In downtown Wilmington, Delaware, one of the most economically underserved communities in the United States, something remarkable is happening. A $73 million educational campus called The Bridge is coming to fruition and already breathing new life into empty office buildings.
A block away from the Bridge, a $20 million K-12 recreation and healthy living community education center is nearing completion that will provide athletic, nutrition, and adult literacy education to an underserved population.
Just fifteen miles south in Newark, the Delaware Innovation Space, a nonprofit incubator, has fostered a startup ecosystem that has collectively attracted over $1 billion in investment. And across the state, small businesses are accessing the capital they need to start and grow at higher rates than ever.
This transformation didn’t happen coincidentally. It’s the result of integrated community development finance work led by Grow America, the oldest nationwide community development organization in the United States.
Delaware shows us how Grow America’s programming including small business lending, New Markets Tax Credits, technical assistance, and professional development training, work together to create real change. What makes this story powerful is that it’s not a one-time effort, it’s a blueprint. The integrated approach that has transformed communities is ready to be replicated in communities nationwide, offering a proven pathway to transformation and growth.
Small business lending: Building an economic foundation
Small business lending in underserved communities provides critical access to capital. When businesses can’t secure funding through conventional channels due to lack of time in business, credit history, or collateral limitations, targeted lending programs become essential for job creation, neighborhood stabilization, and economic growth.
Delaware exemplifies this approach through the Grow Delaware Fund, developed in partnership with Discover Bank, now Capital One, which has provided $42 million to businesses across the state. This collaborative effort demonstrates how strategic partnerships amplify impact: Wilmington established a $4 million program, Sussex County created the largest at $25 million, Kent County provided $1 million, New Castle County contributed $4 million, and the state of Delaware committed $8.75 million.
When COVID-19 hit, this foundation proved its value. Working with Capital One, Grow America quickly launched emergency loans for nonprofits, with over $10 million assisting organizations during this critical period. This rapid response demonstrated how well-structured lending partnerships enable communities to respond effectively to unexpected challenges while preserving the organizational infrastructure essential for long-term development work.
New Markets Tax Credits: Catalyzing large-scale development
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) are federal tax incentives that encourage private investment in low-income communities by providing “patient capital,” or long-term, low-cost financing. In Delaware, Grow America has deployed NMTCs strategically to address specific community needs while helping financial partners meet regulatory obligations, creating win-win scenarios that maximize impact.
The Fintech Center at University of Delaware
The University of Delaware’s Fintech Center in Newark, an innovation hub where academic programs, community organizations, and technology companies collaborate, needed a new home for business and engineering schools alongside nonprofits and fintech companies. When Grow America structured a $27 million loan to fund the center’s construction, they didn’t just provide financing, they created a catalyst. By leveraging New Markets Tax Credits, the project raised an additional $5 million in investment.
This shared space allows students to work directly with fintech companies on real projects while nonprofits use university expertise to develop community programs. Grow America worked closely with Capital One on this initiative, helping them earn Community Reinvestment Act credit in a more meaningful way than traditional housing tax credit approaches. The result? A thriving hub where both not for profits and start-up businesses offer services and products to the greater Delaware community.
Youth Development Center
For more than 10 years, the Community Education Building (CEB) has struggled to provide recreation, healthy living, and adult financial education to a greatly underserved community in central Wilmington whose children attend one of 5 schools in the CEB. The solution is the Youth Development Center (YDC), a $20 million, 41,000 square foot gymnasium and education center now under construction on space adjacent to the CEB, funded in part with a $10 million allocation of NMTC provided by Grow America and TD Bank. When complete, the facility will serve more than 600 K-12 students and their families, in partnership with the Wilmington YMCA.
Delaware Innovation Space: Supporting Entrepreneurship
Sometimes the best solutions address the most specific challenges. When DuPont’s longstanding Delaware operations closed, unemployment spiked and the region lost a major economic anchor. In 2017, Grow America began tackling this challenge.
The Delaware Innovation Space, a nonprofit incubator/accelerator focused on science industry startups, became the answer. With a $5 million investment from Capital One, Grow America provided patient capital through a loan with interest-only payments for seven years.
The results speak for themselves: hundreds of startup companies have emerged from this ecosystem, collectively attracting more than $1 billion in investment and creating more than 350 jobs.
Technical assistance: Comprehensive project development
Beyond traditional financing, Grow America provides the comprehensive project management expertise that turns ambitious visions into reality. From initial concept through completion, our technical assistance transforms complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives into successful community assets.
The Bridge in Wilmington: A Transformational Vision
In 2021, Bank of America offered the Longwood Foundation a massive 240,000 square foot building in downtown Wilmington. Staff at Grow America saw the potential for something unprecedented: an educational campus stretching from pre-K to graduate school, all focused on serving Wilmington’s underserved community. But bringing this ambitious vision to fruition required expertise in finance structuring, project management, community relations, and more— capabilities that Grow America provided the Longwood Foundation every step of the way.
What emerged is soon expected to house multiple higher-education programs in fields critical for building healthy, vibrant communities, including law, public health, and the arts as well as community collaboration spaces, and entrepreneurship initiatives.
The $73 million project showcases Grow America’s ability to coordinate complex financing from multiple sources: $43 million from public investors including the State of Delaware (including American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the federal pandemic relief program), the city of Wilmington, in addition to the Longwood Foundation contributions.
For four years, Grow America has been the project’s orchestrator. From financial structuring to community relations, to developing The Bridge’s branding, they’ve handled every aspect of bringing this vision to life.
Training: Building professional capacity
Grow America’s training and professional education programs create the human infrastructure that makes all other community development work possible. By building local expertise in development finance, they ensure that communities have the professional capacity to identify opportunities, structure deals, and sustain long-term growth.
Training has a ripple effect that extends far beyond individual participants. Over the years, Grow America has trained more than 85,000 people in development finance.
The City of Wilmington alone has sent more than five professionals through Grow America’s training program—each now equipped to orchestrate additional local development projects. When local professionals managing loan funds gain these skills, they can deploy capital more effectively and identify new opportunities for growth. At the state-wide level, West End Neighborhood House has also sent many of its professionals through Grow America training in order to hone their business credit and real estate finance skills.
Affordable housing: Successful Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) deployment
Grow America’s core programming includes affordable housing initiatives, specifically the deployment of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to make these types of real estate projects appealing to both investors and developers. We are actively seeking affordable housing opportunities in Delaware—the final puzzle piece in launching a full economic development plan within the region.
A Model for Integrated Community Development
Delaware’s story with Grow America offers something valuable: proof that integrated community development finance can create real, lasting change. By weaving together small business lending, New Markets Tax Credits, technical assistance, and training, they’ve created something greater than the sum of its parts: a multiplier effect that builds both immediate impact and longterm community capacity.
Delaware stands as a compelling example for other communities facing similar challenges. The lesson is clear: when all the pieces work together, you don’t just launch successful projects, you create genuine community transformation.