Funded Projects Underscore New Hampshire’s Significant Need for Affordable Housing, Child Care and Revitalization Efforts to Drive Economic Development
CDFA announced today it has awarded $5.54 million in tax credits to projects throughout New Hampshire. The funds will have a significant impact on initiatives that advance local community economic development goals and build capacity within New Hampshire’s nonprofit sector.
Organizations across the state being awarded funds are helping to address some of New Hampshire’s most significant challenges. These include increasing access to quality child care and food security, creating safe, affordable housing opportunities, revitalizing downtowns to expand economic opportunities, and strengthening the organizations that create long-term impact in our communities.
“This year’s Tax Credit and Capacity Building awardees are driving meaningful, transformative changes across New Hampshire,” stated Katy Easterly Martey, Executive Director of CDFA. “These investments are strengthening New Hampshire communities by expanding access to essential services, creating housing stability, driving economic opportunity and building the local capacity and partnerships needed for long-term resilience and growth. Initiatives supported by CDFA’s Tax Credit and Capacity Building Programs demonstrate how strategic partnerships and community-driven solutions can foster vibrant, connected and thriving communities in the Granite State.”
The following organizations have been awarded tax credits from CDFA for their respective projects.
Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley (Milford) – $312,500: The Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley will use tax credits for critical infrastructure improvements to the Amato Center for the Performing Arts. This theater has served the Souhegan Valley for 50 years and operates as an integrated program of the Boys and Girls Club, providing youth theatre education, dance programs, school and community performances and events by local schools and organizations. The project will maintain an affordable, safe, accessible, and modern facility for youth and community members while improving technical infrastructure and energy efficiency.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire (Lebanon) – $700,000: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire will construct a new childcare facility in West Lebanon to increase access to quality, affordable child care in the Upper Valley. The new facility will serve at least 50 children and create 10 to 12 new full-time jobs. Workforce pipeline development will be supported through partnership with River Valley Community College and other partners, helping ensure staffing capacity, credential attainment and long-term operational sustainability. The project is being developed in collaboration with the City of Lebanon, Grafton Regional Development Corporation and the Early Care and Education Association.
Community Action Partnership Belknap-Merrimack Counties (Laconia) – $375,000: The Community Action Partnership Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc. will use the tax credit funding to make improvements to its Laconia Senior Center, including upgrading the current kitchen into a fully functional commercial kitchen. Increased kitchen capacity and functionality will transform the Center into a stronger, more dependable hub for physical, emotional and social well-being for seniors. The upgrades will increase the number of days meals are served on site, significantly expand the Meals-on-Wheels program for Belknap County and the City of Franklin, improve the usable programming space and create two additional jobs.
Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail (Concord) – $468,750: Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail will use tax credit funding to construct a universally accessible elevated boardwalk through Terrill Park along the Merrimack River in Concord. The boardwalk will close a critical gap in the Merrimack River Greenway Trail between Loudon Road and Manchester Street, creating a continuous, 1.5-mile off-road corridor that strengthens pedestrian and bicycle access to neighborhoods, parks and activity centers. The trail is part of the 12.7-mile Merrimack River Greenway Trail.
The Music Hall (Portsmouth) – $187,500: The Music Hall in Portsmouth will use its tax credit funding to complete significant upgrades to its theater, including accessible new seating, architectural lighting, sound and projector upgrades, accessibility and safety code improvements. The Music Hall is the oldest historic theater in New Hampshire and an economic driver in the community with an estimated $15 million economic impact annually through show and visitor-related spending. The venue offers 52 weeks of programming a year in the 900-seat historic theater and 115-person lounge, engaging 120,000 patrons annually from 50 states and beyond.
Harbor Care (Nashua) – $500,000: Harbor Care will use tax credits to support the redevelopment of 10–14 Amherst Street in downtown Nashua. The project will replace underutilized buildings with 27 one- and two-bedroom affordable housing units. The project also includes a 2,500-square-foot transitional housing component designed to stabilize up to eight individuals experiencing homelessness before they transition to permanent housing. Both the permanent and transitional housing components will include on-site supportive services to stabilize households.
