Northeast Kingdom Economic Development Organization Wins $315,000 Federal Grant

September 29, 1999

WASHINGTON (Sept. 29) -- A St. Johnsbury-based nonprofit organization has won a $315,000 federal grant to continue their efforts to provide economic development assistance to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, Sen. Patrick Leahy has announced.

The Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC), a leading economic development organization for northern Vermont, was awarded the federal grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI). NCIC provides a variety of business loans, equity investments, loan guarantees and lease options to economic development opportunities in Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties.

Leahy, a long time supporter of CDFI and the critical economic develop assistance it offers to communities, had urged encouraged the Treasury Department to approve the funding request by the NCIC. The nonprofit also secured a $330,000 low-interest loan from CDFI. Together, the $645,000 federal package is projected to help NCIC offer $2.9 million in loans and create or preserve 290 jobs in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

“This federal assistance should be real boost to NCIC’s economic development efforts in northern Vermont,” said Leahy. “The Northeast Kingdom hasn’t shared the economic prosperity of other parts of the state, so I hope this federal aid can help close that gap.”

Local contact: Paul Denton, Executive Director, NCIC: 748-5101