A wide variety of financing assistance is available to help you start a new business, or expand an existing one in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Here is a list of programs, with links to more information from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's web site, www.newpa.com. (All links open in a new browser window.)

• Agile Manufacturing

  The Agile Program uses the resources of Lehigh University to include professors, students, and equipment to help industry solve manufacturing issue and complex manufacturing processes.

• Alternative and Clean Energy Program

  The Alternative and Clean Energy Program provides financial assistance in the form of grant and loan funds that will be used by eligible applicants for the utilization, development and construction of alternative and clean energy projects in the Commonwealth. The Program is administered jointly by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), under the direction of the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

• Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA) - Venture Investment Program

  Investment in venture capital partnerships investing in early-stage PA technology companies.

• Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA) -Technology Development Grant

  Grants to help groups or consortia of Pennsylvania companies position themselves at the cutting edge of emerging technologies and establish a competitive advantage through the use of advanced e-business systems.

• Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA) –University Research Commercialization Grant Funding

  Grants designed to promote stronger synergy between university-based research and development and the transfer of technology as it relates to economic and work force development

• Ben Franklin Technology Partner's Challenge Grant and Alternative Energy Development Program (AEDP)

  Provides funds to businesses through the four Ben Franklin Technology Partners for access to capital, business expertise, technology commercilization services to advance the development of new technologies and for the generation, conservation, and transportation of alternative and clean energy.

• Broadband Outreach & Aggregation Fund (BOAF)

  This Fund is a grant program administered by DCED. Funds are provided from the PUC, by an assessment of the basic rate changes of CenturyLink, Verizon and Windstream. BOAF is designed to assist rural community’s aggregate demand for broadband services. The goal is for rural communities to overcome challenges associated with low density populations and physically remote areas in procuring broadband services. Grant assistance is provided to qualified applications to implement outreach programs concerning the benefits, uses and procurement of broadband services as well as providing the ability to aggregate the demand in communities with little or no broadband availability.  Click here for a listing and description of prior BOAF projects.

• Building PA

  Provides mezzanine capital for developers for real estate assets in small to mid-sized Pennsylvania communities.

• Business in Our Sites Grants and Loans

  Empowers communities to attract growing and expanding businesses by helping them build an inventory of ready sites

• Business Opportunities Fund (BOF)

  Installment loans, lines of credit and technical assistance for minority business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises and small businesses.

• Community Economic Development Loan Program

  Low-interest loans for projects in distressed communities.

• Customized Job Training Program (CJT)

  Grants for specialized job training to existing or newly hired employees.

• DIGITAL AND ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY

  The Technology Collaborative (TTC) was formed in January 2005 through the merger of the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse and the Robotics Foundry. TCC is a statewide economic development organization whose mission is to help increase Pennsylvania's technology-based economy through the development of collaborative industry clusters that leverage the region's world-class assets in advanced electronics, cyber security, and robotics. TTC helps to create an ideal environment for business expansion through leverage of the region's high-tech base, along with resources and support from local universities, private foundations, regional development organizations, federal, state, and local government, and industry. TCC enables regional economic growth through utilization of this "business friendly" environment to attract new companies to the region, help local companies grow, and foster start-ups. As a member-driven initiative, TTC delivers high-value-add programs and services that start-up and expansion businesses need. The services include: collaborative research, education and training, extensive business support, networking opportunities, and employee recruitment services.

• Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC)

  Tax credits to eligible businesses contributing to a Scholarship Organization, an Educational Improvement Organization, and/or a Pre-Kindergarten Scholarship Organization.  

• Enterprise Zone Program

  Grants to financially disadvantaged communities for preparing and implementing business development strategies within municipal Enterprise Zones. The Department is not accepting planning and new designation applications during fiscal year 2009-10 (through June 30, 2010).

• Export Financing Program

  Funding for small business for export activities.

• Film Tax Credit Program

  Act 55 of 2007, the Film Tax Credit Law (Act 55) was enacted and authorized the issuance of $75 million in tax credits in an effort to expand the activity of film, television and other production companies in Pennsylvania.

• First Industries Fund

  The First Industries Fund is a loan, loan guarantee, and grant program aimed at strengthening Pennsylvania’s agriculture and tourism industries. The program is administered by both the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) and the Department of Community and Economic Development.

• Guaranteed Free Training Program (GFT-WEDnetPA)

  Basic skills and information technology training for eligible employees of new and expanding businesses.

• High Performance Building Program

  The High Performance Building Program provides financial assistance in the forms of grants and loan funds to underwrite the cost premiums associated with the design and construction or major renovation of high performance buildings in the Commonwealth. The program is administered jointly by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under the direction of CFA.

