The following is a selection of recent announcements gleaned from various federal sources and colleagues and is provided to EDA’s Economic Development Integrators to increase our awareness of complementary resources for economic development.
See more open funding opportunities at federal agencies on the EDI webpage at https://www.eda.gov/edi/assistance/
Also visit the following links on our updated EDI webpages at www.eda.gov/edi for additional information about federal resources that are available to support comprehensive regional economic development strategies, including:
- Federal Assistance for Economic Development
- Tools and Other Resources for Economic Development Integration
- Economic and Community Development Networks and Partners
Click here to view all weekly federal announcement posts
Contents
- Funding & Resource Announcements
- Recently Announced Federal Awards
- Public Meetings, Events and Training
- Reports, Research and Tools
- Disaster Recovery Resources & Info
Funding & Resource Announcements
OPPORTUNITY ZONES
Federal Incentives and Actions Supporting Opportunity Zones
To view over 180 actions taken by federal agencies to support Opportunity Zones, as well as a host of other resources for Local Leaders, Investors and Entrepreneurs in Opportunity Zones, visit the new federal Opportunity Now, Opportunity Zones website hosted by HUD at: https://opportunityzones.hud.gov/.
- To view projects EDA has supported in and around Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage.
- To learn more about OZ tax advantages, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov, including their updated Opportunity Zones Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
ACCESS TO CAPITAL
USDA Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants Available. Next Quarterly Due Date: Dec 31, 2019.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is accepting FY20 applications for its Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) Program. Awards are made on a competitive basis to utilities that will relend the funds for local economic development efforts. The funding may be used to assist with business start-up and expansion costs; business incubators; feasibility studies; advanced telecommunications and computer networks for medical, educational, and job training services; and community facilities that spur economic development. For more information, applicants should contact the USDA RD representative for the state in which the project will be located: https://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices
UPDATE: In a recent FEDERAL REGISTER notice, USDA RD announced that the maximum loan awarded for applications competing in the Second, Third, and Fourth Quarter funding cycles of fiscal year (FY) 2020 will be $1 million, to allow for additional project opportunities and a broader geographic distribution of Program funding. For more info click here.
INFRASTRUCTURE
EPA Brownfields Program Grants. Applications Due Dec 3;
The FY20 Brownfield Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grant Guidelines are now LIVE. You can also view them on the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization webpage. Application submission deadline is December 3, 2019.
The solicitations are available in www.grants.gov here:
NEW: Grants for Providers of Training and Technical Assistance on Rural Water and Waste Water Systems. Apply by Dec 31.
USDA RD’s Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) grant program assists communities with water or wastewater systems through free technical assistance and/or training provided by the grant recipients. Qualified private non-profit organizations will receive TAT grant funds to identify and evaluate solutions to water and waste disposal problems in rural areas, assist applicants in preparing applications for water and waste grants made at the State level offices, and improve operation and maintenance of existing water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas. For more information, visit: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-waste-disposal-technical-assistance-training-grants. Application Deadline: December 31, 2019
INNOVATION and TECHNOLOGY:
Disaster Resilience and Response Technology Challenge Grant. LOI due Jan 8.
The Economic Development Administration (EDA), in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), today announced the Accelerate R2 Network Challenge. The program is a $1 million grant challenge to address the nation’s most pressing disaster response and resiliency (R2) challenges with innovative technologies. The Accelerate R2 Network Challenge is seeking proposals from organizations to form networks on a national scale that will support innovation, entrepreneurship, research, and investment in transformative technologies in the response and resiliency markets. EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) is leading the administration of this new effort to spur innovation capacity-building activities in regions across the nation. Visit OIE’s Accelerate R2 webpage for specific details on the forthcoming informational webinar and other applicant resources for this grant competition.
- Nov 20 at 2pm ET: Informational Webinar. REGISTER HERE
NEW: Department of Energy Challenges Innovators to Harness the Power of the Oceans. New Prize Competitions Available.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced developments in two new prizes: Waves to Water, which challenges innovators to desalinate water using the power of ocean waves, and the Powering the Blue Economy™ Ocean Observing Prize, a joint DOE-National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prize, which challenges innovators to pair marine renewable energy technologies with ocean observing platforms. Both prize competitions are led by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on the American Made Challenges platform. Learn more about WPTO prizes and competitions here.
