Maine-Based Firm Is National Leader In Revitalizing Rural Communities

(January 5, 2026 – Brunswick, Maine) – The U.S. Department of Treasury recently allocated $90 million in New Markets Tax Credit capacity to CEI Capital Management. The firm will use the credits to attract and deploy private capital to domestic manufacturing companies that create good quality jobs and build opportunity in rural communities with low incomes across Maine and the nation.

A leading practitioner of the NMTC program, CEI Capital Management has deployed nearly $1.16 billion in New Markets Tax Credits financing to over 100 businesses and developments across the country since 2004, creating or preserving 13,480 jobs in primarily rural places. In the past 5 years, 100% of their federal New Markets Tax Credit investments have been in US-based manufacturing companies across various sectors, including construction materials, textiles and food and beverages.

“The New Markets Tax Credits program is a valuable resource for boosting domestic manufacturing in U.S.,” said CEI Capital Management CEO Traci Vaine. “Starting or growing a manufacturing facility demands significant time and capital, and the New Markets Program offers affordable, flexible funding, especially in rural areas. This support helps companies create Good Jobs with living wages, essential benefits, opportunities for training and advancement and access to wealth-building tools like retirement accounts. Good Jobs are essential to rural communities because they provide economic stability that allows workers and families to remain and build their futures locally.”

Altogether, the U.S. Department of Treasury made allocations to 142 organizations nationwide for a total of over $10 billion in New Markets Tax Credit awards in a double award round, covering 2024 and 2025. This is the largest allocation in the program’s history and will stimulate economic growth and empower private-sector investment in communities that lack access to capital, especially in rural America. Established as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, the New Markets Tax Credit program was made permanent in 2025 with the passage of HR-1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Founded by Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), a Maine-based nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, CEI Capital Management leverages the New Markets Tax Credit Program to bring investment to businesses in rural communities that are committed to creating quality employment opportunities.  CEI Capital Management partners with CEI to provide Good Jobs advising to each of the businesses it finances, providing tailored recommendations that can increase job quality and employee retention.  

“Building strong communities means more than just creating jobs, it means creating Good Jobs that support and sustain working people and their families,” said CEI CEO Betsy Biemann. “This award will bring critically needed private investment to deeply distressed rural areas, where access to capital is limited or non-existent, and will support the growth of businesses that are committed to good jobs and to boosting the vitality of their communities.”

The new allocation will be deployed primarily in manufacturing businesses, with a focus on companies that provide Good Jobs for people with low incomes. In keeping with CEI’s Good Jobs framework, projects will provide living wage jobs with comprehensive benefits and training, directly addressing the poverty and lack of opportunity prevalent in rural communities with low incomes. The deployment strategy also prioritizes projects that create quality jobs accessible to workers with a high school diploma or less, providing a pathway to economic mobility for people with lower levels of formal education. CCML prioritizes projects with strong community input and/or support that will advance economic equity in rural places.

About CEI Capital Management

CEI Capital Management works nationally to connect new and existing rural manufacturing companies with flexible capital through the Federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program and the Maine New Markets Capital Investment (NMCI) Program so they can build good jobs that provide living wages, comprehensive benefits and opportunities for training and advancement. Since 2004, CCML has placed nearly $1.16 billion of NMTC/NMCI capacity in over 100 projects. www.ceicapitalmgmt.com

About CEI
Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) works to build a just, vibrant and climate-resilient future for people and communities in Maine and rural regions by integrating finance, business expertise and policy solutions in ways that make the economy work more equitably. CEI envisions a world in which vibrant, equitable and environmentally sustainable local economies enable all people and communities to thrive. More at www.ceimaine.org