Cinnaire, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has received a $55 million New Markets Tax Credit award from the U.S. Department of Treasury's CDFI Fund.

The tax credit goes to investments made in businesses or development projects in census tracts where the individual property rate is at least 20 percent or where the median family income does not exceed 80 percent of the area median.

The CDFI Fund allocated $3.5 billion to 73 organizations from a pool of 214 applicants nationally. Cinnaire's allocation will served the Midwest & Mid-Atlantic region.

"The New Markets Tax Credit has proven to be a critical financing tool that creates jobs, revitalizes communities and spurs economic development," said Mark McDaniel, Cinnaire president & CEO. "Since 2009, Cinnaire has received a total seven allocations for a total of $359 million in New Markets Tax Credit awards and we have seen first hand the transformational impact this funding creates for communities in need."

The NMTC program was established by Congress in 2000. For every $1 invested by the federal government, the NMTC program generates over $8 of private investment, according to Cinnaire.