Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners

What Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners does

Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners is a private economic development and community planning consulting firm founded in 2019 by Doug Rasmussen in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm serves municipalities, businesses, real estate developers, and non-profit organizations through six interconnected service lines: Credits & Incentives, Grants, New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), Economic Development & Community Planning, Compliance, and Finance & Administration. Its work centers on identifying and structuring public and private capital for client projects—site selection, economic incentives negotiation, tax credit procurement, grant writing and management, strategic planning, and community engagement—delivered through project-based consulting engagements with multi-year contracts and quote-driven fees.

The firm generates revenue entirely through professional services fees tied to project scope, complexity, and team composition. It reports having secured approximately $110 million in NMTC allocations across client projects, $1.8 million in ARPA grants for six clients, and individual project outcomes including $14.6M in property tax savings (US Federal Properties), $120M in capital investment (IKO Bismarck), and $5M-$11M NMTC allocations (YMCA Memphis). Customers span at least four distinct industries—manufacturing, government/municipal, non-profit/community service, and utilities/cooperatives—executed across 36 states through three physical offices: St. Louis (headquarters, 2019), Rochester NY (Northeast, opened 2021), and Mobile AL (Southeast, opened 2023).

The firm employs 37 people as of 2025 and is led by founder-CEO Doug Rasmussen alongside Co-Managing Principals Cecilia Dvorak and Margaret Riter, SVP of Finance & Administration Dominique McKinnon, and directors across Credits & Incentives, Planning, Grants, Compliance, and Marketing. It is privately held with no external funding rounds or institutional investors disclosed. The go-to-market motion is enterprise field sales combined with thought leadership, conference participation, content marketing, and referral networks within the economic development ecosystem.

Name

Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners

Legal name

Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners

Website

https://steadfastcity.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Steadfast City is a private economic development and community planning consulting firm serving municipalities, businesses, real estate developers, and non-profits across 36 states with site selection, incentives negotiation, NMTC, and grants advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Public-Private Partnership (PPP) & Infrastructure-Adjacent Real Estate Advisory (BPAJANAL)

Keywords

• Economic development consulting
• Site selection services
• New Markets Tax Credits
• Community planning advisory
• Incentives negotiation

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Economic Development Consulting: Professional consulting fees for site selection, economic incentives strategy, real estate development advisory, and community planning services. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements with businesses, real estate developers, municipalities, and non-profit organizations.
2. Grants and Incentives Advisory: Fees for assisting clients with New Markets Tax Credits procurement, grant writing, and incentives compliance services.
3. Strategic Planning and Community Development: Engagement fees for strategic planning, market analysis, stakeholder engagement, and community development consulting services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Steadfast City is a development and planning consulting firm that provides integrated economic development services to businesses, real estate developers, cities, and nonprofit organizations. Core offerings are organized into six service teams: Credits & Incentives (incentive strategy and negotiation), Grants (grant identification, writing, and management), New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) end-to-end support, Economic Development & Community Planning (strategic planning, target industry studies, workforce analysis), Compliance (incentives and grants compliance), and Finance & Administration (operational support). The firm generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements focused on site selection, real estate development advisory, tax credit procurement, and community planning across 36 states.

Product overview

Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners is a development and planning consulting firm offering integrated economic development services. The company operates through six interconnected service teams: Credits & Incentives (providing economic incentives and tax credit advisory), Grants (grant identification, writing, and management), New Markets Tax Credits (full NMTC lifecycle support), Economic Development & Community Planning (strategic planning and community engagement), Compliance (incentives and grants compliance), and Finance & Administration (operational support). The integrated model weaves together government, business, real estate, civic, social, and philanthropic sectors to create positive economic and community outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Credits & Incentives Provides economic incentives and development consulting services to real estate developers and businesses, including incentive negotiations, tax credit strategies, and public sector engagement.
• Grants Supports not-for-profit and government organizations in the identification, writing, and management of grant opportunities, ensuring communities and organizations have strategies and resources for fund development goals.
• New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) Guides businesses and not-for-profits through the complete New Markets Tax Credits process including marketing, CDE applications, financial closing, and compliance.
• Economic Development & Community Planning Multidisciplinary team providing strategic planning, real estate assessment, target industry studies, workforce analysis, community engagement, and marketing strategy for communities and organizations.
• Compliance Helps businesses navigate grants and incentives fulfillment, ensuring clients maximize funding opportunities while adhering to required metrics and reporting guidelines.

