South Carolina Federal Assistance

[CLT_sc]

The CDFI fund is a federal program which aims to impact communities  by providing awards to companies who make credit, capital and other critical financial services available to disadvantaged businesses and low-income communities in each state.  It is in effect a backdoor  subsidy to companies who finance projects that the market would not (likely) otherwise support.

Since 1999, the state of SC has received $805mm in awards for this program.  75% of all SC awards have gone to Greenville.  What are the qualifications to obtain these credits?  Why are the credits so heavily tilted towards one city? 

[GvilleSC]

24 minutes ago, CLT_sc said:

The CDFI fund is a federal program which aims to impact communities  by providing awards to companies who make credit, capital and other critical financial services available to disadvantaged businesses and low-income communities in each state.  It is in effect a backdoor  subsidy to companies who finance projects that the market would not (likely) otherwise support.

Since 1999, the state of SC has received $805mm in awards for this program.  75% of all SC awards have gone to Greenville.  What are the qualifications to obtain these credits?  Why are the credits so heavily tilted towards one city? 

Look who is back 

[CLT_sc]

26 minutes ago, GvilleSC said:

Look who is back 

Not sure what you mean.

But, it is a legitimate question.  SC is full of poor cities which need assistance.  It is a little odd, if not political, that one city nails 75% of the funding.   I am open to ideas and thoughts, would just like to understand this more.

[CLT_sc]

To add a little color, eligible census tracks are chosen by the governor, not metrics or data.  In SC, most of the tracts in Charleston are above the crosstown with the exception of one north of Calhoun.  In Cola, only one exists north of Elmwood, nothing  in the heart of downtown.  In Greenville, the west end from Falls Park following S Main are in the zone.  Interestingly, the proposed conventention center falls just inside the opportunity zone.

Not sure what prior year maps look like.

To be transparent, I am not against development inventives.  But, when 75% of the grants are centered in one area and politics are involved,  it does raise a lot of questions.

[distortedlogic]

On 4/13/2019 at 5:39 PM, GvilleSC said:

Look who is back 

 

Good eye. 

[Spartan]

On 4/14/2019 at 4:29 PM, CLT_sc said:

To add a little color, eligible census tracks are chosen by the governor, not metrics or data.  In SC, most of the tracts in Charleston are above the crosstown with the exception of one north of Calhoun.  In Cola, only one exists north of Elmwood, nothing  in the heart of downtown.  In Greenville, the west end from Falls Park following S Main are in the zone.  Interestingly, the proposed conventention center falls just inside the opportunity zone.

Not sure what prior year maps look like.

To be transparent, I am not against development inventives.  But, when 75% of the grants are centered in one area and politics are involved,  it does raise a lot of questions.

Can you provide maps, cite examples, and describe this program in more detail?  Maybe Greenville is just better at applying for grants. It's not necessarily fault if other cities can't write a good grant application.

[distortedlogic]

6 hours ago, Spartan said:

Can you provide maps, cite examples, and describe this program in more detail?  Maybe Greenville is just better at applying for grants. It's not necessarily fault if other cities can't write a good grant application.

I have to question the poster's motives on this topic. He or she has brought this up multiple times under this handle, as well as, under multiple other handles; without giving any explanation as to why the topic is important to him or her, or why it really matters within the context of Greenville's development. To cherry pick one tax funded program that Greenville just happens to have utilized effectively, while ignoring countless other ones other cities have more greatly benefited from, screams of having an agenda. Cities around the country are constantly benefactors of everything from  disaster relief aide and sectional housing funds to tax funded grants for transportation and corporate bailouts.

Perhaps, as you suggested, Greenville is better at applying for this specific type of grant. Or, perhaps it has proven it knows how to use such grants effectively in conjunction with it's long history of successful private/public partnerships, and is thus entrusted with more of them. Greenville has certainly missed in other areas, such as being repeatedly turned down for bus/mass transit grants, perhaps because it has shown it does not know how to run those particular programs nearly as well.

[CLT_sc]

20 hours ago, distortedlogic said:

I have to question the poster's motives on this topic. He or she has brought this up multiple times under this handle, as well as, under multiple other handles; without giving any explanation as to why the topic is important to him or her, or why it really matters within the context of Greenville's development. To cherry pick one tax funded program that Greenville just happens to have utilized effectively, while ignoring countless other ones other cities have more greatly benefited from, screams of having an agenda. Cities around the country are constantly benefactors of everything from  disaster relief aide and sectional housing funds to tax funded grants for transportation and corporate bailouts.

Perhaps, as you suggested, Greenville is better at applying for this specific type of grant. Or, perhaps it has proven it knows how to use such grants effectively in conjunction with it's long history of successful private/public partnerships, and is thus entrusted with more of them. Greenville has certainly missed in other areas, such as being repeatedly turned down for bus/mass transit grants, perhaps because it has shown it does not know how to run those particular programs nearly as well.

I am not going to address any of you questions about motive, it is not relevant to the discussion. But, I would not compare disaster relief with a government program used to fill a financing hole so that financing a marginal project makes sense.

On 5/11/2019 at 4:28 PM, Spartan said:

Can you provide maps, cite examples, and describe this program in more detail?  Maybe Greenville is just better at applying for grants. It's not necessarily fault if other cities can't write a good grant application.

I remember posting links to sites with a lot of this information, maybe it was deleted.

[Spartan]

4 hours ago, CLT_sc said:

I am not going to address any of you questions about motive, it is not relevant to the discussion. But, I would not compare disaster relief with a government program used to fill a financing hole so that financing a marginal project makes sense.

I remember posting links to sites with a lot of this information, maybe it was deleted.

Only if you deleted it.