Under the American Rescue Plan, EDA was allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist with accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are some of those grants that could directly help our industry. These grants can not go to private business but 501©6s are eligible as well as DMO. Grant applications are now open.
1. Good Jobs Challenge - EDA is allocating $500 million to collaborative skills training systems, workforce development and program. These systems and partnerships will create and implement industry-led training programs, designed to provide skills for and connect unemployed or underemployed workers to existing and emerging job opportunities
2. Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation program, EDA is focused on accelerating the recovery of communities that rely on the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. $750 million of EDA’s American Rescue Plan funds are allocated to support the following efforts: State Tourism Grants: $510 million in non-competitive awards to help states quickly invest in marketing, infrastructure, workforce and other projects to rejuvenate safe leisure, business and international travel.Competitive Grants: $240 million to help communities that have been hardest hit by challenges facing the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors to invest in infrastructure, workforce or other projects to support the recovery of the industry and economic resilience of the community in the future.
3. Economic Adjustment Assistance Program The Economic Adjustment Assistance program is EDA’s 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. A wide range of technical, planning, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and public works and infrastructure projects are eligible for funding under this program.
4. Build Back Better Regional Challenge The $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge will provide a transformational investment to 20-30 regions across the country that want to revitalize their economies. These regions will have the opportunity to grow new regional industry clusters or scale existing ones through planning, infrastructure, innovation and entrepreneurship, workforce development, access to capital, and more
Important Links:
Program: https://eda.gov/arpa/
Questions: TravelandTourism@
FAQ on eligibility: https://eda.gov/
Webinar on the Programs: https://eda.gov/