EDA Funding Opportunity

About

Under the American Rescue Plan, the US Economic Development Administration was allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks.

American Rescue Plan funding enables EDA to provide larger, more transformational investments across the nation while utilizing its greatest strengths, including flexible funding to support community-led economic development. With an emphasis on equity, EDA investments made under the American Rescue Plan will directly benefit previously underserved communities impacted by COVID-19.

EDA ARPA Program Website

Six Funding Opportunities under ARPA:

• Build Back Better Regional Challenge
• Good Jobs Challenge
• Economic Adjustment Assistance
• Indigenous Communities
• Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation 
• Statewide Planning, Research and Networks

We are following the same application process that we created for the CARES Act funding. Projects should be a good fit with both the Economic Development Administration’s funding priorities and the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

Eligible applicants include:

• Tribal governments
• State and local governments
• Institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of Michigan

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration as the Economic Development District for Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties. 

Project Selection Process 

Due to the scale of funding, the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission has developed a more robust project identification and selection process in order to advance the region's strongest project proposals to the EDA grant application. 

Project Selection Process Document 

2018 -2022 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy with Addendum

Addendum to 2018-2022 CEDS

EDA's Investment Priorities

Scoring Rubric (used by CEDS Committee Members)

Call for Projects  

The second round of applications is now open and will be due Friday, August 13, 2021 at 5pm. Please use the Project Submission Form to submit projects to burduej@swmpc.org. It is highly recommended that you schedule a virtual meeting to discuss your project and application before submission, email Jerrid Burdue at burduej@swmpc.org. 

Project Submission Form

Frequently Asked Questions

Which projects have been awarded with EDA CARES Act funding? 

While the Chicago Region has yet to award any competitive grants, several projects are pending. Here is a list of projects nation-wide that have received funding. Please note that each EDA region has a slightly different evaluation process. 

What does EDA mean by "prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus" or respond to "economic injury as a result of coronavirus"? 

The connection to the coronavirus does not need to be specific, rather discuss how your project acknowledges the pandemic and how it responds to it. For example, if your community's tourism sector has been decimated by COVID and the proposed project addresses economic recovery in the tourism sector, the connection has been made. As with EDA's normal funding opportunities, they are looking for one or more of their investment priorities be met.

What about project costs? 

For construction projects, EDA recommends the project cost be at least $500,000 with $2-3 million being the maximum funding requested. For non-construction, projects should generally be at least $25,000. 

What are the local share expectations? 

Under EDA's CARES Act funding, they have decreased the required local share to 20% of total eligible project costs. Federal/local cost sharing has not been finalized for the new funding opportunity. However, a greater local share would make the project more competitive. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) has started a program to help with the local share amount. Information on this can be found on the right side of the page. 

Where can I find more information about the goals and objects in the CEDS? 

Regional economic development goals and objectives can be found in the 2018 - 2022 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy with Addendum. The scoring rubric the CEDS Committee uses, evaluates how well proposed projects match with these goals and objectives so please review the document carefully. 

Questions or need assistance? 

Jerrid Burdue, Associate Planner

burduej@swmpc.org