RCAC Home Page > News and Publications >

RCAC Loan Fund provides far-reaching benefits

March 10, 2009

RCAC’s Loan Fund closed seven loans totaling nearly $6 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. These loans will contribute significantly to the economic well-being of rural communities in the West.

The loans will help California communities acquire and rehabilitate a water system and a community media and education center; pay a water system’s predevelopment costs; and help build a Mutual Self-Help Housing Program project. An Alaska community will realize a new family health and birth center; an Arizona community will produce 58 multi-family low-income housing units; and a Hawaiian community will develop 150 multi-family units for seniors as a result of the loans.

RCAC’s Loan Fund provides much-needed capital in these communties, which is critical in these times of limited commercial capital avaibility. As an added benefit, funding these projects will also create jobs, which is particularly noteworthy since the U.S. lost nearly 600,000 jobs in January, more than 650,000 jobs in February and unemployed workers recently reached 12.5 million.

“RCAC continues to make capital available to communities and projects that cannot find capital in the traditional marketplace. We rely on our continued partnerships with our investors to do this and, in turn, rural communties rely on us,” said Michael Carroll, RCAC Loan Fund director.      

Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) created its Loan Fund in 1988 and was later certified as a Community Development Financial Institution. As of December 31, 2008 , RCAC had closed 526 short- and long-term loans which totaled more than $261.5 million and leveraged more than $1.1 billion for rural projects. The Loan Fund provides low-interest loans for affordable housing, community facilities, water and wastewater systems and more. Today, the RCAC Loan Fund is capitalized at more than $66 million.

Founded in 1978, RCAC provides a wide range of community development services for rural and Native American communities, agricultural workers and community-based organizations in 13 Western states. RCAC has strong core services and expertise in housing, environmental infrastructure (water, wastewater and solid waste), leadership training, economic development and financing. To find out more about RCAC and its Loan Fund products, visit www.rcac.org/doc.aspx?82.

Back