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Home My WebLink About08-26-25 Correspondence - MT Dept of Commerce - Commerce Weekly Roundup - Volume 2, Issue 34From:Montana Department of CommerceTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]Commerce Weekly Roundup - Volume 2, Issue 34Date:Thursday, August 21, 2025 2:01:40 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Aug. 21, 2025 – News, events, grants, loans and other funding opportunities Montana Department of Commerce Weekly Roundup The Weekly Roundup is a summary of events, news and information important to Commerce's constituents this week. Click on any topic for more information. Reminder to Grantees About Commerce Branding The Montana Department of Commerce has updated brand resources available for grantees to use when crediting Commerce’s sponsorship of an event, project, etc. The Commerce brand book, usage guidelines and downloadable logos are at commerce.mt.gov/public-participation/commerce-brand. Please refer to these resources when developing print or digital materials that will include the new Commerce logo, which was rolled out last year. The Commerce MarComms team is always happy to help with branding questions and can be reached by contacting CMO Mitch Staley at mitch.staley@mt.gov. Business The Agritourism Grants Program will accept applications Sept. 24 through Oct. 23. These grants support rural tribal and agricultural businesses and communities by assisting with diversifying operations, developing and enhancing agritourism opportunities and generating tourism revenue for the benefit of local Montana economies. The Opportunities in Rural Economies Program suite has been reimagined to include a new grant offering and updated guidelines. The program is currently undergoing the administrative rulemaking process. The administrative rule notice was posted by the Secretary of State’s Office on July 25, and the public comment period concludes on Aug. 22. Proposed guidelines are available on the Commerce website. The ORE Loan Participation and the new Economic Development Organization Capacity Building Grant Programs will operate under this refreshed program suite. The ORE Program is now accepting applications for Economic Development Organizations to enroll in the program. The enrollment period is open-ended, and any organization engaged in active economic development is encouraged to apply. For more information, contact Business Resource Partner Josh Bennett at 406-841-2748 or at josh.bennett@mt.gov. General Participation Lender Loan Servicing Agreement is ready for lender execution. On Aug. 28 at 11 a.m., Commerce will host a Zoom call for interested lending partners. The call will provide a brief overview of the ORE Loan Participation Program and outline the next steps for executing a General Lender Loan Servicing Agreement. Interested parties may reach out to Business Resource Partner Josh Bennett for the Zoom link at 406-841-2748 or at josh.bennett@mt.gov. The Wood Products Revolving Loan Fund is now accepting new applications under updated program guidelines. The program has transitioned to a loan participation structure for funding requests of up to $2 million and will continue to offer direct loans for amounts under $1 million. The application portal will remain open until all available funding has been committed to eligible businesses. Currently, the WP RLF has over $4.1 million available for lending. For more information, contact Program Specialist Chris Ryan at chris.ryan@mt.gov. The Montana State Small Business Credit Initiative 2.0 Loan Participation Program application portal for remaining Tranche Three funds will remain open until all available funds are fully obligated. Submissions will be reviewed in the order they are determined to be fully and properly completed. Upon completion of all required application materials, the application will be scored and reviewed by the loan review committee. All application determinations, approved or denied, will be promptly provided to the participating lenders. This process will continue until all funds have been committed to eligible businesses. Future opportunities will be supported through recycled SSBCI 2.0 funds as loans are repaid. The Montana State Small Business Credit Initiative 2.0 Loan Participation Program-Recycled Funds application is now open and will remain so for the duration of the program, with capital availability contingent on repayments from existing borrowers. A list of participating lenders with funds for recycling can be found on the SSBCI webpage. Native American Collateral Support Program funding available: The NACS Program is currently accepting applications; $116,763.43 in cash funding is available. For more information, contact Program Specialist Chris Ryan at chris.ryan@mt.gov or 406-841-2594. Housing Montana Board of Housing Public Meeting: Sept. 8. CDBG-Housing, HOME Investment Partnerships Program and National Housing Trust Fund applications are due Sept. 17. Commerce will have up to $3,150,000 in CDBG-Housing funds to award; $2,713,000 in HOME and $2,821,000 in HTF. Award decisions will be announced in November. The combined HOME and HTF application guidelines are available on the HOME or HTF web pages. An updated uniform application has also been posted. Draft CDBG-Housing Application Guidelines for housing development and rehabilitation will be available for public comment this summer. The newly proposed guidelines are simplified and similar to the HOME and HTF application guidelines. Montana Board of Housing Public Meeting: Oct. 20-21. Commerce News/Upcoming Events Gov. Gianforte Welcomes $81 Million Investment in Montana’s Construction Industry Gov. Gianforte Welcomes Business Investment in Montana’s Semiconductor Industry The Montana Heritage Commission's Living History Program presents "Living History Presentations": Aug. 23-24 in Nevada City. Commerce is improving our communications to better serve you. Commerce is working to improve the many ways you interact with our programs and services through updated communication options. To give you more information via fewer emails, Commerce's updated communications will include the Commerce "Weekly Roundup" with news, events, grants, loans, funding opportunities and other important updates; a quarterly newsletter; press releases and urgent information when needed, like administrative rules making communications and other statutorily required notifications. You can update your subscriber preferences anytime. UPDATE PREFERENCES Montana Department of Commerce 301 S Park Ave, Helena, MT 59620 Contact Us: 406-841-2700 commerce.mt.gov This email was sent to comments@bozeman.net using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: MontanaDepartment of Commerce · P.O. Box 200501 · Helena, MT 59620-0501 View as a webpage Unsubscribe Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on yourSubscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. Discover information about additional topics at Commerce. Sign up for more topics. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. Montana Department of Commerce 301 S Park Ave, Helena, MT 59620 406-841-2700