For Immediate Release
July 19, 2011
Contact: Nancy McLeod Carter, ncarter@islandinstitute.org, 207-594-9209 x133
Island and Coastal Innovation Fund Now Open for
Business
The
Island Institute will announce the official launch of a new $3 million economic-development
tool to help island and coastal entrepreneurs access working capital to start
or expand their businesses. The
Island and Coastal Innovation Fund will make loans to jump-start or increase
the capacity of island-based and remote coastal businesses, and take an equity
position in transformative business models. The fund will also continue to purchase and hold groundfish
permits, leasing them back to conservation-minded fishermen for gear research
that can help protect fish stocks.
When: Friday, July 22 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Dropping Springs Bait Co.,
6A Portland Fish Pier
(next to the Portland
Fish Exchange)
Who: Senior Island Institute staff and trustees,
representatives of Olympia Snow and
Chellie
Pingree, island community members
##
The Island Institute’s mission is to serve as a voice
for the balanced future of the islands and waters of the Gulf of Maine. Specifically, the Institute partners
with Maine’s 15 year-round island and remote coastal communities
to ensure that they remain vibrant places to live, work and educate children.