Here’s What It’s Like to Work with MCIC on Your Nonprofit Real Estate Project
Need financing for a nonprofit or mission-driven real estate project in Maryland? Learn how MCIC helps organizations combine equity, CDFI loans, public funding, and New Markets Tax Credits.
Maybe your organization has outgrown its space.
Maybe you’ve found the perfect building for a new school, community center, grocery store, health clinic, arts space, or other use.
Maybe there’s a vacant or deteriorating building in your neighborhood that everyone has driven past for years, and you can see what it could become.
Or maybe you have a big idea, a committed board, and a compelling community need, but no clear idea how you are going to pay for the building.
That’s when we want you to call MCIC.
The Maryland Community Investment Corporation is a statewide public lender and community development finance organization. One of our goals is to be a community organization’s or nonprofit’s first good call when a real estate project starts to feel possible but the financing feels complicated.
You do not need to have your capital stack figured out before you talk to us.
You do not need to know whether you need a loan, a grant, tax credits, or some combination of all three.
And you do not need to be the person who handles finance for your organization.
You just need to have a project worth talking about.
Here’s what working with MCIC can look like.
1. Make the call.
Maybe you’re an executive director. Maybe you’re a program coordinator who has been tasked with figuring out what to do with a building. Maybe you’re a fundraiser, a board member, or the person who simply said, “We should see if we can actually do this.”
Call us.
We’ll talk to you.
Start by emailing info@mdcommunityinvestment.com to set up a conversation.
This first conversation is not an application. It is not a pitch meeting. It is a chance for us to understand what you are trying to accomplish and help you see what might be financially possible.
2. Tell us what you already have.
One of the first things we’ll ask is: What resources do you already have?
In community development finance, we often call those resources your equity.
Equity can mean a lot of things.
It could be:
A building that has been donated to your organization
Cash from a capital campaign
Foundation or government grant funding
Revenue your organization generates through Medicaid or Medicare
Rental income from your existing space
A commitment from a major donor
Other cash or assets that can contribute to the project
You may not think of all of these things as “equity.” That’s okay.
Part of our job is helping you understand what you have, what it can do, and how it might fit together with other sources of financing.
3. We’ll help you think through the rest of the capital stack.
Most community-serving real estate projects are financed with more than one source of money.
Your equity might be combined with a loan. Public funding might be layered in. A grant might fill a gap. Tax credits might bring new investment into the project.
This is where community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, can be particularly useful.
CDFIs are nonprofit lenders that finance projects and organizations that may not fit neatly into traditional bank lending models. Unlike banks, CDFIs are non-depository loan funds, and many specialize in financing community development, affordable housing, small businesses, nonprofits, and other projects with a meaningful community benefit.
MCIC can help you understand where CDFI financing might fit and connect you with lenders in our network.
We can also help you think about public resources that could strengthen your project’s equity.
And sometimes, there is another powerful tool to consider: tax credits.
MCIC helps Maryland nonprofits finance buildings, from first call to New Markets Tax Credits. You don't need a capital stack to start. Email us to set up a conversation.
4. Could New Markets Tax Credits help your project?
MCIC specializes in the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC), a federal tax credit designed to attract private investment into low-income communities.
NMTC financing can be particularly useful for larger real estate projects where conventional financing alone is not enough.
It is not right for every project. But if your project has the right combination of size, location, financial capacity, and story, it may be worth exploring.
Generally, we are looking for projects in roughly the $8 million to $20 million range, located in eligible low-income communities, with an organization that can manage the transaction costs and professional fees involved in an NMTC transaction.
And there needs to be a compelling story.
NMTC investors and federal reviewers need to understand why this project matters, who it will serve, and what difference it will make in the community.
That might be a school serving children with special needs. A grocery store bringing fresh food to a neighborhood that has lacked it. A health facility expanding access to care. A small manufacturing site creating jobs in a disinvested area.
The numbers matter. So does the story.
If your project sounds like it might be a fit, we can help you understand what pursuing NMTC financing would actually entail.
5. Take the conversation back to your team.
We don't expect one person to make a financing decision on behalf of an entire organization.
After our conversation, we’ll point you to our Partnership Guide, which lays out how MCIC works with organizations and what you can expect from the process.
Take it back to your team.
Share it with your executive director, finance staff, development staff, program staff, or board.
Use it to continue the conversation internally.
One of the most useful things we can do at this stage is make the financing conversation understandable.
You should be able to explain to your colleagues:
Here’s what we have.
Here’s what we might need.
Here are the financing tools that could fit.
Here’s what it would take to move forward.
You don't have to become a community development finance expert. That’s our job.
A nonprofit real estate project in Maryland starts with a conversation. See how MCIC helps with equity, CDFI loans, and $8M-$20M New Markets Tax Credit deals. Email us.
6. We connect you to the ecosystem.
MCIC is part of a statewide community development finance ecosystem. That means our work doesn't stop at telling you what financing tools exist.
Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is connect you with the right person.
That might be:
A CDFI lender who can finance part of your project or provide a loan that helps you move forward while other funding is being assembled.
Another community organization that is planning a similar project and could become a partner instead of a competitor.
A consultant who can help refine your project, strengthen your financing strategy, tell your story to investors, and navigate a complicated transaction.
A Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development program officer who can help you understand whether public funding could strengthen your project.
Or another partner we think should be at the table.
We cannot promise that every project will receive financing from MCIC or another member of our network.
But we can help you understand the landscape and figure out who should be part of the conversation.
7. And yes, we’ll come see it.
Real estate is real.
Sometimes you can understand a project much better by standing in the building than by reading a project description.
So we like site visits.
If you’re in Hyattsville, we can come to Hyattsville.
If you’re in Hagerstown, Cumberland, Cambridge, or somewhere in between, we want to understand what you’re seeing on the ground.
Show us the building.
Show us the block.
Tell us what used to be there, what your community needs now, and what you think could happen next.
You don’t have to figure it out before you call.
A nonprofit real estate project can feel overwhelming because there are so many pieces to figure out.
How much will the project cost?
Where will the equity come from?
Can we get a loan?
Will a bank participate?
Could government funding help?
Are we eligible for tax credits?
Who can help us structure the deal?
What happens if we don't have all the money yet?
You don't have to know the answers before you call MCIC.
We want to be the organization you call when you have a community need, a building, a vision, or an opportunity and you want to understand whether you can turn it into a real project.
We’ll help you start with what you have, understand what you need, and identify the financing and partners that could help you get there.
Have a nonprofit or mission-driven real estate project in Maryland?
Start with a conversation.
Email us at info@mdcommunityinvestment.com.
We’d love to hear what you’re building.