The City of Battle Creek Direct Investment Fund (DIF) is a combination of the original Economic Development Fund (EDF), an enterprise fund of the City of Battle Creek, and the Downtown Development Authority Revolving Loan Fund, an enterprise fund of the Battle Creek Downtown Development Authority (DDA). The DIF is administered by Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU). These DIF Guidelines may be permanently changed by a majority vote of the BCU Board of Directors and the Battle Creek City Commission.
The EDF was created in November 1982 with the merger of the City of Battle Creek and Battle Creek Township. The Kellogg Company, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and more than 200 corporate and individual donors capitalized the EDF with nearly $5 million dollars by 1987. In order to create equitable pathways to success, twenty-five percent of the fund is designated for use by minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
The fund for the DDA was created in 1984 when the Miller Foundation granted $800,000 to the DDA and $200,000 to BCU for the purpose of establishing a revolving loan fund. The agreement was reached in exchange for the forgiveness of certain Department of Housing and Urban Development loans for previous development. In order to create equitable pathways to success, twenty-five percent of the fund is designated for use by minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
The DIF Guidelines were last revised in May 2006. Since that time, it is believed that BCU staff and the DIF committee have performed in accordance with the letter and spirit of the mandate outlined within the current guidelines. Although there is continued support of the basic principles of the current guidelines, it is believed that the requested changes would increase the effectiveness in the support of economic development initiatives for the City of Battle Creek.
The primary purpose of the DIF is to stimulate economic growth and support direct job creation/retention in the City of Battle Creek. A key objective of the fund is to provide financial support and/or to enhance financial support (e.g. loans, lines of credit, credit enhancement, etc.) to eligible businesses, especially those that may not otherwise have access to traditional financing resources. Businesses receiving financial support are intended to produce new jobs and/or retain existing jobs.
The BCU Board approved the proposed amendments at their meeting on April 11, 2018.
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