and related site amenities. Ineligible are the costs to purchase real estate or business operations or business operating expenses, such as inventory, wages, and working capital.

Eligible recipients include businesses, developers, and nonprofit organizations; partner organizations (such as NMF) and local units of government are not eligible.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation is a public, charitable foundation serving 12 counties of
Northwest Minnesota by investing resources, facilitating collaboration and promoting philanthropy.