Historic Harrisville, Inc. (Harrisville) – $400,000: Historic Harrisville, Inc., will use tax credits to support the Historic Harrisville Triphammer Redevelopment Project, an initiative to redevelop a vacant historic mill building within the Cheshire Mill Complex into 5,000 square feet of public commercial space. One of the oldest mill buildings in Harrisville, adaptive reuse of the property will support two new businesses and create 25 new jobs. The project also includes the replacement of an aging wastewater/septic system serving the mill complex and the surrounding village to maintain existing community economic development assets and support future expansion opportunities for businesses in the village.
Kensington Social Library (Kensington) – $200,000: The Kensington Social Library will leverage tax credit funding to support the more than 4,000 square-foot renovation and expansion of the historic property. Revitalization efforts will preserve the historic façade while transforming the interior into a fully accessible, expanded, energy-efficient community hub. Founded in 1895, the library is the town’s only year-round civic, cultural and educational gathering space and serves as the primary public venue for youth programming, senior enrichment, training and cultural events.
Kidworks Learning Center, Inc. (Meredith) – $100,000: Kidworks Learning Center will use tax credit funding to install a new exterior foundation drainage system and ADA ramp to address critical health and safety facility issues impacting their ability to serve children and families in the Lakes Region. The upgrades will improve access to quality, affordable child care by creating eight additional child care spaces, increasing preschool enrollment to more than fifty children, and improving the Center’s sustainability.
Maplewood Train Station Restoration (Bethlehem) – $312,500: Maplewood Train Station will use tax credits to rebuild its historic station as a community center. The property on Main Street in Bethlehem is a prime location with proximity to trails, bike/gear rentals, and arts venues and restaurants. The revitalized Maplewood Train Station is expected to help drive economic activity by creating community meeting, event and exhibit rooms, retail space for local artisans, as well as restrooms and warming space for outdoor recreationists.
Marguerite’s Place (Nashua) – $625,000: Marguerite’s Place will use tax credits to transform a vacant property in Nashua’s Tree Streets neighborhood into 15 transitional housing apartments and a family resource center. The project will create supportive housing for 45 mothers and children who experienced homelessness or domestic violence. The new affordable housing and family resource center facility also provides Marguerite’s Place the opportunity to centralize its child care program into one location and add an additional 20 to 25 affordable child care openings annually.
North Country Community Recreation Center (Colebrook) – $262,250: Tax credits will support the North Country Community Recreation Center in creating a versatile all-weather community gathering and recreation space. Covering the existing open air ice rink and outdoor walking track will enhance the usability of space enabling the center to host outdoor events and develop a community gathering location for the North Country which could host up to 1,400 people and drive economic activity in the region. These upgrades will complement renovations underway to create a community center and pool co-located on the 9.7 acre property which also includes an outdoor playground, gazebo and connections to recreation trails.
Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (Manchester) – $181,250: Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS) will use its tax credit award to support the purchase of the building in Center City Manchester that houses its Food Hub and a refrigerated cargo van for its Mobile Market. ORIS’ Food Hub and Mobile Market programs increase access to fresh produce and culturally significant crops within the greater Manchester area, as well as serve as a market for the more than thirty farmers in its Fresh Start Farmers program.
CDFA awarded tax credit funds for its Capacity Building Program. New Hampshire needs a strong, effective nonprofit network with the capacity to support our communities and envision, create and implement broad-based community economic development projects. The awarded Capacity Building resources will support the following organizations in advancing their missions and serving the needs of New Hampshire communities.
Androscoggin Community Cooperative (Berlin, Gorham, Milan, Colebrook, Jefferson) – $47,500: The Androscoggin Community Cooperative will use capacity building funding to sustain outreach capacity for the Androscoggin Valley Food Co-op Initiative while it works toward site selection, capital development and creating a resilient, locally driven food system for the Androscoggin Valley. The Co-op is a grassroots community-powered effort to establish the region’s first community-owned grocery cooperative and prevent food insecurity in communities like Berlin, Gorham, Milan, Colebrook and Jefferson where access to affordable, healthy food remains a regional challenge.
Carter Community Building Association (Lebanon) – $150,000: The Carter Community Building Association will use capacity building funds to engage priority populations, municipal leaders and key stakeholders in the development of a shared, implementable master plan for revitalizing downtown Lebanon’s community and recreational assets. The Upper Valley has experienced measurable population growth and demand for childcare, recreation and inclusive public gathering space has increased, placing pressure on aging community infrastructure and creating a need for the Carter Community Building Association to ensure the assets on its ten-acre campus are utilized to serve community needs.
