Funding for any business need
Wadas, Inc. with a new plasma cutter purchased with assistance from local loan funds
Ord and Valley County have several financing options that partner well with state economic development incentives for many of your business needs. Financial incentives for Valley County businesses are available through several programs that include the City Sales Tax for Economic Development, the Loup Valley Investment Club and tax increment financing to name a few. An outline of local incentives can be found below.
Local Development Resources
The Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act (LB 840) was approved by Ord voters in 2001 for to create our sales tax program for economic development, a financing tool to fund existing business needs, the development of new business start-ups and economic development site improvements. One major program feature includes a low-interest loan business program for business lending throughout Valley County.
To date, over $2 million dollars have been loaned out to over 40 local businesses in Ord and the surrounding communities. If you’d like to apply for loan funds, program guidelines and an application checklist are available below.
LB 840 Sales Tax Guidelines (.pdf)
Application Checklist (.pdf)
Application for Business Loans and Guarantees (.pdf)
Valley County Business Corridor Improvement Program
Valley County Economic Development provides 0% interest loans, up to $10,000, for commercial property revitalization on any major thoroughfare in Valley County, Nebraska. Applications can be downloaded here. Loan requests are due the first Monday of every quarter (January, April, July, October)
Revitalize Downtown Ord
Downtown Ord businesses are eligible for 0% interest loans, up to $5,000 for facade improvement to their property. New to the program in 2010 is the availability of funds for business website development. You can download an application here. Loan requests are due the first Monday of every quarter (January, April, July, October)
Loup Valley Investment Club, LLC
Nebraska limited liability company for the purpose of assisting the community with development projects. Members of the investment club invest their personal funds into the treasury of the company on a monthly basis in order to fund operations and pursue company objectives. This organization has an objective of assisting with community wide economic development by pursuing business start-up, expansion, and development. To do so, members of the LLC screen requests from entrepreneurs and potential new businesses in order to make an informed business decision concerning funding of the requests. Projects that are approved by investment club members then receive funding from the Investment Club in the form of an “investment” rather than as a loan. Current projects of the investment club include a 10,000 square foot spec building and a housing development. For more information contact Gaylord Boilesen at (308) 728-7217.
Tax increment financing (TIF)
The City of Ord has the ability to use TIF to assist a new or expanding business. For more information, contact the City of Ord at (308) 728-5791 for details on our community redevelopment areas.
Microenterprise Tax Credit (website)
The Microenterprise Act provides persons actively involved in microbusinesses a refundable individual income tax credit based on demonstrated growth of their business over two tax years. The Microenterprise Act has $2 million available for each calendar year through December 31, 2015 to provide tax credits to applicants for creating or expanding microbusinesses. The total lifetime tax credits claimed by any one taxpayer and any related person(s) are limited to $10,000. An individual may file another Microenterprise Application after the first two year application period has ended. The individual may claim no more than the difference between the $10,000 lifetime limit and the pending amount previously requested. Details on the program can be found at the Nebraska Department of Revenue here.
Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) (website)
REAP is a rural microenterprise lending organization created by the Center for Rural Affairs. Through REAP you can create a business plan, research potential markets and marketing ideas, discuss management issues with experienced business specialists, and apply for a small business loan. Started in 1990, REAP has provided business development services to over 10,000 micro businesses. REAP has placed over $5 million in loans and leveraged over $11 million in additional funds from other sources due to our assistance.
Nebraska Advantage (website)
Nebraska Advantage was designed to create a business climate that makes Nebraska the preferred location for starting and growing your business. In this progressive, pro-business tax climate, corporate income and sales taxes are reduced or virtually eliminated. For details on Nebraska Advantage, contact the Nebraska Department of Economic Development at (888) or online here. You can download a .pdf of the Nebraska Advantage brochure here.
