Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset has received a $1.5 million federal grant for community development in rural areas.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Development Financial Institutions Fund will help fund CEI’s programs to provide loans to rural small businesses, according to a press release from U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. “Investing in affordable housing and community development in Maine’s rural and underserved areas will provide an opportunity for economic revitalization,” they said in the release.
The CDFI Fund invests in for-profit and nonprofit community-based lending organizations known as Community Development Financial Institutions. Awards are granted through an annual competitive application process.