EDA announces up to $35 million in new funding opportunities for Economic Recovery Corps and Equity Impact Investments programs

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) last week announced a new funding opportunity that includes two programs designed to strengthen equitable economic development strategies across the country. One program will add staff resource to local organizations focused on improving economic resilience and competitiveness in distressed regions across the country, while the second will provide technical assistance to enable organizations serving underserved populations and communities to participate in economic development planning and projects.

The Economic Recovery Corps program will award one, five-year grant between $20 million and $25 million to a network operator to build, launch and operate an economic development fellowship program in cooperation with EDA. The program would recruit and place at least 50-75 fellows in economic development organizations in underserved communities throughout the nation and will provide information and analysis from across the country to accelerate the adoption of equitable economic development principles. A webinar about the opportunity is being held June 23 at 1:30 p.m. EDT and the deadline to apply is Aug. 5, 2022.

The Equity Impact Investments Program aims to provide capacity, knowledge and technical assistance to organizations that serve underrepresented populations. EDA is seeking applications to bring together a coalition of organizations with a track record to working with, conducting outreach to and delivering outcomes for these communities. Funding is between $3 million and $10 million and the deadline to apply is Aug. 5, 2022, with the award expected to made by Sept. 30, 2022.

The notice of funding opportunity for both programs is available here.