Information provided by Economic Development Administration
The Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County announced it was awarded an $80,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration to prepare an update to San Benito County’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the period 2023-2028.
The release said the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy is a strategy-driven plan that contributes to effective economic development in communities and regions through a locally-based, regionally-driven economic development planning process that engages economic agencies, community leaders, educators, and the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to engage in a meaningful conversation and debate about what would best serve economic development in their region to establish a strategic economic development “roadmap” for regional collaboration and prosperity.
It went on to state each region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy must be updated every five years to qualify for federal funding through the Economic Development Administration and that this update for 2023-2028 will align San Benito County, Hollister and San Juan Bautista, and nonprofits in the region around priorities and projects that are important to the community—such as broadband, water storage, workforce training, and fire resiliency—that would not be considered for funding had they not been included in the 2023-2028 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
“This funding is the first step for our community to proactively address some of the challenges that we face as a region and to build on our strengths and harness our energy to improve our economic and community resiliency,” said Renee Wells, Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County.” “The strategy we develop will serve as a bridge that connects funding at the federal level to much needed projects at our local level.”
The release said there is an enormous amount of federal funding available from the Economic Development Administration (see list below), and that the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito is happy to be a part of this important effort to help facilitate those grants using the updated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy as the city and county recently announcing they had contracted with a grant writer to help them apply for grants.
To develop a thorough, concise Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito will contract with two consultants who bring many years of experience and expertise to the effort—Marie Jones of Marie Jones Consulting and Steve Wahlstrom of Wahlstrom & Associates, the release said.
“We look forward to working with the folks of San Benito County to identify priorities and help access federal funding to achieve those priorities,” said Marie Jones. “I live and work in a rural county that borders the Bay Area as well, and I look forward to working with the community to develop a strong collaboration of people who will help move San Benito County in the best direction forward.”
In addition to the $80,000 received from the Economic Development Administration, the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County contributed $15,000 ($10,000 in in-kind staff support; $5,000 in cash), and it received a contribution of $8,000 from San Juan Bautista to support this effort.
The release aid over the next 6–7-month period, the consultants will work with the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County and a committee made up of the main economic interests of Hollister, San Juan Bautista, and the County of San Benito to develop a viable Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy that will create a strong sense of regional cooperation and partnerships between local businesses and government.
List of Economic Development Administration Funding Programs:
American Rescue Plan
- Six programs, collectively called “Investing in America’s Communities”, aim to equitably invest the $3 billion the Economic Development Administration received from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The programs aim to assist communities 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.
Build to Scale Program
- The Build to Scale Program aims to build regional economies through scalable startups and includes three competitions supporting entrepreneurship, acceleration of company growth, and increased access to risk capital across regional economies.
Economic Adjustment Program
- Funding from the Economic Adjustment Program assists state and local interests in designing and implementing strategies to adjust or bring about change to an economy. The program focuses on areas that have experienced or are under threat of serious structural damage to the underlying economic base. Funds are administered under the Revolving Loan Fund Program, which supplies small businesses and entrepreneurs with the gap financing needed to start or expand their business.
Economic Recovery Corps
- The Economic Recovery Corps Program consists of a network of Economic Recovery Corps fellows to add human capital to local organizations focused on improving economic resilience and competitiveness in distressed regions across the country.
Equity Impact Investments Program
- The Equity Impact Investments Program provides technical assistance to enable organizations serving underserved populations and communities to participate in economic development planning and projects.
Local Technical Assistance
- The Local Technical Assistance Program helps fill the knowledge and information gaps that may prevent leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors in distressed areas from making optimal decisions on local economic development issues.
Public Works Program
- The Public Works Program aims to empower distressed communities to revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry, encourage business expansion, diversify local economies, and generate or retain long-term, private-sector jobs and investment.
Planning Program
- The Planning Program supports local organizations with short- and long-term planning efforts, such as developing a regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.