Under the recently-passed American Rescue Plan, the US Economic Development Administration (US EDA) was allocated $3 Billion in supplemental funding to assist communities in their efforts to build back better by accelerating economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies resilient to future economic shock. As part of this funding program, six funding components were released, of which four may be of interest to New Jersey and Pennsylvania municipalities:
• Build Back Better Regional Challenge, designed to provide transformational investment to numerous regions across the country to assist with revitalizing regional economies. These regions, working in partnership, will have the opportunity to create or grow regional industry clusters through planning, infrastructure, innovation and entrepreneurship, workforce development, access to capital, and more.• Good Jobs Challenge, to provide assistance with creating collaborative skills training systems and programs through local and regional coalitions across multiple industry types.
• Economic Adjustment Assistance (Supplemental), to address economic injury suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of construction or non-construction projects designed to revitalize and build resiliency in local economies.
• Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation, to accelerate the recovery of communities that have been the hardest hit by challenges facing the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation to invest in infrastructure, workforce, or other projects to support the recovery of the industry and economic resilience of the community in the future.
The US EDA has also set aside $300 Million from the above programs to specifically assist current and former Coal Communities facing job loss because of the contraction of the coal and related industries.
For more information and to discuss potential projects – call us today at 856-690-9590.