U.S. Bank awards $125 Million Dollars to National Conference of Black Mayors for Post-Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding Efforts
'We felt the best way to respond to the devastation and destruction of Hurricane Katrina is to make a sustainable impact by preserving and rebuilding residential and commercial entities on behalf of the mayors we represent and their citizens,' said Vanessa R. Williams, NCBM Executive Director. 'The best method for us to accomplish our goal is through our Community Development Entity (CDE) by leveraging New Market Tax Credits,' Williams said.
(PRWEB) September 22, 2005 -- U.S. Bank has awarded $125 Million Dollars to National Conference of Black Mayors for Post-Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding Efforts.
What: Press conference to announce the establishment of $125 million dollar fund to help rebuild cities and towns of member-mayors affected by Hurricane Katrina. The National Conference of Black Mayors' Community Development Entity (CDE) was awarded the funding through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. NMTC is emerging as a valuable financing tool for affordable housing and community economic development. This allocation of funds will be used in Louisiana and in other blighted areas of Mississippi and Alabama to rebuild infrastructure and create lost jobs. The New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC) permits taxpayers to receive a credit against Federal Income Taxes for making qualified equity investments in designated CDE's. Substantially all of the qualified Equity Investments must in turn be used by the CDE to provide investments in Low Income Communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39% of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period. Up to $3.5 billion in tax credits is available under the current round of the NMTC Program, which attracts private-sector capital investment into the nation's urban and rural low-income areas. Many of the small, rural towns affected by the Hurricane are headed by African American mayors. Most have received little or no media attention regarding how this national crisis has impacted their area. Affected cities include: Goodman, MS; Port Gibson, MS; Heidelberg, MS; Crosby, MS; McLain, MS; Duck Hill, MS; Beaumont, MS; Hattiesburg, MS; Wesson, MS; Bude, MS; Mt. Olive, MS; Natchez, MS; Tuchula, MS; Moss Point, MS; Laurel, MS; Prichard, AL; Mobile, AL; New Orleans, LA; Baton Rouge, LA; Baker, LA; White Castle, LA; Monroe, LA; Bastrop, LA; St. Gabriel, LA; Napoleonville, LA; Chataigner, LA; Tangipahoa, LA and Clinton, LA, among others.
Who: National Conference of Black Mayors, Inc (NCBM) - Established in 1974, the NCBM is a private, nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. NCBM serves over 500 mayors, nationwide, who represent more than 30 million citizens. NCBM's mission is to enhance the executive management capacity of its members for the purpose of governing viable municipalities. NCBM is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
When: 3:00 p.m.; Thursday, September 22, 2005
Where: Zenger Room - National Press Club
529 14th Street NW -- Washington, DC 20045
Conference call-in line (to listen to Press Conference): 800-733-8619
Media contact: Dionne Mahaffey-Muhammad
404-314-1715 (cell) - 404-765-6444 (office)
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