Coastal Enterprises - Finance Your Business

Since its first major investment in 1979 in a value-added, community-owned fish processing facility in midcoast Maine, CEI has provided $250 million to 1,700 businesses, community facilities, and affordable housing throughout Maine, leveraging over $800 million for over $1 billion in high impact, job-creating and sustainable economic development projects and enterprises.

Direct loans to start-up, existing and growing Maine small businesses, in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $500,000.
Venture capital investments in small businesses located in New England and the mid-Atlantic region. Investments range from under $500,000 to over $1million.
New Markets Tax Credits are available for investments in targeted distressed communities in Maine, Northern New England, and upstate New York. Select projects with high 3E impact will be considered in other parts of the country. Tax credit investments range from $2 million to $30 million.
The SBA 504 program which provides fixed-rate financing for machinery, equipment and buildings - as much as $4 million for manufacturing.
Affordable Homeownership, Rental and Supported Housing with loans and development capital from under $500,000 to over $2 million.

CEI welcomes loan requests from a wide array of Maine industries. We actively target the following sectors:

To apply for a loan from CEI, learn more about the specific targeted loan sectors and their individual programs and loans, or to access the Frequently Asked Questions page, click on the links below or to the left.

CEI IN THE NEWS!

U.S. Finance Expert Encourages Banking Investment in Maine Communities
At CEI's 32nd Annual Meeting, Ellen Seidman, Exec. VP of ShoreBank in Chicago, and Sr. Research Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, urged Maine bankers and community activists to consider “greater community investment…meeting the actual needs of the community, not just counting dollars invested.” See full speech.

See annual meeting remarks by Ron Phillips, CEO, on triple bottom line investing and the next 5 years for CEI…

See the 12/14/09 article on CEI and the state of investing in communities. It’s where mission happens…

CEI Receives $125 Million in NMTC Through its subsidiary, CEI Capital Management LLC, CEI will use the allocation to attract private capital investments for primarily rural economic development projects. See press release here.

CEI Receives Investment Funds
In partnership with Manufacturers Association of Maine, CEI will receive $765,000 over from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), to finance several job-generating small-to-medium enterprises. This funding will create 78 full-time, year-round jobs. Read press release here.

Bangor Savings Bank and CEI offer low-interest loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in disadvantaged areas in Maine. Read more here.

Tom's of Maine

Since 1970, Kennebunk-based Tom¹s of Maine has been committed to creating products and policies that honor and sustain the natural world. Their natural care products can be found throughout the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Tom¹s was among the first companies that CEI financed under the SBF&ET (Small Business Finance and Employment Training Project). Tom and Kate Chappell, founders and owners, exemplify the Maine entrepreneurial spirit.

They have maintained accountability to employees with progressive wages, benefits, and profit sharing, and contributed to Maine¹s social and environmental health. In addition to participating in CEI¹s employment training agreement program (ETAG) to target jobs and training to people with low incomes, the company catalyzed our student internship program to begin a process of creating learning opportunities for graduates in the community development field.