Originally appearing in the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits: Deal Makers and Influencers issue
“I have dedicated the past 15 years of my career to ensure disadvantaged communities around the country have the resources they need to save, revitalize and repurpose their historic treasures. The federal HTC is a model credit with over 40 years of track record that spurs economic activity, creates jobs, especially higher-wage skilled trade positions and returns more money in taxes to the Treasury than the credit costs, and rehabs the fabric of our country’s tangible and cultural heritage, especially in economically distressed areas.”
Merrill Hoopengardner is steeped in tax credit knowledge, from her five years as the second president of the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) and chair of the Historic Tax Credit Coalition, to her experience in community development finance.
In the past 15 years, Hoopengardner structured and closed more than $1 billion worth of projects with LIHTCs, NMTCs, and HTCs. In her role as the head of the NTCIC, Hoopengardner is in charge of fundraising and acquisitions, crafting and implementing the corporation’s strategy, and cultivating new business opportunities as well as coordinating relations between its governing board and staff.
Hoopengardner continues to push for strengthening the HTC, seeing the incentive as a productive, climate-friendly tool that can help with neighborhood revitalization. She expressed that the HTC-GO Act of 2021 can make “significant, positive changes,” encouraging colleagues to reach out to elected officials to ensure the HTC GO Act is in upcoming infrastructure packages.
Before joining NTCIC, Hoopengardner was a principal at Advantage Capital Partners, a finance firm specializing in bringing together public and private entities to raise venture capital and small business capital for investments and loans in underserved areas. Hoopengardner raised more than $100 million per year and state and federal NMTC funds for small businesses around the country.
Hoopengardner began her tax credit career with Nixon Peabody LLP, where she represented a number of community development entities (CDEs), investors and project sponsor clients. She sits on the advisory board for the SunTrust CDE as well as the Bank of America CDE. She’s on the executive committee of the NMTC Coalition. Hoopengardner achieved her bachelor’s and law degrees from Duke University.
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