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South Bend Redevelopment Commission <br />Regular Meeting -June 4, 2010 <br />commercialization, the first phases are the <br />hardest to get funding for: seed and second <br />stage funding. The federal government is <br />providing less funding and state government <br />is attaching requirements for its funds that <br />there be matching funds. Start-up companies <br />can't get matching funds. Corporations <br />aren't investing at that level. Venture <br />capitalists have moved from investing at the <br />seed and second stage to later stages. They <br />want more assurance of success. <br />Communities are responding to this. Ann <br />Arbor is creating its own seed fund. A small <br />town had five banks each contributing a <br />million dollars to match $SM of TIF funds to <br />do a revolving loan fund. We're going to <br />have to figure out how to help the people <br />who want to come to Ignition Park and want <br />to stay in Ignition Park to do that. We're <br />going to have to help with funding. <br />Ms. Hathaway predicted that Ignition Park <br />will be ignited, and it will be sustainable, if <br />we build its structure on regional <br />collaboration, supported by a technically <br />educated work force and funded to assist <br />business focus. South Bend has work to do. <br />But we must not forget that we have lots of <br />advantages over other communities. <br />Mr. Varner asked who some of the regional <br />partners Ms. Hathaway envisions are. Ms. <br />Hathaway responded that she was thinking of <br />nearby counties. Public and private entities <br />over several counties. Southwestern <br />Michigan University collaborating with Ivy <br />Tech. Foundations want to see that a broad <br />scope of entities in a region is collaborating. <br />Companies who consider coming to this area <br />want to know that the support structure for <br />them will be broad. <br />16 <br />