Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 D E C E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 4 The Genesis Community Loan Fund, the Housing Authority of the city of Old Town and the U.S. Department of Agriculture negotiated an owner- ship transfer to preserve 24 afford- able homes at Main View Apartments located at 95 Main St. in Orono. The Greenville Municipal Airport reported a 34% increase in fuel transactions and an 80% increase in gallons of fuel sold compared to the same time last year. As a result, the town of Greenville is preparing a large area for hangar construction next summer to meet the increased demand. Katahdin Bankshares Corp., par- ent company of Katahdin Trust Co. in Houlton, announced that it de- clared a cash dividend of 17.5 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2024 payable on Dec. 20, 2024, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 13, 2024. The dividend represents a 15.1% increase over last year's fourth-quarter dividend. At NBT Bank, our goal is to help you reach yours. Our relationship managers provide the expert guidance and custom solutions it takes to help grow your business. Our local commitment builds strong, long-lasting partnerships that maximize your potential for success. Capital and Treasury Management Solutions Fraud Protection & Secure Banking Solutions Local Perspective & Decision Making Let our experienced Maine commercial banking team create real opportunity for your business. Cameron McKague, Timothy McMachen, Ashley Gagnon, Jeremy Deering, Michael O'Reilly, Mark Schaub, Joseph Luciano, Kimberly Twitchell, Charles Mathews Member FDIC nbtbank.com/me A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y T e r r y J o h n s o n , P r a c t i c a l D e c i s i o n s The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a nonprofit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Q: My business is small, and we need cash to fund our expansion. We may not qualify for a traditional loan. How do I connect with alternative financing sources? ACE advises: Maine small businesses need capital to grow. They may not qualify for traditional financing. They may not be ready to seek outside investors through a private place- ment memorandum. They need alternative sources of cash. Maine has a number of public and nonprofit organizations assisting businesses with alternative financing. Until recently, identifying those organizations could be a haphazard process. The Maine Funding Network was established this year as an online site matching businesses with over 20 state and local organizations that offer grants, loans, investment capital and advice. The process is straightforward. First, your business creates an account and fills out a com- mon loan application form. This form is analogous to the "common app" used for college admissions, in that a single application connects your business to the Maine Funding Network partner. The Common Loan Application gathers information such as industry, funding goals and location to identify funding matches. Second, the site uses the information to identify the part- ner organizations best fitting your busi- ness type and goal. Third, after you have reviewed your funding matches and have identi- fied the best options, click on the names and you will be connected directly with your potential funding partners. Finally, the funding partners will work with you to collect additional information needed for grants, loans or equity financing. The Maine Funding Network is collaborative. The partner organizations work together with applicants to cre- ate funding packages. This is helpful in increasing the total amount of funding available, while facilitating reporting to financing organizations. The common app process not only saves businesses the legwork of searching for appropriate alternative funders, it saves time filling out applications which may not address a funder's specific criteria. A single application gets you to the right funders with digital speed. Terry Johnson, past president of ACE, is a principal of Practical Decisions and manages MCE's Maine Mentor Network. He can be reached at terry@practi- caldecisions.com. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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