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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 51 FA C T BO O K / D O I N G B U S I N E S S I N M A I N E B U S I N E S S R E S O U R C E S Revenue bonds Revenue Obligation Securities Program: Provides an opportunity for manufacturing businesses to access the tax-exempt bond market for funds to build and/or acquire real estate or machinery and equipment using tax-exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds issued by FAME. In FY 2016, the program provided $30 million in bonds for solid waste facilities and approxi- mately $3.3 million for a nonprofit organization. Equity capital Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program: e Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program is designed to encourage equity and near-equity investments in eligible Maine busi- nesses, directly and through private venture capital funds. FAME may authorize state income tax credits or refundable tax credits to inves- tors for 50% of the cash equity they provide to eligible Maine businesses. Investments may be used for fixed assets, research or working capital. Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2015, FAME issued $3,948,460 in tax credits out of the $4 million that was available under law. Maine New Markets Capital Investment Tax Credit Program: Modeled after the federal tax credit, this state program is designed to attract investment in economically distressed areas of Maine. An alloca- tion of tax credits may be provided for businesses that invest in "quali- fied community development enti- ties." e credit is equal to 39% of the qualified amount invested, and is spread over a seven-year period, with 7% allowed in year three and 8% in each of years four through seven. e credit may not be taken in the first two years after investment. One-day loans are now prohibited pursuant to rule. e maximum aggregate amount of tax credit authority is set forth at $250 million, and the amount of tax credits claimed per fiscal year limited to $20 million. Cooperative programs Regional Economic Development Revolving Loan Program: Provides subordinate and/or gap financ- ing up to $350,000. e program is offered through the various regional economic development agencies throughout the state. In calendar year 2015, REDRLP agencies lent approximately $2.4 million as part of 47 loans to Maine businesses, leveraging an additional $11 million. This activity resulted in the creation and retention of 382 Maine jobs. Municipal Securities Approval Program: Provides an opportunity for municipalities to issue tax-exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds for non- profits or manufacturing borrowers wishing to develop and/or acquire real estate or machinery and equipment. In FY 2016, bonds in the amount of $10.5 mil- lion were issued for two nonprofits. Natural resource-based business outreach FAME annually engages in a variety of natural resource-based business outreach efforts. rough FAME's loan insurance, in FY2016 they helped to provide 48 loans to natural resource companies, of which FAME's insurance portion was approximately $4 million. e total bank balance for these loans was approxi- mately $6 million. Included in these projects was a loan to Bigelow Brewing Co. in Skowhegan. FAME partnered on this deal with Franklin Savings Bank, whereby they insured a $490,000 loan made by the bank. In addition to brewing beer, the company creates their own pizza dough using spent grain from the brewing process. It also uses locally sourced grains from the grist mill in Skowhegan, with the ultimate prod- uct produced by a local bakery. Another natural resource company supported by FAME this past year was T. Philbrick Enterprises LLC. Doing busi- ness as Boothbay Harbor Lobster Wharf, the company operates a restaurant on the wharf and also engages in the wholesal- ing of lobster. Working with Camden National Bank, FAME supported the current owner's acquisition of the busi- ness in 2015 by providing a $490,000 subordinated term note, as well as com- mercial loan insurance on a $90,000 line of credit provided by the bank. Adaptability and partnerships FAME's Lenders' Advisory Group benefits from the advice and input it receives from its partners in Maine's lending community. Representing lending institutions of all sizes, geographic locations, and levels of FAME usage, the Lenders' Advisory Group assists FAME in its efforts to develop and adapt programs to assist lenders in providing loans to their customers. If gaps are revealed, FAME then utilizes its FAME Direct Loan program and/or its Commercial Loan Insurance Program creatively to meet those needs. FAME continues to evaluate its product and program offerings and, based on comments received through many "voice of the customer" inter- views conducted throughout the year, and in conjunction with the Lenders' Advisory Group, recently announced new services through our Online Answer (OLA) Program. First and foremost among these: FAME now allows lending partners to avail themselves of Leveraged Insurance through OLA. Additionally, FAME now offers several longer-term pro- grams with one-time, up-front fees. FAME allows three- and five-year term facilities with fees paid up-front for our lending partners. ese fees are actually a discount from what the institutions would have paid over the cost of annual fees and the five-year term will actually cost the same as four years of annual fees. FAME is continually revising its strategic plan, and is considering a further expansion of its products to meet the changing economic envi- ronment. Last year, FAME created a program called the "3 Fs" Initiative. is program provides subordi- nate (gap) financing to assist new entrants and/or companies looking to expand their operations in the forestry, fishing and farming indus- tries. e initiative's goal is to provide access to capital in order to leverage Maine's natural resources. e pro- gram also promotes the availability of lower-cost funds to the natural resources market to encourage more investment in this segment by new entrants. In order to fund this initia- tive, FAME allocated $1 million in the FAME Direct Loan program funds, and has committed to provid- ing up to $10 million in Commercial Loan Insurance (CLI) availability. FAME also actively partners with various regional economic develop- ment agencies throughout the state. Over the past several years, FAME has worked closely with these agen- cies and has recently begun utiliz- ing an ability to "participate" a loan among a variety of agencies to fund and track partnered loans to mutual customers using one set of docu- ments, having one closing, and mak- ing one payment that will then be applied to the various loans compris- ing the borrower's financing pack- age. rough many of these regional economic development agencies, the Maine Venture Fund (MVF), and in conjunction with the utilization of the FAME Direct Loan program, FAME has successfully attracted the final tranche of $4,477,240 under the State Small Business Credit Initiative sponsored by the federal government. e total amount brought to the state through the SSBCI thus far is $13,168,350, which will remain avail- able for assistance to small businesses in the future. Alfond Leaders Program In February of 2017, the Harold Alfond Foundation and FAME announced a partnership for a new statewide program called Alfond Leaders. It is a student loan repay- ment program designed to provide student loan debt relief for Maine residents who are employed by a Maine-based business in the STEM- related fields of science, technology, engineering and math. e Alfond Leaders program, administered by FAME, will assist Maine employers in attracting and retaining talented STEM professionals by provid- ing student loan debt relief of up to $60,000 per recipient. e grants will be awarded through a competitive application process with the goal of selecting approximately 150 Alfond Leaders over the next three years.