Did you know that we have leveraged almost $400 million dollars in federal New Market Tax Credits for development in distressed communities? Read more about what our CEO Sam Walls calls “one of the most efficient community economic development tools for low-income communities ever enacted” from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Latest Arkansas Capital Corporation Investment to Create 65 Jobs
Sovereign Pipe Closes $7 Million in NMTC Financing; Company will be First Tenant in Oklahoma Industrial Park Owned by Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Latest Oklahoma Investment by Arkansas Capital Corporation Will Bring New Opportunity to Severely Distressed Community
Shawnee, Oklahoma – Sovereign Pipe Company has announced the closing of $7 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to manufacture high-density polyethylene piping from 2 inches to 48 in diameter, significantly increasing the company’s capacity to serve the oil and gas industry, municipal water supplies, telecommunications buildouts, and other projects.
The project will be the first tenant in the Iron Horse Industrial Park, which is owned and operated by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN). The industrial park is on tribal land.
The 50,000 square foot production facility is expected to open in August 2022 and create 65 permanent full-time jobs over the next few years.
The new facility qualified for the federal NMTC program because it is in a highly distressed census tract with a 50.1% poverty rate (over 4 times the national rate) and area median gross family income of $21,766 that is 37% of the state median gross family income.
NMTC financing is provided by Heartland Renaissance Fund, a subsidiary of Little Rock-based Arkansas Capital Corporation, which has now invested in three projects across Oklahoma totaling $23 million in NMTC allocation. Cumulatively, it has invested $375 million of NMTC allocation supporting over 40 projects throughout the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
John A. “Rocky” Barrett, CPN chairman, said, “The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is grateful for the NMTC financing from our partners at Heartland and Wells Fargo, with the participation of our own CDFI lender, the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation. “Sovereign Pipe Technologies is an important step as we diversify our Nation’s economy to include well-paying manufacturing jobs at the Iron Horse Industrial Park.”
“Arkansas Capital is proud to be a financing partner supporting Sovereign Pipe as the first tenant in the Iron Horse Industrial Park.” said company CEO Sam Walls. “This park is an important part of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s economic development efforts and we are delighted the project will create 65 quality jobs.”
Heartland Renaissance Fund is the sole community development entity (CDE) for the project. Wells Fargo serves as the tax credit investor, providing $2.2 million in tax credit equity.
“Wells Fargo is excited to be involved in the Sovereign Pipe transaction as it opens its manufacturing operations in the Iron Horse Industrial Park,” said Lee Winslett; managing director for Wells Fargo Community Lending and Investment.
###
About the U.S. Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program
NMTCs were established by Congress in 2000 to stimulate investment and economic growth in designated low-income communities. The NMTC Program is administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
About Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation
Founded in 2003, the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (CPCDC), a tribally chartered nonprofit corporation, provides access to capital and business development services to Native Americans to expand the capacities of small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. As a nonprofit CDFI, the CPCDC has loaned millions of dollars needed by small businesses to turn their ambitions into reality while helping to stimulate job creation and economic development.
The CPCDC is owned by the Citizen Pottawatomie Nation (CPN) which is one of 38 federally recognized Native American tribes headquartered in Oklahoma. The tribe’s governmental jurisdiction includes 900 square miles in parts of Pottawatomie and Oklahoma counties. The CPN recognizes more than 33,000 citizens around the world.
About Arkansas Capital
Arkansas Capital is a private, nonprofit lending corporation dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs in Arkansas and in surrounding states. Arkansas Capital offers flexible capital solutions to meet the unique needs of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and economic and community development projects, with emphasis on serving low-income and rural communities. Working in partnership with commercial banks, government agencies, and others at the local, state, regional, and national levels since 1957, Arkansas Capital has deployed more than $2.47 billion in capital financing.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the U.S., and is a leading middle market banking provider in the U.S.
The company provides a diversified set of banking and investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management.
Wells Fargo ranked No. 41 on Fortune’s 2022 rankings of America’s largest corporations. The company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy in the communities it serves.
