Grant Awarded
The Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization (NEFCO) has been awarded a $400,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The EDA had invited Economic Development Districts like NEFCO to apply for supplemental funding to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic by providing regional economic disaster recovery and resiliency planning services.
Through this grant, NEFCO will work with communities and organizations in Portage, Stark, Summit, and Wayne Counties to develop a comprehensive economic recovery and resiliency plan, including both short-term recovery projects and long-term resilience strategies; identify grants and funding resources for projects; provide additional technical assistance with grant applications; serve as a liaison between communities and the EDA; increase outreach and public information on recovery and resilience efforts; and foster and develop collaborative partnerships in the NEFCO region.
The CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant will be supplemental to NEFCO’s Partnership Planning Grant, which enables NEFCO to provide economic development planning services, including the preparation and maintenance of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and EDA grant technical assistance.
“We are grateful to the EDA for their continued support and confidence through this significant investment in our four-county region,” said NEFCO Executive Director Joseph Hadley. “This grant will enable NEFCO to provide sufficient staff and resources for recovery and resiliency planning to assist in the region’s economic recovery efforts.”