Rural Development Partners

What Rural Development Partners does

Rural Development Partners (RDP) is a privately-held Community Development Entity (CDE) founded in 2004 by Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA) — a farmer-owned cooperative formed in 1998 — to deploy New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing into rural, low-income communities across the United States. RDP is one of a limited set of CDEs with a national service area, and has won 14 consecutive NMTC allocations from the U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund totaling $906.7 million from 2004 through 2025. The company operates with a small professional team (1-10 employees) headquartered in Clear Lake/Forest City, Iowa, and distributes earnings beyond operational needs to its parent organizations AgVA and AgVA Foundation. RDP is governed by a board that includes former Iowa Speaker of the House Linda Upmeyer and Deere & Co executive John Reiher, reflecting deep Iowa agricultural and political roots.

RDP's core product is NMTC Financing, under which it combines federal tax credits with bank loans and tax credit investor funds to structure below-market financing for rural businesses, nonprofits, and government entities. The company has deployed capital across 50+ projects spanning manufacturing (Alstom, Ariens Company, Crown Equipment, ERMCO, PackEx USA, Carolina Structural Systems), food processing and distribution (Bongards Creameries, Coca-Cola Bottling UNITED, Western Smokehouse Partners, Great Plains Food Bank, Food Bank of the Rockies), agricultural operations (Coastal Growers, Roquette America), and rural infrastructure. RDP also operates a complementary Community Investment Program (CIP) that provides matching grants for workforce development in low-income communities where NMTC projects are located. The company has no public technology platform or API; its operational backbone is deal origination, underwriting, NMTC compliance reporting to the U.S. Treasury, and coordination with a network of specialized legal (Frost Brown Todd), consulting (Baker Tilly), and audit (Novogradac) partners, plus major tax credit investors including Regions Bank, Capital One, Truist, Wells Fargo, PNC, Chase, and MuniStrategies.

RDP's revenue model is fee-based on NMTC transactions (structuring, management, and compliance fees) plus ancillary revenue from CIP grants and compliance services, with no public pricing disclosure. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales — direct outreach to project sponsors, developers, and community partners. The company is not publicly traded, has no venture capital or private equity investors, and operates as a mission-driven subsidiary of a farmer cooperative. The business model is inherently tied to the federal NMTC program, which has been periodically reauthorized by Congress and remains a structural dependency.

Name

Rural Development Partners

Legal name

Rural Development Partners LLC

Website

https://rdpimpact.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rural Development Partners is a privately-held Community Development Entity providing New Markets Tax Credit financing to businesses and nonprofits in rural underserved communities, having deployed $906.7M across 14 federal allocations since 2004.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Financing

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs) (FSABAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• New Markets Tax Credits
• Rural community development
• Community development entity
• Tax credit financing
• Economic development financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Forest City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. NMTC Financing Services: RDP operates as a Community Development Entity (CDE) that receives New Markets Tax Credit allocations from the U.S. Treasury. RDP deploys these NMTCs by partnering with businesses, nonprofits, and government entities to finance projects in underserved rural communities. RDP combines NMTCs with bank loans and tax credit investor funds to create favorable financing solutions. RDP distributes earnings beyond operational needs to parent company Ag Ventures Alliance and AgVA Foundation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rural Development Partners is a Community Development Entity (CDE) that provides New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to businesses, nonprofits, and government entities in rural underserved communities. RDP combines federal NMTC allocations with bank loans and tax credit investor funds to create favorable financing solutions that support job creation and economic growth in distressed rural areas. The company also operates a Community Investment Program (CIP) that provides matching grants for workforce development initiatives in NMTC project communities.

Product overview

Rural Development Partners operates as a Community Development Entity (CDE) providing New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to support economic development in underserved rural communities. The company's primary offerings include NMTC Financing (which combines federal tax credits with bank loans and investor funds to create favorable financing for rural projects) and the Community Investment Program (CIP), which provides matching grants for workforce development initiatives in communities where NMTC projects are located. From 2004 through 2025, RDP has won fourteen NMTC awards totaling $906.7 million and has helped 50 businesses and nonprofits complete projects providing quality jobs and healthy foods access. RDP distributes its earnings to parent companies Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA) and AgVA Foundation for reinvestment in value-added agricultural businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Financing RDP's primary service providing NMTC allocation and financing to businesses and nonprofits in underserved rural communities. RDP combines NMTCs with bank loans and tax credit investor funds to create favorable financing solutions for quality job creation and economic development. Since 2004, RDP has received 14 NMTC awards totaling $906.7 million and deployed them across 50+ businesses and nonprofits nationwide.
• Community Investment Program (CIP)

Quantifiable outcome

• $906.7 million in total NMTC allocations across 14 awards since 2004
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004RDP is owned by Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA) and AgVA Foundation. AgVA was formed in 1998 by farmers and agriculture stakeholders to create and sustain value-added agriculture businesses. AgVA saw NMTCs as an opportunity to serve a rural mission parallel to its own. RDP distributes earnings beyond operational needs to AgVA and AgVA Foundation, which reinvest or donate to further value-added ag businesses.
• AgVA FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004RDP is owned by AgVA and AgVA Foundation. AgVA Foundation donates and provides grants to individuals and organizations working to promote agriculture and ag business. RDP distributes earnings beyond operational needs to both entities.
• Frost Brown Todd LLCcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal consultants providing formal legal opinions to support NMTC transactions, consultation on QALICB eligibility, compliance and transaction structure. Attorneys have provided transaction and compliance support for CDEs issuing hundreds of millions of dollars in NMTC transactions.
• Baker TillycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImpact consultants assisting with NMTC application writing and community impact assessments. Provides transaction structuring and modeling, impact assessment, loan servicing, bookkeeping services, and CIIS reports preparation.
• Novogradac & CompanycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAudit, tax and financial modeling services for NMTC transactions. Firm has operations since 1989 with more than 600 employees and partners, specializing in affordable housing, new markets tax credit, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxksGvScOSa5HMnt_EeEPKQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/RDPImpact
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rdpimpact
• Xx.com/RDP_Impact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments32 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rural Development Partners