Incentive Programs
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The Hancock County Small Business Revolving Loan (HCSBRLF) was established by Hancock County Economic Development Corporation (HCEDC) in conjunction with several area financial institutions. This revolving loan program targets small and emerging businesses in the Hancock County area.
The applicant criteria for the HCSBRLF are very basic and there is a simple one page application. The fund is not a primary lender, in that other secured financing is required before HCSBRLF will offer a loan to supplement the project.
Find more information, click here.
The Revolving Loan Fund available through the City of Britt is designed to be the final step to opening or expanding a business in Britt. The Revolving Loan Fund is not a primary source of capital for development projects and is not intended to compete with local banks. The maximum loan is $25,000 at 5% interest and may have terms of from one to seven years.
For more information about the Revolving Loan Fund contact the City Clerk at (641) 843-4433.
The Garner Revolving Loan Fund is a pool of money from which loans can be made to businesses. The loan fund is established to provide financial assistance for small and emerging private business enterprises. Interest rate and length of loans will be determined for each project individually. Typical loan terms would be no longer than 5 years. The size of the loan will depend on number of new jobs created as well as overall impact to the community. Eligible purposes of the funds include the purchase of equipment, fixtures, inventory, land acquisition and development, building construction and expansion, and leasehold improvements.
Contact the City of Garner for Loan application and procedures:
135 W. 5th Street.
Find more information, click here.
The program was established to provide a public financing tool to enhance business assistance programs and services to businesses and communities in the NIACOG region. It is the goal of the RLF to provide job creation and retention as a result of the loan. NIACOG RLF funding is intended to fill capital financing gaps and is to be only part of the overall business strategy for financing.
View a summary, click here.
For more information, click here.
Prairie Energy Cooperative created its Community/Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund to improve the quality of life in rural areas by contributing to the long-term improvement in the local economy. Eligible uses of the funds are land purchase, buildings, fixed assets, machinery and equipment, infrastructure and residential housing projects (limits apply).
Loan terms are set by the Prairie Energy Board of Directors based on the financial need of the project. Interest rates will vary from 0% to Prime Rate. There is an administrative fee of 1% and a minimum of 40% of the project must be funded from equity or debt sources other than the Prairie Energy RLF.
For more information from Prairie Energy on its RLF, and other energy-related programs, go to:
Corn Belt Power Cooperative and its member systems provide financial expertise and assistance for business and industry to grow within the region through use of the Revolving Loan Fund, Joint Venture Fund and the USDA Loan Guarantee Program. The Revolving Loan Fund has been established to help create jobs and build the rural economy within 25 counties in North Central Iowa.
Please call Brittany Dickey at (515) 332-7715 or [email protected] for more information.
If you want more information on Corn Belt Power Cooperative’s financial assistance packages, including its POWER Fund, go to:
For qualifying projects approved by the appropriate jurisdiction, Tax Increment Financing is a funding consideration in Hancock County and its communities. Implementation practices vary by community.
Email Jill at [email protected] for more information.
For qualifying projects approved by the appropriate jurisdiction, Tax Abatement is a funding consideration in Hancock County and its communities. Implementation practices vary by community.
Email Jill at [email protected] for more information.
The Iowa Capital Access Program (ICAP) assists Iowa businesses secure the financing they need to launch, retain, or expand business operations in Iowa. ICAP encourages banks and other eligible financial institutions to consider small business loans that fall outside of conventional underwriting criteria by providing loan portfolio insurance to reduce lender risk and help businesses retain and create jobs for Iowans.
IEDA has contracted with Iowa Business Growth Company (IBGC) to administer ICAP. For more information, go to:
The CEBA program provides financial assistance to companies that create new employment opportunities and/or retain existing jobs, and make new capital investments. The amount of funding is based, in part, on the number of jobs to created/retained. Funds are provided in the forms of loans and forgivable loans. Projects eligible for CEBA funding include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Building construction or reconstruction
- Land or building acquisition
- Equipment purchases
- Operating and maintenance expenses
- Site development – clearance, demolition and building removal
- Working capital
CEBA investments should not be considered a sole funding source. The program leverages other financial support such as bank financing and private investment.
The CEBA program also contains a modernization project component. This part of the program is specifically designed for business investing in machinery and equipment and/or technology upgrades to improve or maintain their competitive edge in their respective markets.
