Economic Development News
USDA Accepting Rural Business Development Grant Applications – Due Mar. 13
What does this program do? This program is designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Small means that the business has fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue. What is an eligible area? Rural Business Development Grant money must be used for projects that benefit rural areas or towns outside the urbanized periphery of any city with a population of 50,000 or more. Click here for more information and to apply
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has released the 2019 Report on Minority-Owned Firms
Small businesses are crucial to the nation's economy. They employ almost half of U.S. workers, and are important sources of employment and wealth building, particularly for minority communities. The number of minority-owned businesses has grown rapidly in recent years, which means that their well-being and ability to access financing is increasingly important to fostering economic opportunity and broader economic growth. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has released the Small Business Credit Survey: 2019 Report on Minority-Owned Firms. The report examines the state of minority-owned businesses, offering insights on their performance, access to financing, and experiences in the credit market. [...]
Final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations Released
*Provided by jdsupra "Treasury has issued two prior sets of proposed regulations. The Final Regulations consolidate these proposed regulations as well as change various parts to reflect comments received on the rules over the last two years. Among the changes that were made, the Final Regulations clarify aspects of the 180-day investment period, clarify how the substantial improvement test is met, changed the rules relating to the purchase and development of vacant property, expanded the working capital safe harbor for start-up businesses, and provided a de minimis exception for “sin” businesses." Full article here
Top Five Metros for Tech Job Growth – Three are from California
*from Clearancejobs.com "According to new research from the Brookings Institution, about 90% of growth in high-tech jobs was concentrated on five cities: Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and San Diego. The Washington, D.C.-based think tank found that these metropolitan areas accounted for nearly all of the nation’s innovation-sector growth from 2005 to 2017. Brookings noted these cities have increased their respective shares of the nation’s total innovation employment from 17.6% to 22.8%. One-third of the nation’s innovation jobs now reside in just 16 counties in the United States." For full article, click here.
Cruise Industry Drives $2.5 Billion into California Economy
*Provide by the Orange County Register "California is the home of headquarters and support facilities for several cruise lines including Princess and Crystal Cruises; it has four major cruise ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco. Last year the ports generated nearly 2.2 million passenger visits and crew arrivals, or 8% of the nation’s total. Those visits fueled an estimated $151 million in passenger and crew onshore spending, or about $70 per passenger visit and crew arrival, CLIA reported. That was up 4.9% from 2016. When total direct spending by passengers, crews and vendors who support [...]
Quarterly Economic Snapshot: Strategic Consideration of Development Fees in Economic Development
In partnership with Economics & Planning Systems, the California Academy for Economic Development has released the latest quarterly economic report. You can read the economic snapshot to learn about the effect of Development Impact Fees (DIFs) and some possible solutions for reducing DIFs or augmenting funding for infrastructure and facilities. Read Snapshot here
DOT Launches Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Initiative
*Provided by U.S. Department of Transportation "Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) is an initiative to address disparities in rural transportation infrastructure. Specifically, rural transportation infrastructure’s unique challenges need to be considered in order to meet our Nation’s priority transportation goals of safety and economic competitiveness." For more information, click here
Check out the Latest ARP Network Notes from USDA
*Provided by the USDA The ARP Network enlists the help of partners to spark economic development, entrepreneurship and community development. USDA ARS founded the ARP Network to expand the impact of ARS research and provide resources to help companies grow. By combining ARS research expertise with complementary capabilities and talents of partnering organizations, the ARP Network helps stimulate economic growth through technological advancements. The ARP Network matches business needs with ARS innovations and research capabilities and provides business assistant services to help companies and startups solve agricultural problems, develop products and create new jobs. Click here for full notes and [...]
Opportunity Zones Aren’t a Gimmick—They’re a Legitimate Investment Option
*Provided by Fortune.com "Among the many benefits, the initiative allows investors to defer tax on capital gains by investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOF), vehicles organized specifically for injecting money into designated Opportunity Zones. Additionally, the longer an investment is held in a QOF, the lower the capital gains tax liability. Through step-up of basis (the readjustment of the value of an appreciated asset), investors receive a 10% exclusion of the deferred gain after five years, which grows to 15% after seven years. Furthermore, if the investment is held for at least 10 years, any appreciation of the QOF investment [...]
