State and Federal Grant Opportunities Available

Connect Illinois Broadband Grant Program
What: Connect Illinois seeks to achieve ubiquitous broadband access for homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions. Applications should be classified under one of three categories: (a) Broadband Access for in unserved or underserved areas; (b) Broadband Innovation for economic development; or (c) Urban Broadband for expanded access and/or innovation in qualified Illinois cities. All Connect Illinois projects must include infrastructure expansion scalable to speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload upon deployment. Allowable costs include network design, project planning, equipment, construction, and deployment of middle mile and/or last mile infrastructure.
Potential Applicants: Businesses, nonprofits, cooperatives, school districts, and local governments. Proposals covering unserved and/or underserved areas are eligible for Connect Illinois grant funding.
How Much: $350 million total, maximum grant size of $10 million. Preference given for a 50% match, but it is not required for an application to be competitive.
Deadline: Rolling through 2024, or until funds are depleted
Apply: Information can be found HERE.

Federal Grants
More can be found on DCEO’s website.

USDA’s Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program
What: USDA’s Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program offers grant assistance to create and augment high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, support industry clusters and maximize the use of local productive assets in eligible low-income rural areas. Funds may be used to build or support a business incubator facility; provide worker training to assist in the creation of new jobs; train the existing workforce with skills for higher-paying jobs; and develop a base of skilled workers and improve their opportunities to obtain high-wage jobs in new or existing local industries. The RISE project must serve a rural region small enough to allow close collaboration among partners. It also must include important elements of the region’s prioritized industry cluster.
Potential Applicants: Eligible applicants are rural jobs accelerator partnerships with expertise in delivering economic and job training programs, consisting of non-profit entities, state entities, and institutions of higher education.
How Much: $500,000 – $2,000,000
Deadline: April 19, 2022
Apply: Information can be found here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337028

ARPA Economic Adjustment Assistance
What: Federal Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs. This includes construction activities such as water and sewer system improvements, industrial parks, high-tech shipping and logistics facilities, business incubators and accelerators, brownfield redevelopment, technology-based facilities, wet labs, multi-tenant manufacturing facilities, science and research parks, workforce training facilities, and telecommunications infrastructure (e.g., broadband) and development facilities. This also includes non-construction activities such as design and engineering, technical assistance, economic recovery strategy development, and capitalization of revolving loan funds (RLFs).
Potential Applicants: Local governments, institutions of higher ed, non-profits in cooperation with local governments. District Organizations of an EDA-designated Economic Development District are also eligible.
How Much: Estimated 300 projects that cost between $500k and $5m. $500 million is available in total. EDA will allocate at least $200 million to support coal communities.
Deadline: Rolling. Suggested submission date is March 31^st, 2022.
Apply: Webinars and more information can be found here: https://eda.gov/arpa/economic-adjustment-assistance/

Best,
Representative Jay Hoffman
113th District
312 South High Street, Belleville, IL 62220
repjayhoffman@gmail.com


State and Federal Grant Opportunities Available Connect Illinois Broadband Grant Program What: Connect Illinois seeks to achieve ubiquitous broadband access for homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions. Applications should be classified under one of three categories: (a) Broadband Access for in unserved or underserved areas; (b) Broadband Innovation for economic development; or (c) Urban Broadband for expanded access and/or innovation in qualified Illinois cities. All Connect Illinois projects must include infrastructure expansion scalable to speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload upon deployment. Allowable costs include network design, project planning, equipment, construction, and deployment of middle mile and/or last mile infrastructure. Potential Applicants: Businesses, nonprofits, cooperatives, school districts, and local governments. Proposals covering unserved and/or underserved areas are eligible for Connect Illinois grant funding. How Much: $350 million total, maximum grant size of $10 million. Preference given for a 50% match, but it is not required for an application to be competitive. Deadline: Rolling through 2024, or until funds are depleted Apply: Information can be found HERE. Federal Grants More can be found on DCEO’s website. USDA’s Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program What: USDA’s Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program offers grant assistance to create and augment high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, support industry clusters and maximize the use of local productive assets in eligible low-income rural areas. Funds may be used to build or support a business incubator facility; provide worker training to assist in the creation of new jobs; train the existing workforce with skills for higher-paying jobs; and develop a base of skilled workers and improve their opportunities to obtain high-wage jobs in new or existing local industries. The RISE project must serve a rural region small enough to allow close collaboration among partners. It also must include important elements of the region’s prioritized industry cluster. Potential Applicants: Eligible applicants are rural jobs accelerator partnerships with expertise in delivering economic and job training programs, consisting of non-profit entities, state entities, and institutions of higher education. How Much: $500,000 – $2,000,000 Deadline: April 19, 2022 Apply: Information can be found here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337028 ARPA Economic Adjustment Assistance What: Federal Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs. This includes construction activities such as water and sewer system improvements, industrial parks, high-tech shipping and logistics facilities, business incubators and accelerators, brownfield redevelopment, technology-based facilities, wet labs, multi-tenant manufacturing facilities, science and research parks, workforce training facilities, and telecommunications infrastructure (e.g., broadband) and development facilities. This also includes non-construction activities such as design and engineering, technical assistance, economic recovery strategy development, and capitalization of revolving loan funds (RLFs). Potential Applicants: Local governments, institutions of higher ed, non-profits in cooperation with local governments. District Organizations of an EDA-designated Economic Development District are also eligible. How Much: Estimated 300 projects that cost between $500k and $5m. $500 million is available in total. EDA will allocate at least $200 million to support coal communities. Deadline: Rolling. Suggested submission date is March 31^st, 2022. Apply: Webinars and more information can be found here: https://eda.gov/arpa/economic-adjustment-assistance/ Best, Representative Jay Hoffman 113th District 312 South High Street, Belleville, IL 62220 repjayhoffman@gmail.com
Chamber Connection - 2 columns - copy of March 4, 2022