• Industrial Resource Center Program

  Seven regional centers provide technical assistance and consulting services to the commonwealth’s small and medium sized manufacturers.

• Industrial Sites Reuse Program

  Grant and low-interest loan financing to perform environmental site assessment and remediation work at former industrial sites.

• Infrastructure and Facilities Improvement Program

  A multi-year grant program that will provide grants to certain issuers of debt in order to assist with the payment of debt service.

• Infrastructure Development Program

  Grant and low-interest loan financing for public and private infrastructure improvements

• Innovation Grant (IG)

  Innovation Grants provide funding to encourage the technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property between Pennsylvania’s technology-oriented businesses and entrepreneurs and academic medical institutions, non-profit research institutions, and Pennsylvania Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) with preference given to Keystone Innovation Zone-participating IHEs. The Innovation Grant program is a companion program to the Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) program.

• Innovation Partnership (IPart)

  Assistance for early-stage PA technology companies applying to Federal Funding opportunities such as SBIR/STTR

• Job Creation Tax Credits (JCTC)

  The Job Creation Tax Credit program awards a $1,000-per-job tax credit to businesses that exhibit leadership in technology and create new jobs in the Commonwealth within three years of the project start date.

• Keystone Innovation Zone Tax Credit Program
• Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZ)

  Provides state and local tax abatement to businesses and residents locating in one of the 12 designated zones.

• Keystone Society for Tourism

  The Pennsylvania Tourism Office is now seeking nominations for the Keystone Society for Tourism. The Keystone Society for Tourism was established to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to tourism in Pennsylvania.

• Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund (MELF)

  Low-interest loans to acquire and install new or used machinery and equipment or to upgrade existing machinery and equipment

• Market Access Grant (MAG)

  Designed to enhance the capability of small and mid-sized Pennsylvania companies to increase export sales, the Pennsylvania Market Access Grant (MAG) is a valuable tool available to qualifying companies seeking financial assistance and foreign market entry support.

• Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP)

  Tax credit program to encourage businesses to invest in projects which improve distressed areas.

• Neighborhood Assistance, Neighborhood Partnership Program (NAP/NPP)

  Corporate tax liability credit for businesses that sponsor a neighborhood organization to develop and implement a neighborhood revitalization plan by contributing a substantial amount of cash per year over an extended period of time

• Neighborhood Assistance, Enterprise Zone Tax Credit (NAP/EZP)

  An incentive program that provides tax credits to private companies investing in rehabilitating, expanding, or improving buildings or land located within designated enterprise zones.

• New PA Venture Capital Investment Program

  Loans to venture capital partnerships to invest in growth-stage PA companies.

• New Pennsylvania Venture Guarantee Program

  Guarantees to top-tier venture capital partnerships for investments in growth stage pa companies.

• Next Generation Farmer Loan Program

  The Next Generation Farmer Loan Program uses federal tax-exempt mortgage financing to reduce a farmer’s interest rate for capital purchases, such as the purchase of farm land or agricultural machinery and equipment.

• Opportunity Grant Program

  Grant funds to create or preserve jobs within the Commonwealth.

• Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance (PREP)

  The Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance (PREP) is designed to encourage regional coordination in economic development efforts, yielding superior customer service to the business community and a comprehensive, efficient statewide economic delivery strategy.  

• Pennsylvania Capital Access Program (PennCAP)

  Loan guarantee through participating banks to be used to support a wide variety of business purposes.

• Pennsylvania Community Development Bank Loan Program (PCD Bank)

  Debt financing for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

• Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA) Tax Exempt Bond Program

  Tax-exempt and taxable bonds, both in pooled transactions and stand-alone transactions, to be used to finance land, building, equipment, working capital and refinancings.

• Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA) Taxable Bond Program

  Tax-exempt and taxable bonds, both in pooled transactions and stand-alone transactions, to be used to finance land, building, equipment, working capital and refinancings.

• Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA)

  Low-interest loan financing through Industrial Development Corporations for land and building acquisition, construction and renovation, resulting in the creation or retention of jobs.

• Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank (PIB)

  Low-interest loans for the design, engineering, right-of-way and repair, reconstruction and construction of public highways, bridges, public and private airports and railroads and public transportation systems.

• Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVEST)

  Low-interest loans for design, engineering and construction of publicly and privately owned drinking water distribution and treatment facilities, storm water conveyance and wastewater treatment and collection systems.

• Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA)

  The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) is a collaboration of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Center for Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) at Lehigh University, and the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems at Carnegie Mellon University. The mission of the PITA program is to assist the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and companies within the Commonwealth to increase operating efficiency and to enhance economic development.

• Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority

  Low-interest loan financing to businesses owned and operated by ethnic minorities.

• Pennsylvania Pollution Prevention Assistance Program (PPAA)

  Assistance for small businesses to implement pollution prevention and energy-efficiency projects, enabling these businesses to adopt or install equipment or processes that reduce pollution, energy use or raw materials.

• PennTAP

  The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) helps Pennsylvania companies improve their competitiveness, by providing a limited amount of free technical assistance to resolve specific technical questions or needs, while it facilitates connections to other relevant information, resources and/or programs. PennTAP is a statewide network of geographically-dispersed technical specialists with expertise in a variety of focus areas, including advanced information technology, environmental compliance, energy efficiency and conservation, operations improvement, occupational safety and health, product development, federal Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer proposal development, technology transfer and commercialization. The program focuses on smaller businesses that typically lack the expertise and/or resources to address these types of issues in-house.

• Powdered Metals

  The Powdered Metals Program provides training programs for the existing workforce supported through Penn State and the regional community education councils. The program makes use of the facilities in the schools within the north central Pennsylvania region, such as the metalworking facility at St. Marys High School and the laboratory at the Penn State DuBois campus.

• Rail Freight Assistance (RFA)

  Grants to build or repair rail lines or spurs.

• Regional Film Office Program

  Funding is provided to Regional Film Offices that promote and facilitate film and television production in Pennsylvania as a means to increase economic activity and create jobs in the Commonwealth.

• Regional Investment Marketing

  The Regional Investment Marketing (RIM) Grant Program is intended to reinforce the linkages between state and regional efforts to promote business expansion and to attract new investment to Pennsylvania, and focus regional economic development efforts on industries and industry sub-sectors where the likelihood of success is greatest. More specifically, RIM is designed to foster a shared vision of the importance of marketing the Commonwealth as a whole as a destination of choice for investment and promoting the attributes and assets of individual regions within that context. In addition, the program is designed to advance an investor-oriented and data-driven approach to marketing to attract investment, including the use of regional marketing areas as an organizing principle in structuring marketing initiatives.

• Regional Marketing Partnership Grant Program

  The purpose of the Regional Marketing Partnership Grant Program provides funding for sound marketing efforts and partnership development to promote Pennsylvania. Two types of grants are available: place-based and experience-based.

• Renewable Energy Program -- Geothermal and Wind Projects

  The Renewable Energy Program provides financial assistance in the forms of grant and loan funds to promote the use of alternative energy in the Commonwealth. The program is administered jointly by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under the direction of CFA.

• Research and Development Tax Credit

  Allows companies holding qualifying Research and Development Tax Credits to apply for approval to sell those tax credits and assign them to the buyer(s).

• Second Stage Loan Program

  Loan Guarantees for working capital for 2-7 yr old manufacturing, biotech, and technology-oriented companies

• Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)

  Technical assistance and consulting services to current and prospective entrepreneurs.

• Small Business First

  Funding for small businesses, including: low-interest loan financing for land and building acquisition and construction; machinery and equipment purchases and working capital.

• Solar Energy Program

  The Solar Energy Program provides financial assistance in the forms of grants and loan funds to promote the use of alternative energy in the Commonwealth. The program is administered jointly by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under the direction of CFA.

• Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Guarantee Program

  Promotes and stimulates the general economic welfare of various regions and communities in the Commonwealth and assists in the development, redevelopment and revitalization of Brownfield and Greenfield sites in accordance with the TIF Act. The program provides credit enhancement for TIF projects to improve market access and lower capital costs through the use of guarantees to issuers of bonds or other indebtedness.

• The Pennsylvania Regional Center – New American Development Fund

  Low-cost loans to enterprises with job-creating projects located within the Commonwealth’s federally-designated EB5 regional center. The federal EB5 investor program grants eligible foreign investors the opportunity to obtain an EB5 visa if they commit to invest funds in job-producing development projects in the United States. Funds may be used to finance new construction, the acquisition of plant, property and equipment, building rehabilitation, tenant improvements, and working capital.

• Water Supply and Wastewater Infrastructure Program (PennWorks)

  A program to ensure safe water supply and proper wastewater infrastructure.

• Work Force Investment Act of 1998 (Title 1)

  A federal program providing employment assistance and job training to eligible individuals

• Workforce Leadership Grants

  Improve the supply of, and create a pipeline for, technology based industries in Pennsylvania that will require highly skilled technical workers to compete in a globally competitive technology based economy.