The Demonstration Fund provides financial and technical assistance to encourage high technology prototype and concept development activities that have a clear potential to lead to commercially viable products or services within a reasonable period of time.
The Demonstration Fund supports commercialization activities by small and medium-sized Iowa companies in the advanced manufacturing, biosciences, and information technology industries. The primary purpose of the fund is to help businesses with a high-growth potential reach a position where they are able to attract later stage private sector funding. For more information, go to:
The EDSA program provides financial assistance to companies that create new employment opportunities and/or retain existing jobs, and make new capital investments. The amount of funding is based, in part, on the number of jobs to be created and/or retained.
Projects eligible for EDSA funding include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Building construction or reconstruction
- Land or building acquisition
- Equipment purchased
- Operating and maintenance expenses
- Site development – clearance, demolition and building removal
- Working capital
EDSA investments should not be considered a sole funding source. The program leverages other financial support such as bank financing and private investment.
The EDSA program assistance is targeted toward business projects located in communities of fewer than 50,000 population.
Assistance is provided in the form of loans and/or forgivable loans. The maximum award is $1 million per project. Applications are filed by cities or counties on behalf of eligible businesses, which need to meet certain regional/county wage standards.
For more information, go to:
The Iowa HQJC program is designed to promote the creation of quality jobs by assisting businesses locating, expanding or modernizing their facilities in Iowa. To be eligible, businesses must meet criteria relating to targeted industries, employee benefits, and building specifications, among others.
The program offers a package of tax credits, exemptions and/or refunds to approved businesses. The level of assistance is based on the amount of qualifying investment and the number of new jobs that meet wage targets.
For more information, go to:
Financial assistance programs are available to finance road and community infrastructure to attract new development or support growth of existing development.
The Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) program is for eligible cities and counties to promote economic development in Iowa through construction or improvement of roads and streets. This program is administered by the Iowa Department of Transportation for expenditures on city, county, and state highways to help attract new development or to support growth with existing developments. Projects are evaluated on economic potential and impact. Funding may be used in conjunction with other sources of federal, state, local, and private financing for the purpose of improving area highways and specific access to roads.
For more information, go to:
Public Facilities Set-Aside (PFSA) assists with the construction of public infrastructure to serve industrial properties.
For more information, go to:
The Iowa Innovation Acceleration Fund promotes the formation and growth of businesses that engage in the transfer of technology into competitive, profitable companies that create high paying jobs. The funds are designed to support commercializing research, launching new start-ups and accelerating private investment and industrial expansion efforts that result in significant capital investment.
The fund provides financing to eligible businesses through three program components that correspond to three different stages of growth for investment-grade, high-growth enterprises.
For more information, go to:
North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City offers the 260E Program in Hancock County. The purpose of the job-training programs is to lower a company’s cost of expanding employment and training employees in new jobs. The employees benefit by expanding their job skills and abilities.
The Iowa New Jobs Training Program was developed to assist businesses that are creating new jobs. If the company is expanding Iowa operations or locating a new facility in the state, the New Jobs Training Program can provide flexible funding to meet the wide variety of training and employee development needs for its new employees. The assistance available ranges from highly specialized educational programs to basic skills training for new positions. This program is administered through Iowa’s Community College Network.
For more information, go to www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/Finance/NewJobs
The Iowa Jobs Training Program invests in customized training for existing Iowa employers. Businesses with employee development or training needs should contact their local community college, which in Hancock County is North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City.
The Community College assists businesses with funding. The maximum award is $25,000 for each project, provided the company offers a minimum 25 percent cash match. A business site may be approved for multiple projects - with maximum funding over three years not to exceed $50,000 per site.
A New Jobs Tax Credit is available to businesses entering into an agreement under the state’s training program and which increase their workforce by at least 10 percent. The business qualifies for this credit to its Iowa corporate income tax. The credit is equal to 6 percent of the state unemployment insurance taxable wage base. The tax credit can be carried forward up to 10 years.
For more information, go to:
Iowa Micro Loan provides:
- Loans for start-up, expansion or refinancing of small business entrepreneurs
- A technical assistance action plan tailored to the needs of your business
- A technical assistance grant up to $500/client/year to assist in the cost of accessing technical assistance resources
- Access to local, regional, statewide, and online networks of microbusiness development mentors, coaches, and professionals willing to help your business become profitable
- Assistance in improving your credit score and reducing overall business risk that will allow you to utilize traditional credit resources once you graduate from Iowa Micro Loan.
