New Market Tax Credits

Making a greater impact throughout South Carolina

The U.S. Treasury designed the New Markets Tax Credit Program to increase private sector capital flow to businesses, nonprofits, community facilities, and other important projects in communities lacking investment.

Issued by the CDFI Fund, NMTCs incentivize investment in organizations with a proven record of successful community development financing and facilitate the completion of large-scale projects that would otherwise not be financed.

In 2019, SCCLF received its first New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation. NMTCs have allowed SCCLF to make a greater impact throughout SC by participating in large-scale projects that create places for community members to gather, learn, work, provide care, and thrive.

The credits are sold to investors and provide equity for investment. NMTCs are used to fill critical financing gaps in projects to be developed in low- to moderate-income communities. They can often be leveraged to secure additional funding, such as public subsidies or private sector funds.

New Market Tax Credits In Action

Claflin University

An Orangeburg historically Black college and university (HBCU), Claflin University, is home to a new three-story activity center, made possible because of a 2022 NMTC investment from The Innovate Fund and SCCLF. The Innovate Fund, a New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) Community Development Entity, provided $15 million, part of a larger $18.5 million financing package, to assist in the construction of the center.

The Innovate Fund

SCCLF partnered with The Innovate Fund to invest the remaining $3.5 million through the New Markets Tax Credit program to make the project possible. The project features classrooms, a student life/ learning space, a meeting space, an event center, a food court, and a movie theater.