BRUNSWICK — Coastal Enterprises, Inc. recently announced it has been awarded $916,000 from the U.S. Treasury Department as part of its 2017 Community Development Financial Institutions Program.

The funds will be used to increase lending and investment in low- and middle-income communities, nurturing shared prosperity in Maine and rural regions across the U.S. This is CEI’s 15th award from the CDFI Fund since 1997; providing for loans to entrepreneurs and business owners that create good jobs, affordable housing, essential community services and environmentally sustainable enterprises.

Throughout the nation, 303 community development financial institutions, including CEI, were awarded a total of $208.7 million.

“This award gives us the ability to build upon four decades of providing capital, counsel and policy innovation to support entrepreneurs and small businesses across diverse industries and demographic profiles,” said CEI CEO Betsy Biemann. “Whether that’s connecting rural farmers and food producers to new markets, or helping immigrants to start businesses as they establish their lives in their adopted communities, we are stepping up our pace as the world around us changes. These funds help us further invest in building an economy that works for everyone.”