For more information, go to:
The Small Business Linked Investments Program provides capital for small businesses owned and operated by Iowa residents.
One-half of the moneys invested will be available for qualifying small businesses which are 51 percent or more owned, operated, and actively managed by one or more women, minority persons, or persons with disabilities.
For more information, visit the website of the Iowa State Treasurer at:
The Self-Employment Loan Program (SELP) assists in the creation and expansion of small businesses in Iowa by low-income individuals or persons with a disability.
To receive a SELP loan, applicants must have an annualized family income that does not exceed current income guidelines for the program. An applicant is automatically eligible for SELP if they receive Family Investment Plan assistance or other general assistance such as disability benefits. SELP funds are also available to applicants who are eligible under the Job Training Partnership Act or certified as having a disability under standards established by the Iowa Department of Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Applicants for this program must obtain a local sponsor for the application process.
SELP loans of up to $10,000 with a 5 percent interest rate are available. The loan is to be repaid in monthly installments over a five-year period, and the first payment may be deferred for three months for a start-up business.
For more information, go to:
www.niacc.edu/pappajohn/selp.html
or call the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at North Iowa Area Community College, Mason City, at 641-422-4111.
The Iowa Small Business Loan Support Program (ISBLSP) aids Iowa entrepreneurs and small businesses in their efforts to access capital for business purposes including startup costs, working capital, business procurement, franchise fees, equipment, inventory, as well as the renovation or tenant improvements of an eligible place of business that is not for passive real estate investment purposes.
For more information, go to:
The Targeted Small Business (TSB) Program of Iowa is designed to help women, minorities and the disabled overcome some of the major hurdles to starting or growing a small business in Iowa. Since its inception over two decades ago, the TSB program has issued hundreds of loans to Iowa small business owners. Besides financial assistance, the program has many additional benefits.
Eligibility:
- Business must be located in Iowa
- Business must be operating for a profit
- Business must have less than $4 million in annual gross income, computed as an average of the preceding three fiscal years.
- At least 51% of the business must be owned, operated and actively managed by a female, a minority group member or a person with a disability.
For more information, go to:
The VAAPFAP provides financial assistance to new or existing companies that utilize the state’s agricultural commodities to create new, innovative products or to produce renewable fuels (including soy diesel, ethanol and other renewable fuels). VAAPFAP can also assist those companies engaged in organic processing, bio-mass and creation of alternative energies. Financial assistance is provided in the form of loans and forgivable loans.
More information is available at:
The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) does not make direct loans to small businesses. Rather, SBA sets the guidelines for loans, which are then made by its partners (lenders, community development organizations, and microlending institutions).
The SBA guarantees that these loans will be repaid, thus eliminating some of the risk to the lending partners. So when a business applies for an SBA loan, it is actually applying for a commercial loan, structured according to SBA requirements with an SBA guaranty. SBA-guaranteed loans may not be made to a small business if the borrower has access to other financing on reasonable terms.
SBA loan guaranty requirements and practices can change as the Government alters its fiscal policy and priorities to meet current economic conditions. Therefore, you can’t rely on past policy when seeking assistance in today's market.
For more information, contact your local bank or go to:
The federal Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program is a public-private investment partnership created to help fill the gap between the availability of growth capital and the needs of small businesses. The SBA does not invest directly in small businesses, relying instead on the expertise of qualified private investment funds. The SBA licenses these funds as SBICs and supplements the capital they raise from private investors with access to low-cost, government-guaranteed debt.
With these two sources of capital backing them, SBICs search across the United States for promising businesses in need of debt or equity financing. SBICs are similar to other investment funds in terms of how they operate and their pursuit of high returns. However, unlike other funds, SBICs limit their investments to qualified small business concerns as defined by SBA regulations.
For more information, contact your local bank or go to:
United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program assistance is provided in many ways, including direct or guaranteed loans, grants, technical assistance, research and educational materials.
Visit the following site for information and/or assistance:
www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_Grants.html
The local USDA Rural Development office is in Humboldt and can be contacted at 515-332-4411.
United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program assistance is provided in many ways, including direct or guaranteed loans, grants, technical assistance, research and educational materials.
Visit the following site for information:
assistance:www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_Loans.html
The local USDA Rural Development office is in Humboldt and can be contacted at 515-332-4411.