Youth Success Project (Statewide) – $150,000: Capacity building funds will help Youth Success Project strengthen leadership, governance, strategic alignment and youth-led advocacy efforts for greater impact and long-term sustainability. The Youth Success Project is a youth-led advocacy organization made up of young people who have experienced homelessness and who are committed to making youth homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.
Manchester True Collaborative (Manchester) – $125,000: The Manchester True Collaborative will use capacity building resources to build capacity to expand access to and use of its community center, strengthen the organization and expand its volunteer base. The organization is an early-stage nonprofit focused on providing a safe, inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community.
New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits (Statewide) – $75,000: Capacity building resources will support the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofit’s launch of the NH Nonprofit Legal Hub, a statewide initiative designed to help nonprofits navigate an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment. Small, rural and volunteer-led organizations – which make up most of New Hampshire’s nonprofit sector – often lack access to affordable legal guidance and compliance support. The Legal Hub will create a coordinated statewide infrastructure to ensure nonprofits of all sizes and budgets can access resources including a nonprofit legal Helpdesk, vetted legal resource library and trainings.
Affirming Spaces Project / NH Outright (Statewide) – $25,000: The Affirming Spaces Project will use capacity building funds to expand its capacity for community outreach businesses and organizations that want to ensure everyone feels comfortable in their space, regardless of gender. This volunteer-driven initiative provides training and designations for welcoming spaces in New Hampshire communities. Funds will also be used to build brand recognition, partnerships and a volunteer network to support its work.
Overcomers Refugee Services (Concord) – $125,000: Overcomers Refugee Services will use capacity building funds to launch “From Placement to Advancement,” a career pathway program designed to help refugees and immigrants move into stable, higher-paying careers. The program will strengthen skills assessment, employer partnerships, peer coordination and outcome tracking while positioning the organization to pursue additional resources to support its work. Overcomers Refugee Services empowers refugees and immigrants to become successful, contributing members of New Hampshire communities. The organization provides case management, employment support, English and citizenship tutoring and community programming through culturally responsive staff.
United Way Greater Nashua (Nashua) – $75,000: Capacity building funds will support the launch of the Greater Nashua Childcare Co-Working Hub, a pilot project designed to address space and licensing barriers facing family child care providers in the Nashua region. This pilot will test the feasibility of operating shared, code-compliant commercial child care spaces by intentionally navigating the required licensing, zoning, and life-safety approvals. The initiative aims to validate this model and demonstrate a scalable pathway for new child care providers to enter the field, expanding child care supply and increasing child care availability during nontraditional hours in support of working families across the Greater Nashua region.
Special Needs Support Center of the Upper Valley (Statewide) – $150,000: The Special Needs Support Center of the Upper Valley will leverage capacity building funds to expand its Disability-Friendly Workplace Certification from a successful regional pilot to a statewide workforce inclusion system. The program helps employers remove workplace barriers, improve employee retention and increase workforce participation among people with disabilities. By building inclusive workplace infrastructure statewide, the initiative will strengthen business competitiveness, expand access to skilled workers and support New Hampshire’s long-term economic resilience.
Grants made to organizations are in the form of tax equity. New Hampshire businesses support the selected projects by purchasing the tax credits, resulting in the nonprofit receiving a donation and the company receiving a 75 percent New Hampshire state tax credit against that contribution. The credit can be applied against the Business Profits Tax, Business Enterprise Tax, or Insurance Premium. Learn more about projects currently fundraising.
To learn more about CDFA, its impact on New Hampshire communities, and available funding resources, visit www.nhcdfa.org.
About the Community Development Finance Authority
The Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) is a statewide nonprofit public authority focused on maximizing the value and impact of community development, economic development, and clean energy initiatives throughout New Hampshire. The organization leverages a variety of financial and technical resources, including the competitive deployment of grant, loan, and equity programs. Those resources include New Hampshire state tax credits, federal Community Development Block Grant resources and the CDFA Clean Energy Fund. For more information about CDFA and its programs visit www.nhcdfa.org or call 603-226-2170.
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Contact:
Melissa Latham, CDFA
mlatham@nhcdfa.org / (603) 717-9107
