WCWRPC

The West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (WCWRPC) is a multi-county planning agency created under Wisconsin State Statute 66.0309. It was established in 1971 by executive order of the Governor based upon petition from the counties comprising the region. These counties are: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Polk, and St. Croix.

The WCWRPC formed the RBF, Inc. to promote business and economic development in west central Wisconsin through the establishment and administration of a revolving loan fund.

In 2006, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce (Commerce) asked the WCWRPC to explore the possibility of consolidating CDBG funded Revolving Loan Fund Programs (RLF) as one pilot project for the State of Wisconsin. The 31 Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) in the seven-county region were capitalized at $15 million and had $5.3 million of idle capital. This regional effort would provide an opportunity to develop a more effective financing program that would eventually remove existing federal regulations if the funds are managed by a regional non-profit. It would also open up the funds to more businesses and projects while also streamlining the fund management. The fund can better meet the local economic needs and will be able to keep more funds locally.

WCWRPC provides staff to aid in the administration of the RBF, Inc. loan programs.

To find out more about the WCWRPC, visit the website which can be found at www.wcwrpc.org.