New Staff On Board at Arkansas Capital to Grow Lending Services
Arkansas Capital announces the addition of Melissa Huey, vice comptroller; Rebecca Miles, vice president, loan services; Marie Rians, portfolio manager; and Lana Waldron, vice president and senior underwriter, to its lending and accounting operations teams as the company continues its growth in expanding flexible financing opportunities to small businesses in Arkansas and surrounding states. For calendar year 2021, Arkansas Capital made over $103.3 million in loans to small businesses in its service area, including in low-to-moderate income communities.
Our House Closes $10 Million in NMTC Financing to Increase Its Capacity to Serve Homeless in Central Arkansas
Latest Arkansas Investment by Arkansas Capital Corporation
Will Bring Additional Services to Severely Distressed Community
Little Rock, Arkansas – Our House announced it has closed on a $10 million NMTC (New Markets Tax Credit) financing package to expand its services for families and individuals who are homeless in central Arkansas.
This financing will enable Our House to double its transitional housing capacity with apartment style units dedicated to families, double its childcare development and youth programming, create dedicated space for physical and mental health services and expand Our House’s workforce training services. This expansion will enable Our House to serve an additional 250 low-income adults and children daily.
The 27,300 square foot expansion is expected to open in the fall of 2023 and is part of the non-profit’s $16 million development plan for its 7 acre campus.
The NMTC investment will result in a $2 million net benefit for Our House in support of this expansion plan.
This is the first expansion of Our House’s housing capacity in over 14 years and will enable Our House to expand childhood programing, which has a waiting list of 200+ children and expand its mental health services by 50%.
The project will create 43 permanent full-time jobs over the next few years.
The new facility qualified for the federal NMTC program because it is in a highly distressed census tract with a 26.50% poverty rate (over 2.3 times the national rate), an unemployment rate of 14.3% (1.72 times national average) and area median income that is 48.79% of the median family income.
“The $10 million tax credit allocation from Heartland Renaissance Fund will enable Our House to address the growing need for our services in central Arkansas,” said Ben Goodwin, executive director of Our House. “Our House has seen total volume served increase by 83% in just two years, to more than 600 people per day served. Our board and staff have worked together to develop a solid plan for expanding to meet this need, and the NMTC investment is playing a huge role in making our expansion plan a reality.”
NMTC financing is provided by Little Rock based Arkansas Capital Corporation, which has invested $375 million of NMTC allocation supporting over 40 projects throughout the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma.
“ACC is excited to be a financing partner supporting the mission of Our House,” said Arkansas Capital Corporation CEO Sam Walls. “Our House is an important asset for the communities’ efforts to address homelessness, as well as connecting formerly incarcerated people with the workforce and help them navigate the legal system.”
Heartland Renaissance Fund is the sole community development entity (CDE) for the project. First Horizon served as the tax credit investor, providing $3,159,000 in tax credit equity.
“First Horizon is excited to be involved in the Our House transaction as it provides much-needed housing support for the homeless community in central Arkansas. At First Horizon, we believe that our company is only as successful as the communities in which we operate, so it is imperative that we help strengthen our communities through strategic partnerships and investments,” said David Shindler, executive vice president for First Horizon Bank.
About the U.S. Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) were established by Congress in 2000 to stimulate investment and economic growth in designated low-income communities. The NMTC Program is administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund).
About Our House
Our House, a private non-profit formed in 1987 that empowers homeless and near-homeless families and individuals in central Arkansas to succeed in the workforce, in school, and in life through hard work, wise decision making, and active participation in the community. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, Our House offers comprehensive services to build a pathway out of homelessness on a seven-acre campus. You can find out more about Our House by visiting www.ourhouseshelter.org or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About First Horizon Bank
First Horizon Corp. (NYSE: FHN), with $85.1 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022, is a leading regional financial services company, dedicated to helping our clients, communities and associates unlock their full potential with capital and counsel. Headquartered in Memphis, TN, the banking subsidiary First Horizon Bank operates in 12 states across the southern U.S. The company and its subsidiaries offer commercial, private banking, consumer, small business, wealth and trust management, retail brokerage, capital markets, fixed income, mortgage, and title insurance services. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation’s best employers by Fortune and Forbes magazines and a Top 10 Most Reputable U.S. Bank. More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.