RESILIENCE AND MITIGATION
FEMA FY19 Pre-Disaster Mitigation Funds Available. Closes Jan 31, 2020.
The Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program makes available Federal funds to State, Local and Tribal Governments to implement and sustain cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on Federal funding from future disasters.
FEMA will provide allocations of $575,000 as required by the Stafford Act to states and territories; and a tribal set aside of $20 million for allocations up to $575,000 for Native American Indian tribal governments to support overall mitigation planning and projects. The remaining PDM funds will be awarded on a competitive basis with a focus on multi-state/tribal mitigation initiatives. Visit Grants.gov for full details.
NEW: NOAA Funding for Resilience Education Programs. Apply by Mar 26.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced a funding opportunity to build environmental literacy of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience. Projects should build the collective environmental literacy necessary for communities to become more resilient to the extreme weather and other environmental hazards they face in the short- and long-term, and should leverage and incorporate relevant state and local hazard mitigation and/or adaptation plans, and collaborate with individuals and institutions that are involved in efforts to develop or implement those plans. For more information, see Grants.gov Opportunity Number: NOAA-SEC-OED-2020-2006190
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Department of Labor Grants for Workforce Development in Opioid Impacted Areas. Apply by Jan 9.
As authorized by the SUPPORT Act (Public Law 115-271), the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is making available up to $20 million in grant funds for the Support to Communities: Fostering Opioid Recovery through Workforce Development grant program (FOA-ETA-20-01) to fund approximately 8 to 10 partnership grants, with awards ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. Grants will be made under the WIOA National Dislocated Worker Grants / WIA National Emergency Grants program. These grants intend to allow State workforce agencies (through Participating Partnerships led by local workforce development boards), outlying areas, or Tribal organizations to creatively align and deliver career, training, and supportive services that will best serve workers in their local areas impacted by the crisis. For details, visit Grants.gov.
Open Federal Funding Opportunities:
Below is a list of previously highlighted funding opportunities that are still open. Enter the Opportunity Number in Grants.gov to see announcement details. You can also search Grants.gov for a full list of current federal opportunities, including programs not listed below.
| Opportunity Number | Opportunity Title | Agency | Posted Date | Close Date | |
| PWEAA2020
|
FY 2020 EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs | DOC-EDA | 10/18/2019 | Open | |
| EDA-2019-DISASTER
|
FY 2019 EDA Disaster Supplemental | DOC-EDA | 08/13/2019 | Open | |
| 693JJ319NF-NSFLTP | Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) | DOT-FHWA | 10/04/2018 | Open | |
| EPA-OLEM-OBLR-19-05 | FY20 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT GRANTS | EPA | 10/10/2019 | 12/03/2019 | |
| EPA-OLEM-OBLR-19-06 | FY20 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANTS | EPA | 10/10/2019 | 12/03/2019 | |
| TATFY20 | TAT Grant Program | USDA-RUS | 10/01/2019 | 12/31/2019 | |
| DHS-19-MT-047-000-99 | FY19 Pre-Disaster Mitigation | DHS-DHS | 09/09/2019 | 01/31/2020 | |
| EDA-HDQ-OIE-2020-2006301 | Accelerate R2 Network Challenge – FINAL | DOC | 10/18/2019 | 03/11/2020 | |
| CRNR-2020 | Coral Reef and Natural Resources Program | DOI | 10/16/2019 | 04/01/2020 | |
| TAP-2020 | Technical Assistance Program | DOI | 10/04/2019 | 04/01/2020 | |
| EPA-OLEM-OBLR-19-07 | FY20 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD CLEANUP GRANTS | EPA | 10/10/2019 | 12/03/20 |
Recently Announced Federal Awards
NEW: Treasury Announces $188M to Support CDFI Investments in Distressed Areas
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded 284 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) $188.7 million in Financial Assistance (FA) awards today. The awards, through the fiscal year (FY) 2019 round of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), will enable CDFIs to increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities across the nation. To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the CDFI Fund’s website. View the recent 2019 Awards for CDFIs and NACA Recipients here:
View USDA Applications and Awards for Rural Broadband Projects
USDA’s Broadband ReConnect Program furnishes loans and grants to provide funds for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas. USDA received 146 applications between May 31, 2019, and July 12, 2019, requesting $1.4 billion in funding across all three ReConnect Program funding products: 100 percent loan, 100 percent grant, and loan-grant combinations. USDA is reviewing applications and announcing approved projects on a rolling basis. Visit https://www.usda.gov/reconnect to view a list and map of applications under review, and projects awarded to date. Additional investments in all three categories will be made in the coming weeks.