Learn More About USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant Program
Provided by USDA Rural Development "Helping our nation’s agricultural producers remain strong, vibrant businesses is an important goal of USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant program. The VAPG program is open to agricultural producers, producer groups and co-ops looking to generate new products, and create and expand marketing opportunities while increasing producer income and customer base. VAPG funds can be used for either planning and working capital projects. Planning grants can pay a qualified (third-party) consultant for development of a feasibility study, or a marketing and business plan related to the processing and/or marketing of a value-added product. Working capital grants can pay eligible project expenses [...]
DGS & HCD Announce Interactive Map Identifying State-Owned Sites for Potential Affordable Housing Development
Click here for Interactive Map
EDA Announces Availability of $587 Million to Aid Communities Impacted by Natural Disasters
*Provided by the EDA "EDA has a long history of successfully supporting disaster recovery and resiliency efforts. EDA's role in disaster recovery is to facilitate the timely and effective delivery of Federal economic development assistance to support long-term community economic recovery planning and project implementation, redevelopment and resiliency. EDA is uniquely positioned to coordinate regional disaster recovery efforts in partnership with its extensive network of Economic Development Districts (EDDs), University Centers, institutions of higher education and other partners in designated impact areas. EDA has published the FY19 Disaster Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity making $587 available to eligible grantees serving [...]
Check Out the California Investment Guide Online
*Provided by Site Selection Click here for the 2019 California Investment Guide
Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture Across Asset Classes
*Provided by Croatan Institute “This study quantifies the U.S. landscape of investment funds that explicitly make sustainable food and agriculture or regenerative agriculture part of their investment strategy or criteria across investment asset classes – not only in farmland but also in cash and cash equivalents, fixed income, public equities, and private equity and venture capital. We have also identified a wide range of financial mechanisms, instruments, and approaches commonly used in more traditional conservation or agricultural finance transactions that could potentially be mobilized more explicitly to support regenerative agriculture outcomes in the future. This report therefore provides a roadmap to [...]
Join CDBG for Interactive Training on the Redesigned Community Development Block Grant Program
*Provided by HCD Join the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to learn, provide feedback, and get answers to your questions about the Community Development Grant (CDBG) program. Training will be provided in a classroom setting and will include the following topics: CDBG 101: Introduction to CDBG and HUD terminology from planning to reporting. CDBG Redesign: The proposed new method of distribution for funds and other changes in the CDBG program. CDBG Program Income: Managing program income and new policies and procedures. CDBG Cross-Cutting: Meeting federal cross-cutting requirements, including procurement, environmental review, and labor compliance. CDBG Monitoring: What [...]
Check Out USDA’s ARP Network Notes to Learn More About Resources in Agriculture
*Provided by the USDA USDA ARP Network enlists the help of partners to spark #econdev, entrepreneurship & community development. Check Out the latest Notes from the ARP Network to learn more about resources in agriculture here.
New EDC Study Debunking the Business Migration Myth
*Provided by the Economic Development Colloborative For many in California, it has become accepted as truth, that the California business climate—defined by escalating costs and challenges owing to high taxation and regulation—is driving a mass exodus of business from the state. Given the recent lack of growth in our local economy, it’s an easy story to believe. But what if the data doesn’t support the story on businesses migrating out of the state? What if it turns out that our local economy in fact benefits from more businesses moving in than moving out? At EDC, we’ve done the research, and [...]
LISC Released the Opportunity Zone Playbook Last Week
*Provided by LISC Opportunity Zones promise to drive billions—even trillions—of dollars in long-term investment into low-income urban and rural census tracts across the country. The goal of this new incentive, part of the 2017 Tax Reform and Jobs Act, is to achieve a double bottom line: fueling inclusive local economies in communities that benefit the people who live and work there, and providing a solid return to investors. But to make that happen, community stakeholders, state and local government leaders, investors and developers must work together to engage responsibly with this powerful but untested tool, and to help create the [...]
