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.

When Brian Rigney worked on construction jobs during summer vacations while a student at Colby College in Waterville, he saw the inefficiency in the piles of receipts and invoices that accompanied every purchase. As he pursued an MBA, this problem stayed with him, and in 1998 BlueTarp, Inc. was born.

As a growing company, BlueTarp needed capital. CEI Ventures, Inc., one of CEI's two socially responsible venture capital subsidiaries, invested in BlueTarp, because of its potential to generate above average financial returns while meeting social goals, including job creation for low-income people. BlueTarp expects to employ 50 people within the next four years.