Two Arkansas Community Development Lenders Team Up to Package Tax Credits to Modernize Rural University’s Science Center
Little Rock, Ark. – Representatives of Arkansas Capital’s Heartland Renaissance Fund and Southern Bancorp, two of the state’s prominent community development lenders in the federal New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) program, were among the administrators, students, faculty, and benefactors of the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville celebrating the April 9 dedication ceremony of the university’s newly-remodeled Thomas and Francis Wilson Science Center.
Students taking courses at the center returned for the 2022 spring semester to study in a brand-new, state-of-the-art educational and research-grade facility with larger classrooms, labs fitted with critical safety upgrades, and dedicated research areas. Completing the remodel of the center was a major milestone in the university’s pursuit of accomplishing strategic goals set forth in a $90 million master plan to accommodate future growth in student enrollment and in program offerings. According to the university, the Wilson Science Center is the single largest capital construction project in the its history.
University officials raised nearly $20 million in outside gifts and grants to remodel for the 53-year-old facility, but more funding was needed to maintain the technologies and keep courses relevant to meeting increased student and employer demand for science, technology, education, and math (STEM) program offerings.
“New Market Tax Credits allow us to keep this facility maintained and equipped with the latest technology for many years to come. Because of fully-funded projects like these, Ozarks is able to continue its commitment to keeping a high-quality, private education affordable and accessible and to limiting student debt” said University President Richard L. Dunsworth.
Launched by the U.S. Department of Treasury in 2000, the NMTC program attracts private investors by offering tax credits in return for their investment into measurable and meaningful projects benefiting the country’s most underserved areas. The university is located in a census tract defined by the federal government as being in a non-metropolitan area and “severely distressed.” For this designation, the tract must have a poverty rate greater than 30 percent with a median family income that does not exceed 60 percent of the state’s median family income. The university reports that 58 percent of its students are considered low-income. Thirty percent of students are first generation college students.
Representatives of both Arkansas Capital and Southern Bancorp met for months with both university and regional government and economic development officials to find a way to make the NMTC opportunity work for the Wilson Science Center. Together, they were able to craft a NMTC package of $19,521,135 in allocations.
“We are pleased to have partnered with Southern Bancorp to help bring this project to fruition,: said Sam Walls, III, Arkansas Capital CEO. He added that the deployment of federal tax credits for the Wilson Science Center is also a win for the NMTC program in Arkansas. “We are continually looking for impactful projects, especially in low-income areas, where local officials are struggling to find capital for projects to grow their economies. We rely on these local, state, and regional officials to give us guidance on what projects are needed in their communities; the projects that have the most impact and are best for the long term health of the community.”
“We are honored to have played a part in this outstanding collaborative effort with Arkansas Capital to benefit the University of the Ozarks students, faculty, and community,” said Darrin Williams, Southern Bancorp, Inc. CEO. “The New Markets Tax Credit program is a powerful tool for CDFIs to use in focusing much needed investment capital into places that can benefit the most from it. We look forward to seeing the long-term positive impacts of this project far into the future.”
Southern Bancorp has a proven track record of putting investment capital to work in places that need it most, and this program is a powerful tool through which we can put investment dollars to work supporting job growth and creation in financially underserved areas.”
Both Arkansas Capital and Southern Bancorp are certified by the department of Treasury as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and are nationally-renowned for their combined decades of experience and success in maximizing the purposes of the NMTC program. To date, Arkansas Capital has deployed $375 million and Southern Bancorp has deployed $51 million in NMTC allocations to finance projects in Arkansas and surrounding states.”
