Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal • November 23, 2015 www.wbjournal.com Y ou are used to getting a f e d e r a l c h a r i t a b l e deduction, how about adding a 50-percent tax refund on top of that? If you would like to reduce or eliminate your state tax obligation, or even receive a refund, check out the Community Investment Tax Rebate. The Massachusetts Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) provides a 50-percent refundable tax credit to donations to selected Community Development Corporations (CDCs). This program is designed to improve the quality of life and promote economic o p p o r t u n i t y i n neighborhoods across the commonwealth by driving new and increased donations into high-performing CDCs. In 2014, more than 1,000 Bay State individuals, businesses and nonprofits paid less in taxes by taking advantage of the CITC. This program is a way to decrease tax liability while investing in organizations that have a proven track record for strengthening communities like Union Hill Oak Hill Community Development Corp. in Worcester. Signed into law in 2012 as part of a larger economic development bill, the CITC was designed to support high- impact, community-led economic development initiatives across the commonwealth. In 2014 alone, the CITC garnered 1,100 donations generating $4.8 million for 38 participating organizations serving 145 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Here's how it works: Through their donations, individuals, businesses and nonprofits can invest in their local CDC's business plan, providing flexible working capital that can be used to seed new programs, fill funding gaps and leverage other resources. • Donors include individuals, corporations, nonprofits and donor advised funds. Donors do not need to be a Massachusetts resident or entity to participate. • Banks can invest in CDCs using CITCs to help meet their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements. • Nonprofit hospitals can use the CITC program to invest in local CDCs that are working to improve public health. By strengthening CDCs with their support, nonprofit hospitals can also work to improve their compliance with the Affordable Care Act. This program isn't just for individuals. Corporations, foundations and donor-advised funds can receive the same 50-percent donation tax credit. Even if an organization doesn't have a tax liability, it can claim a refund from the commonwealth. A local bank can use the CITC to help improve its Community Reinvestment Act rating because CDCs invest in the community. CDCs improve the health of residents in their communities by providing safe housing and improved neighborhoods, so this program is also a great option for nonprofit hospitals and health insurance companies. n Mullen Sawyer is the president and CEO of the Oak Hill Community Development Corp. For more information, contact Oak Hill CDC at 508-754-2858 or www.oakhillcdc.org. By Anthony Price Anthony Price is the CEO of LootScout, which counsels small businesses on how to raise capital. You can reach him at anthony@ LootScout.com. 10 Things I Know About... Using the community investment tax credit KNOW HOW 10) Develop a business plan. A business plan doesn't have to be long, but it should provide a road map for where the business is going. Is the business model viable? What is the unique selling proposition? How is cash generated and when? 9) Know your credit situation. You can obtain a free copy of your credit report once a year from the three major credit bureaus at www. annualcreditreport.com. Pay the fee for your credit score. 8) Do your homework. There are countless ways to finance a business – including debt and equity – but not all are created equal. Invest the time to learn what capital options are best for you. 7) Debt is not your friend. Especially if you're a startup or struggling business, debt is not your friend. Capital that will harm cash flow should be avoided. 6) Assemble the paperwork. Make sure you have three years of business tax returns, an interim profit- and-loss statement, balance sheet and future projections for the business. 5) Build your team. Business success rarely is achieved alone. Build a team that includes an accountant, banker, lawyer and successful business owner. Always network. 4) Don't wait until the last minute. On average, it can take 30 to 45 days to get capital from credible sources. If you wait too long, you may permanently harm your business. 3) Start with your local banker. Talk to your local banker. If this is not an option, learn about local and state economic development programs to help small businesses. Visit www.score. org. 2) Raise friendly capital. Family and friends are a great way to get low-cost capital at reasonable terms. Make sure you create a promissory note to be signed by all parties. Read "The Crowdfunding Book" by Patty Lennon. 1) Read the fine print. If you do receive an offer for capital, make sure you read the fine print. The old saying is true: The devil is in the details. Don't be afraid to negotiate. n B ehind every truly effective meeting is a planned and organized agenda. This crucial item — and the forethought that go into it — can be overlooked in the rush to plan and attend said meeting. Agendas should be more that a general list of things that need to be covered. Like a good map, a strong agenda should prevent the meeting from drifting off course. Here are three ways to set up effective meeting agendas: Set the tone. If you are looking to get meeting attendees active and engaged, launching your meeting with a PowerPoint demonstration will do the opposite — it will put them into listen mode, or worse. "Find a topic that gets people talking early on," advised a blog entry at VirtualMgmt.com. Understand that wasted time is wasted money. You should only be discussing topics that affect your entire team, said Roger Schwartz in an article at HBR.org. Meetings aren't always easy to coordinate, after all. Team-wide issues should be the focus. "These are often ones in which individuals must coordinate their actions because their parts of the organization are interdependent … If the team isn't spending most of the meeting talking about interdependent issues, members will disengage and ultimately not attend," said Schwartz. Set it up. Send an email announcing the meeting and asking for agenda item submissions. Once you receive those submissions, put them in a table format and label them "agenda item," "presenter" and "time." It's your responsibility to ensure that each agenda item is directly related to the goals of this particular meeting," said an article at EffectiveMeetings.com. The article encourages being realistic in the amount of time set aside for each speaker. Too many agenda items help no one. Above all, ensure your meeting don't go past their stated end time; in planning, leave 10 minutes of extra time just in case. n 101: MEETING AGENDAS >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY MULLEN SAWYER Special to the Worcester Business Journal Small-business capital

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