The Citizen Potawatomi Community Development received $25 million in funding from the Obama Administration’s Community Facilities Re-Lending Program.
“This is the largest single award the CPCDC has ever received,” noted CPCDC Director Shane Jett. “We can put these funds to work for rural Oklahomans across the state for hospitals, police stations, community centers or a number of public uses.”
The USDA program allocates longterm, low interest loan funding for community facilities in rural American communities with a population less than 20,000. The funds are distributed by the federal agency to eligible re-lenders such as the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, who then re-loan those funds for the construction or maintenance of community infrastructure.
Community Facilities Programs provide loans for essential community infrastructure, so that people who live and work in rural areas can enjoy the same basic quality of life and services as those in urban and metropolitan areas.
Jett, a former state legislator from Tecumseh, explained the importance of the funding opportunities for small Oklahoma communities.
“The facilities are vital for lightly populated, rural communities where infrastructure investment may be lacking and a large tax base to fund these projects just isn’t possible.”
Established in 2003, the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation has grown into an important fi nancial institution serving rural Oklahoma and Indian Country. The $25 million award from the USDA comes on the heels of a separate $1 million in funding it recently received through the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution Program to provide small business lending.
Funds from the USDA Community Facilities Program can be distributed to applicants that are public bodies such as municipal or county governments, community-based nonprofit corporations and federally recognized tribal nations. The facilities built using the funds must be located in rural areas such as cities, villages, townships, towns and communities on federally recognized tribal lands and a population below 20,000.
Approved facilities include those for public safety such as police and fire, public healthcare, nursing homes, town halls, child care and community centers, museums and libraries, as well as public works services such as vehicles, equipment and street improvements.
Those interested in learning more about the funds available for these and many other uses are encouraged to contact the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation at 405-878-4697 or visit www.cpcdc.org.