Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)

DCED offers an array of different funding programs, grants, loans, tax credits and other incentives to help businesses, communities, and municipalities succeed in Pennsylvania. Their programs address many areas including but not limited to: Incentives for new job creation, Credit lines for companies who wish to export products, Low-interest loans for increasing energy efficiency, as well as traditional programs for land, building, and machinery purchases.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Governor's Office of the Budget
Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP)

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) is a commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Finance Authority (CFA)

The CFA was established as an independent agency of the commonwealth to administer some of Pennsylvania’s economic stimulus packages. The CFA holds fiduciary responsibility over the funding of programs and investments in Pennsylvania’s economic growth. Programs under the CFA include but are not limited to:  funding for infrastructure, mezzanine capital for developers, funding for high-performing or LEED buildings.

Delaware County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Bond Program

The Delaware County IDA has a tax exempt bond program. This program is limited to manufacturing, 501(c)(3) entities, and other exempt facilities. There is a taxable bond program that is open to all businesses qualified to operate in Pennsylvania. Proceeds can be used for land/building acquisition, construction of a facility, infrastructure, new machinery, working capital, and re-funding. For more information on this program please contact the Delaware County Commerce Center at (610)566-2225.

Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA)

LERTA is a land based incentive program, that restricts the end-users exposure to real estate taxes. This program can only be used on improvements made to a property, and requires agreement from all three real estate taxing authorities: Municipality, School District, and County. LERTA, through a resolution approved by each taxing body, implements a progressive scale on the property improvements for up to 10 years at 10% of full assessed value after improvements per year.

SBA Hub Zones

The HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding at least three percent of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year. The government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses in historically underutilized business zones. It also gives preferential consideration to those businesses in full and open competition. Joining the HUBZone program makes your business eligible to compete for the program’s set-aside contracts. HUBZone-certified businesses also get a 10 percent price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions.

Federal Opportunity Zones

Opportunity Zones are economically distressed communities, defined by individual census tract, nominated by America’s governors, and certified by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury via his delegation of that authority to the Internal Revenue Service. Under certain conditions, new investments in Opportunity Zones may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. There are 8,764 Opportunity Zones in the United States, many of which have experienced a lack of investment for decades. The Opportunity Zones initiative is not a top-down government program from Washington but an incentive to spur private and public investment in America’s underserved communities.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

A TIF freezes the current tax assessment on a property. The additional monies that would be paid in real estate taxes are then used to pay bond financing procured to develop and improve the property. This requires all three real estate taxing bodies to agree in advance: Municipality, School District, and County.

PA Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZ)

Keystone Opportunity Zones are such a breakthrough idea that Business Facilities magazine calls them the number one economic development strategy in the nation. They reflect a true sense of partnership among state and local taxing bodies, school districts, economic development agencies and community-based organizations. As of December 31, 2017, the KOZ applicants have created 7,278 jobs and invested $2,609,725,991 in private capital into the KOZ properties. Due to the tremendous success of the KOZ initiative, there have been multiple opportunities for local communities to designate additional subzones.

PA Keystone Innovation Zones (KIZ)

An incentive program that provides tax credits to for-profit companies less than eight years old operating within specific targeted industries within the boundaries of a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ). With a total pool of up to $15 million in tax credits available to KIZ companies annually, the KIZ tax credit program significantly contributes to the ability of young KIZ companies to transition through the stages of growth.

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE)

C-PACE is a financial tool for property owners to obtain low-cost, long-term financing for energy efficient equipment, renewable energy, and water conservation projects. It can provide up to 100% funding of total project costs by placing a special voluntary assessment on the property that repays the costs of the upgrades including equipment, labor and soft costs. Because C-PACE is attached to a property assessment, it is a very secure form of financing. Applicants are encouraged to read the Program Guidelines before beginning the application process and contact [email protected] with any questions.