Building futures
NMTCs help fund the Boys & Girls Club's new Regional Workforce Center in Dane County
The Boys & Girls Club of Dane County used New Markets Tax Credit financing to create a Regional Workforce Center. Opened in 2023, the center provides hands-on training and certifications in high-demand trades, supporting students in securing quality jobs.
Background
For over 25 years, the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County (B&GCDC) has worked together with local business, foundations and community programs to shape development for predominately lower-income youth. Membership is comprised of:
- 90% from low-income households
- 80% people of color
- 74% at or below the federal poverty line
- 50% from single parent households
Inspired by the regional need for skilled trade workers and realizing a stark inequality of participation among underrepresented women and individuals of color within the trades, B&GCDC endeavored to develop a first of its kind, Regional Workforce Center that could provide curriculum, experimental learning and certifications to members and those preparing to enter the workforce.
The visioned Regional Workforce Center sought to serve as a national template for the Boys and Girls Club of America – preparing and training lower-income underrepresented individuals for quality, family-sustaining jobs in the trades.
Client need
B&GCDC needed capital to finance programming and rehabilitate a dilapidated building in a severely distressed area blighted by racial and economic inequality that, upon transformation, would serve as the Regional Workforce Training Center.
Baker Tilly Capital solution
The Baker Tilly Capital team worked with B&GCDC to secure New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing from two local Community Development Entity (CDE) partners. The NMTC capital allowed the ambitious project to proceed at full scale and timeline. The NMTC capital provided approximately 20% of the total project costs.
Results
Opened in 2023, the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center:
- Provides hands-on training, certification, apprenticeships and job placement in high-demand careers such as plumbing, construction, HVAC and welding.
- Leverages partnerships with Madison Area Builders Association, Madison College and over 15 local program sponsors to tailor curriculum and job entry strategies.
- Provides Skilled Trade Certifications to over 100 students per year.
- Serves as upward mobility access point for B&GCDC network across three club locations and eight affiliated club locations in area middle schools and high schools.
- Provides training in life skills, marketing, finance and other business skills required to start and run a business.
For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly’s NMTC specialists can help advance your next community improvement project, contact our team.