Many companies in distressed communities may qualify, based on census data, for a business-incentive loan program that readers may not be familiar with: the New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs).

Brynn Sanders, a consultant with Sanders Capital Consulting, St. Louis, specializes in advising corporate clients who are seeking loans that businesses, including commercial laundries, can use to buy equipment, upgrade buildings and make other improvements in order to preserve jobs and spur economic growth.

“The way that it works is there are community-development entities that apply to the CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) Fund for an award,” Sanders says. “That’s an ...