John Brown University, University of Arkansas Win 2022 Governor’s Cup
Little Rock, Ark. – Ascend, a business created by John Brown University students to build upon a prototype of a portable tree stand for deer hunters, and GammaVet, formed by a team of students from the University of Arkansas / Fayetteville to launch a rapid detection test for a type of feline cancer, were announced as the winners of the 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition at the March 31 Governor’s Cup Awards Luncheon in Rogers. The Governor’s Cup competition is presented by Arkansas Capital Corporation.
Overall, six teams took home first- through third-place awards and will share in a $100,000 cash prize pool, contributed for the fifth year by Title Sponsor Dhu Thompson, founder, past owner, and former chairman of the board of Delta Plastics. They are:
Winrock Automotive Small Business Division:
First Place – Ascend, John Brown University ($15,000)
Second Place – Bento, University of Arkansas / Fayetteville ($10,000)
Third Place – Orange Otter Toys, University of Arkansas / Fayetteville ($5,000)
Innovate Arkansas High-Growth / Technology Division:
First Place – GammaVet, University of Arkansas / Fayetteville ($25,000)
Second Place – CiphrX, University of Arkansas / Fayetteville ($15,000)
Third Place – SHOCK, University of Arkansas / Fayetteville ($10,000)
All teams that enter the Governor’s Cup are required to have a faculty advisor. Advisors of each winning team also received a $2,500 cash prize.
Six finalists in each division were announced March 3 and 4. All 12 finalists made oral presentations March 17, followed by selection of the division’s top three winners. The finalists were:
Winrock Automotive Small Business Division:
AR Lawn; Arkansas State University, Jonesboro
Kopi Koffee Company; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Limitless Fitness; Central Baptist College, Conway; Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia
Innovate Arkansas High-Growth / Technology Division:
Horizon Health Solutions; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Suelo; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
VEZA Solutions; John Brown University, Fayetteville
The awards luncheon continued the annual tradition of showcasing the finalist teams with a live elevator pitch competition. A representative of each of the 12 finalist teams took the stage to make 90-second pitches to the audience. Each guest was given the opportunity to vote for his / her favorite pitch in each division via their mobile devices. The winners were Ascend and Horizon Health Solutions of the University of Arkansas / Fayetteville.
For the seventh year, the awards luncheon was emceed by Arkansas Commerce Secretary and Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission Mike Preston. He was joined by his wife, Anne Imanuel Preston, a television news anchor. In addition to Mr. Thompson, other major competition sponsors were the Walton Family Foundation, First Security Bank, Winrock Automotive, and Innovate Arkansas.
Arkansas Capital Corporation has managed the Governor’s Cup since the first competition in 2001. Over the past 22 years, 3,087 Arkansas college and university students have been impacted, submitting 949 business ideas. For 2022, 31 teams of 157 students from seven Arkansas universities competed.
The competition does not require teams to launch their businesses; instead, they are rewarded for the rigorous and real-world experience they gain as competitors. They are also exposed to the state’s rich entrepreneurial history and discover the opportunities Arkansas has to offer to entrepreneurs who want to start businesses in the state. Whether launching new businesses or working in corporate or professional settings, team members cite the Governor’s Cup as having a significant and positive impact in their professional development and their careers beyond college.
“Exposing students as early as possible to a hands-on approach to entrepreneurship will pay significant dividends in future years,” said Sam Walls, III, CEO of Arkansas Capital. “We want to encourage these young, innovative students to reach their potential. By working with them before they leave school, we have the opportunity to “plant the seeds” of entrepreneurship as an option for their future and in this way we can begin to grow and develop Arkansas’s future businesses,” he said.
The awards luncheon was livestreamed and can be viewed at argovernorscup.org. The elevator pitch portion of the competition begins at 38:54.
Finalists announced for 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Cup competition; awards luncheon in NWA
Little Rock-based nonprofit Arkansas Capital Corp. announced Monday (March 7) the 12 finalists for its annual Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition.
Y.E.S. 2022 Winners!
Nearly 150 teams made up of 446 students from 26 schools competed in Arkansas Capital’s 17th annual Youth Entrepreneur Showcase (Y.E.S.) for Arkansas 5th-8th Grade Business Plan Competition! See the winners here!!