Tax Credits
Better Together
Empower New Hampshire’s Youth:
Partner with Arts In Reach Through the NHCDFA’s Tax Credit Program
The Opportunity
Does your business pay Business Profit Tax, Enterprise Tax, or Insurance Premium Tax? Would you like a choice on how those tax dollars are spent? Arts In Reach (AIR), was awarded more than $300,000 in tax credits through a highly competitive program of the NH Community Development and Finance Authority (CDFA). By partnering with AIR, New Hampshire businesses can take advantage of the tax credit program to reduce their tax burden while making a transformative investment in our community.
About AIR
Founded in 1997, AIR is a creative youth development program that has changed the course of more than 2,200 NH teens’ lives. Rooted in trauma-informed approaches, our after school and summer arts and mentoring programs build confidence, resilience, and life skills in girls and gender expansive youth ages 11-22. They are offered at no cost to participants, including free and crucial transportation.
The teen mental health crisis is one of the biggest dilemmas facing our state.
Over half of NH’s teenage girls report depression, and nearly one-third have seriously considered suicide. AIR provides vulnerable teens with a safe, creative space to express themselves, heal, and thrive when traditional support falls short. Most AIR participants come from low-to moderate-income households and face multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that put them at risk for lifelong struggles. Research shows that the experiential learning offered at AIR can mitigate the lasting impact of these hardships, promoting mental health, connection, and better life outcomes.
“AIR gave me power and confidence through my teenage years. That enabled me to move into the next stages of life better adjusted and more confident in myself.”
– AIR Alum
About the Tax Credit Project
AIR has operated as a floating program for nearly 30 years – using community centers, church basements, coffee shops, and empty arts venues across Strafford and Rockingham counties as locations for our programs. This model no longer works. Teens experiencing trauma are reluctant to go to unfamiliar spaces and find it hard to open themselves up to the healing benefits of AIR programs when they feel unsafe or uncertain. The availability of ADA-accessible, affordable, and relatively private temporary spaces to rent has become extremely limited. Being in a constant state of transition creates inefficiencies that it is impossible for AIR to expand to meet to the current crisis and increased need for our services.
In response, and with help from a modest nest egg of COVID funding, AIR purchased a property in Durham, NH in a visible and accessible location along Route 108. The small house on the property is now serving as AIR’s headquarters as we prepare to launch a campaign to rebuild a barn on the property to become a new community arts center, housing permanent programming classrooms. This new center will allow AIR participants to receive all the benefits ‘place identity’ has on the developing brain, and serve as that safe “third space” when home, school, or both can be difficult.
The NHCDFA tax credit program will provide a quarter of the funding needed to make this essential facility a reality. AIR’s new facility will be a center for belonging and connection, for teens and local organizations alike, building strength across the community. Your business can have a leadership role in bringing this much-needed new community space to fruition. This facility will make it possible to quadruple the number of teens we can reach, and improve their access to our partner social service agencies and to the creative community.
Benefits to Your Business
In addition to the tangible new community center, and the impact it will have on the lives of our community’s teenagers – who are about to become the employees, customers, parents, and the future of our community – businesses who partner with AIR to take advantage of the tax credit program will also receive additional benefits.
Program Overview
CDFA’s Tax Credit Program is a competitive, community economic development investment program.
The NHCDFA’s Tax Credit Program is a competitive, community economic development investment program. The program seeks to advance community economic development projects that: show a high degree of community support, build partnerships, and leverage other resources.
Grants awarded under this program are provided to organizations in the form of tax credit equity, typically over a two-year period. Businesses with New Hampshire tax liability support awarded projects by purchasing the awardee’s credits, resulting in the nonprofit receiving a donation and the business receiving a 75 percent New Hampshire state tax credit for their contribution. The purchased credit can be applied against the Business Profits Tax, Business Enterprise Tax, or Insurance Premium Tax. The donation may also be eligible for consideration as a charitable contribution for state and federal tax purposes.
The NHCDFA’s tax credit funds are allocated to specific projects that are of public benefit, for a public purpose, and can reasonably be expected to address one or more of the following objectives:
- Contribute to the development (or redevelopment) and economic well-being of a target area(s) or target population(s);
- Contribute to the economic development of the state;
- Increase or maintain threatened primary employment;
- Provide affordable housing opportunities to low- and moderate-income people.
CDFA’s founding legislation and foundational guidance for the Tax Credit Program can be found in New Hampshire RSA 162-L.
Helpful Links
- Tax Credit Basics
Additional information on how the Tax Credit works, including the donation process.
- Tax Credit Calculator
An interactive calculator in Excel to help your business understand the return on investment of supporting a project through the Tax Credit Program. - Tax Credit FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions - CDFA Tax Credit Program Pledge Agreement
The New Hampshire Tax Credit Program Pledge Agreement.
Let’s Build A Partnership
By investing in AIR through the CDFA Tax Credit Program, your business reduces its tax liability while having a choice in how your business tax dollars are spent; making a lasting difference for New Hampshire’s teens. Together, we can build a foundation for resilience, creativity, and well-being for your employees, customers, and community members for generations to come.
This is more than a tax credit—it’s a transformative investment in our community’s future.
Ready to make a difference? Click below to start the partnership and tax credit process. Please reach out if you have questions about the tax credit process, our mission, or other opportunities for collaboration by emailing [email protected].