Public Meetings, Events and Training
November 20th Webinar @ 2pm ET: EDA’s Accelerate R2 Network Challenge.
Economic Development Administration, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Public Safety Communications Research division and the First Responder Network Authority, announced the Accelerate R2 Network Challenge, to fund a strategic nationwide network of organizations working to address disaster Response and Resiliency (R2) challenges with innovative technologies.
December 11-13: The National Brownfields Training Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
Held every two years, the National Brownfields Conference attracts nearly 3,000 stakeholders in brownfields redevelopment and cleanup to share knowledge about sustainable reuse and celebrate the EPA brownfields program’s success.
Reports, Research and Tools
BLS Publishes Business Employment Dynamics Data for First Quarter 2019
The Bureau of Labor Statistics today (October30) reported that gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector from December 2019 to March 2019 was 7.4 million. This represented a decrease of 393,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (Click here for the full news release and access to the data tables.)
Disaster Recovery Resources & Info
Primary site for Disaster Recovery Assistance: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/
Where to Find Federal Disaster Declarations
- You can find the latest federal emergency and disaster declarations, as well as prior declarations for other areas, on FEMA’s disaster declarations webpage.
- Amended Declarations: Existing Declarations may be subsequently amended to expand covered areas, provide notification that an incident has been closed, or make other necessary changes. For more information click here.
Funding and other Assistance Available for Economic Recovery:
HUD TA for Disaster Recovery in Distressed Cities.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has begun accepting requests for Technical Assistance (TA) under the new Distressed Cities Technical Assistance (DCTA) Program. This TA program is specifically designed to assist communities with populations under 40,000 that are struggling to recover from natural disaster and economic decline. The TA program will be community-specific and scaled to ensure a measurable impact on communities’ growth and resilience, as well as an efficient use of public funds. Note that HUD strongly encourages interested jurisdictions to contact your HUD Field Office prior to submitting a request for TA.
EDA Disaster Supplemental Funding Available for Areas Impacted by 2018/19 Disasters
On August 13, 2019, EDA announced the EDA Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) Disaster Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), making available $587 million for eligible grantees in communities impacted by Presidentially declared natural disasters in 2018, and by floods and tornadoes in 2019. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. View Opportunity Number EDA-2019-DISASTER on Grants.gov, and contact your EDA Regional Office representative for eligibility information and application assistance.
- For more information, view EDA’s September 2019 webinar video recording and download the slides on our Disaster Supplemental Web page.
- Note that EDA’s 2018 Supplemental Funding for communities impacted by 2017 Disasters (EDA-2018-DISASTER) is a separate funding opportunity. View information about EDA grants made, as well as related resources on EDA’s Disaster Recovery web page.
USDA Rural Housing Announced Availability of 2019 Disaster Relief Act Funds
USDA Rural Housing Service’s Community Facilities Program (CF) has supplemental grant funding available for necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricanes Michael and Florence and wildfires occurring in calendar year 2018, tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, and other natural disasters. Submit applications through USDA State Office contacts, available here.
Economic Recovery Support & the National Disaster Response Framework
Read more about the Economic Recovery Support Function (ERSF) and the National Disaster Response Framework here.