Quantifiable outcome

• $110MM in New Markets Tax Credit allocation secured across client projects
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Edible Garden AG IncorporatedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026Steadfast City was engaged to support the optimization and execution of Edible Garden's Midwest platform initiative in collaboration with Tetra Pak. The partnership focuses on expanding into value-added and ready-to-drink categories, supporting site planning, development strategy, and long-term scalability for a facility that will serve as a hub for Edible Garden's expanding RTD portfolio.
• Tetra PakcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTetra Pak is a global leader in food processing and sustainable packaging solutions. Steadfast City works alongside Tetra Pak on the Edible Garden Midwest initiative, bringing food processing and packaging expertise to support the RTD platform development.
• TerraconminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Terracon on brownfields redevelopment projects, bringing environmental consulting expertise to community development initiatives.
• ABNA EngineeringminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with ABNA Engineering for community stakeholder interviews and on-site visits during the St. Louis Development Corporation project site assessments.
• St. Louis Regional Freightway (Bi-State Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteadfast City works heavily with Bi-State Development supporting the St. Louis Regional Freightway initiative, focusing on industrial site selection and economic development marketing. They collaborate on annual reports and regional development strategies.
• Missouri Department of Economic DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Missouri state economic development agency for business attraction projects, including the IKO expansion in Bismarck, MO.
• Greater Than AnalyticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization mentioned in NAYDO conference networking activities, working in the economic development space.
• Gro-DevminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in economic development, met at NAYDO conference for YMCA development projects.
• American City BureauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in community development, networking at NAYDO conference.
• Opportunity Appalachia ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnected via Opportunity Appalachia Program to provide technical assistance for redevelopment projects in Appalachian region, including Gallipolis, Ohio.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• McCallum Sweeney Consulting: Site selection and incentive negotiation consultancy primarily serving manufacturing and corporate clients. Direct competitor in the credits & incentives and site selection niche that Steadfast City serves.
• TischlerBise: Fiscal and economic impact analysis firm serving local governments, developers, and EDCs with cost-revenue studies and development feasibility analyses. Comparable niche consulting model serving overlapping public-sector and developer clients.
• TIP Strategies: Austin-based economic development consulting firm providing strategic planning, target industry studies, and economic impact analysis for communities and regions. Directly comparable in service mix to Steadfast City's Economic Development & Community Planning offering, serving similar municipal and EDC clients.
• Retail Strategies: Birmingham-based firm providing economic development, retail recruitment, and community planning services to municipalities. Comparable in customer base (cities and EDCs) and service offering (planning and incentive strategy), with overlapping geographies in the Southeast.
• Boyette Strategic Advisors: Economic development and site selection consulting firm serving corporate clients and communities, with particular strength in incentive negotiations. Directly comparable to Steadfast's Credits & Incentives practice.
• HR&A Advisors: Real estate and economic development advisory firm advising public agencies and private developers on complex urban development, infrastructure, and incentive strategies. Comparable multidisciplinary model and developer/municipal client base.
• Avalanche Consulting: Economic development consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, target industry analysis, workforce development, and community engagement for cities, counties, and EDCs. Closely comparable mid-sized competitor to Steadfast City's planning practice.

Broad incumbents

• Cushman & Wakefield (Site Selection / Incentives Advisory): Global commercial real estate services firm with a dedicated location strategy and incentives advisory practice (built on the CSL International acquisition). Overlaps with Steadfast's site selection and credits & incentives offerings as part of a much broader CRE platform.
• Deloitte (Credits & Incentives / Site Selection): Big 4 firm with a dedicated credits & incentives advisory practice that Steadfast competes against on complex corporate engagements. A former employer of Steadfast's Credits & Incentives leader, Margaret Riter.
• JLL (Location Strategies / Incentives): Global real estate services firm with a substantial location strategy and incentives advisory practice serving enterprise clients on site selection. Competes head-to-head with Steadfast on larger corporate engagements; a former employer of multiple Steadfast team members.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/steadfast-city
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners