Economic Development Administration Grants

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce gives economic development grants to communities. One of the major thrusts of EDA funding is public works projects in support of new commercial and industrial development which creates a substantial number of new jobs. In fact, the “name of the game” at EDA is “jobs, jobs, and more jobs!” The agency is interested both in projects which create new jobs as well as those which retain jobs which are in danger of being lost. Grants are generally made for up to 50 percent or more of the project cost, although EDA may contribute a higher percentage if an area is experiencing severe economic distress. EDA is particularly interested in projects which have a regional focus, overlapping state boundaries. Examples of projects funded include construction of broadband service and infrastructure for industrial parks such as water and sewer service, roads, and storm drainage. Grants are also made for planning and technical assistance projects. Local governments and regional planning organizations are eligible to apply.

The grant writer is strongly advised to discuss the project with EDA staff in the regional office serving her geographic area. Grant funding of greater than 50 percent is provided to those areas considered to be economically distressed. Criteria for economic distress include a high unemployment rate; a low per capita income; or a special need such as substantial population loss, major natural disasters, closure of industrial firms essential to the area’s economy, and the destructive impacts of foreign trade.

EDA makes funding in several areas including the following:

• Public Works and Economic Development Program-This program funds infrastructure in support of job creation and retention, such as water, sewer and streets.
• Economic Adjustment Assistance Program- This involves assistance given to regions having economic challenges. This assistance may be in the form of infrastructure construction, planning, or technical assistance.
• Research and National Technical Assistance-provides funding for research in regard to economic development best practices which can be applied on a national or international level
• Local Technical Assistance- As its name implies, EDA assists local and nonprofit sectors in economically distressed regions to implement viable and successful economic development strategies.
• Planning Program-Under this program, assistance is given to local planning organizations in the development of their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). This is discussed in more detail below.
• University Center Economic Development Program- This program promotes a partnership between the federal government and various universities so that the resources of these institutions of higher learning are available to local governments and organizations which need assistance with economic development.
• Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms Program- A national network of eleven Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers is available to help manufacturing and production firms which have lost domestic sales and employment due to increased imports become more competitive in the global economy.
• Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund-This program was established to strengthen the linkages between economic development and environmental quality. The purpose and mission of the GCCMIF is to finance projects that foster economic development by advancing the green economy1 in distressed communities.

An area may apply for designation as an Economic Development District. The advantage of this designation is that any subsequent applications requesting assistance for public works projects may receive an additional 10 percent in EDA grant assistance.

The EDA process, in all honesty, is lengthy and complex. The application requires a significant investment of time. However, the part of the process which requires the most substantial amount of money and staff time is the development of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. This is a very detailed planning document which describes the assets and challenges of an area; outlines specific goals and objectives; and describes in detail the specific projects designed to alleviate economic distress, including the timeframe in which these projects will be implemented, the amount of funding needed, the source of that funding, and the responsible entity.

For smaller jurisdictions, it is unlikely that existing staff would have either the time or the expertise to develop a CEDS. There are consultants who specialize in this type of work. However, even when a consultant is hired, the staff time required to support the consultant is considerable. Another factor which increases the amount of work and time put into a plan is the requirement that a committee representing a broad cross-section of the private and public sectors must be involved in the development of the plan. This document must be updated regularly for the jurisdiction to continue to be eligible for EDA funds. In the final analysis, the time and money spent to develop a CEDS is well worth it if the community wishes to receive EDA funding for large projects. More detailed information on EDA programs is available at http://www.eda.gov.

EDA has done an excellent job of listing other resources for economic development on this web site. These resources include both funding and technical assistance. The grant seeker should click on “Resources” on the main EDA webpage. This will open up a very helpful listing of organizations and government entities which will assist in this effort. One of the most valuable is the listing of state and local economic development offices. Each state is represented on this listing. In many cases, the link will take the grant seeker directly to the agency within that state which deals with economic development grants. In some cases, however, the link will take the reader to the state’s general website. When that occurs, it is necessary to scroll down the list of various state agencies in order to find the one whose name intuitively implies that its purpose is to promote economic development.

Other resources shown on this site are the following: Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers, University Centers, federal agencies in partnership with EDA, economic development foundations, national economic development organizations; and Economic Development Districts. The page dealing with economic development foundations is merely a searchable database of foundations in general. The researcher will need to specify the words “economic development” in the search. This is not a listing of foundations which only fund economic development projects.