Legislature Passes Budget with More Funding for Homelessness, Infrastructure, Emergency Preparedness & Response
*Provided by the League of California Cities The Legislature agreed to invest in significant new investments to shelter homeless Californians, expand housing-related infrastructure and provide safe drinking water to all residents when they passed the FY 2019–20 Budget Act on Thursday, June 13, which establishes the state’s financial plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Associated trailer bills are expected to be approved in the coming weeks. The architecture of the final budget largely reflects the framework and funding levels proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, with a total spending of $214.8 billion, and an additional $19 billion set [...]
Check Out SelectUSA’s Report on Reshoring and its Impacts
*Provided by SelectUSA “Reshoring and investment expansion have been popular subjects in discussion of the U.S. economy, though little formal research exists on the topic. As SelectUSA renews its commitment to U.S.-owned businesses that are reinvesting in the United States rather than abroad, it is important to understand this knowledge gap. This report uses qualitative analysis to explore the experiences of six companies that chose to reinvest in the United States. It also illuminates lessons learned by each company to serve as examples for other investors considering U.S. reinvestment as well as policymakers who seek to support reshoring and investment [...]
What’s in the Disaster Aid Package for States and Localities?
*Provided by Governing.com "After months of delay, Congress passed a $19 billion aid bill on Monday to help places recover from natural disasters that have struck over the last two years -- and to help cover costs of the ones yet to come. As the political infighting wore on this year, more natural disasters -- such as flooding in the Midwest and tornadoes in the South -- bumped up the price of the legislation by roughly $5 billion. It’s now one of the most sweeping disaster aid packages ever passed and heads to President Trump for his expected signature. Communities [...]
CDFI Fund Awards $3.5B in New Markets Tax Credits
*Provided by CDFI Fund Through the NMTC Program, the CDFI Fund allocates tax credit authority to Community Development Entities (CDEs) through a competitive application process. CDEs are financial intermediaries through which investment capital flows from an investor to a qualified business located in a low-income community. CDEs use their authority to offer tax credits to investors in exchange for equity in the CDE. With these capital investments, CDEs can make loans and investments to businesses operating in distressed areas that have better rates and terms and more flexible features than the market. The NMTC Program helps to offset the perceived [...]
Read the State of American Manufacturing Report to Learn How Manufacturing is a Vital Part of Today’s Economy
*Provided by Mechanical Engineering “The plight of the American factory town is often contrasted with that of China’s manufacturing hubs, where whole cities can be turned over to supplying parts for one industrial sector. How can the U.S. compete with that? Quite well, actually. In a January 2017 study, Honing U.S. Manufacturing’s Competitive Edge, Harold Sirkin, a managing director at Boston Consulting Group, found U.S. and Chinese costs virtually even. According to Sirkin, wages adjusted for productivity have risen in China while remaining flat in the U.S. Meanwhile, U.S. industrial electricity and natural gas dropped sharply. Other U.S. strengths include [...]
EPA Recently Announced the Availability of $2.6 Billion in New Funding to Improve Water Infrastructure Across the United States
*Provided by the EPA The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $2.6 billion in new funds to assist states, tribes and territories with improving drinking water and wastewater infrastructure across the country. This funding advances President Trump’s efforts to rebuild the country’s aging water infrastructure, create local jobs, and ensure all Americans have safe and clean water. For more information: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-availability-26-billion-new-funding-improve-water-infrastructure-across
See How Philanthropies Leverage Opportunity Zones
*Provided by Knight Foundation "The broad objective of this new tax incentive — expanding economic opportunities for places and people left behind — cannot be achieved by the market and outside investors alone. Cities in the broadest sense — local governments, urban institutions, urban networks will need to act with deliberate agency and purpose if Opportunity Zones are to spur growth that is inclusive, sustainable and truly transformative for each city’s economy. The implementation of Opportunity Zones, therefore, will be as much about codifying local norms and models as promulgating federal rules and guidance. Given this perspective, it is clear [...]