Dear USET/USET SPF Family,

On July 22, 2021, the Department of Commerce issued a Press Release announcing $3 billion in funding for a series of programs, collectively called “Investing in America’s Communities”. These programs will use funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and will be administered by the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Programmatic funds can be used to assist communities in their efforts to “build back better” by accelerating economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing economic resiliency from future economic impacts. Unfortunately, the allocation of these funds will follow a competitive grant process—a process USET SPF has long opposed—based on EDA’s Investment Priorities. Notices of Funding Opportunity for each program are forthcoming.

Although only one program is specifically directed to Tribal Nations, EDA has stated that Tribal Nations and consortiums are eligible to apply for all the “Investing in America’s Communities” programs. To view a Fact Sheet on EDA’s “Investing in America’s Communities”, please click here.

Program details, funding levels, and proposed application deadlines are provided below—

$100 Million for the Indigenous Communities Challenge

Grant funds will target a range of technical, planning, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and public works and infrastructure projects for Tribal Nations to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build resilient economies. Indian Tribes or a consortium of Indian Tribes as defined in 13 C.F.R. § 300.3 (hereto after referred to as “Tribal Nations and consortiums”) will be eligible to apply for this program. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the proposed application deadline will be March 15, 2022. Questions regarding this program should be directed to Indigenous@eda.gov. Contact information for your Economic Development Representative can be found by clicking here. For more information on the Indigenous Communities Challenge, please click here.

$750 Million for Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Grants

Grant funding is focused on accelerating recovery from the pandemic for communities that rely on travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries. Of the $750 million grant funding available, $240 million will be awarded through a competitive grant process. Tribal Nations and consortiums are listed as eligible to apply, however, they must compete with states, state political subdivisions, and institutions of higher education to receive these competitive grants. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the proposed application deadline will be March 15, 2022. Questions regarding this program should be directed to TravelandTourism@eda.gov. Contact information for your Economic Development Representative can be found by clicking here. For more information on Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Grants, please click here.

$500 Million for the Good Jobs Challenge

Grant funds will focus on collaborative skills training systems and programs that bring together employers with hiring needs and other entities that train workers with in-demand skills. Preference will be given to programs that reach historically underserved populations and areas, women, and groups facing labor market barriers such as persons with disabilities, disconnected youth, individuals in recovery, and individuals with past criminal records. Preference will also be given to programs that train veterans and military spouses and individuals participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program. Tribal Nations and consortiums are included among those eligible to apply for this program but they must be a System Lead Entity of a regional workforce system or the Backbone Organization of a sectoral partnership as a lead applicant. If a Tribal Nation or consortium does not meet these eligibility criteria, then they must partner with states, state political subdivisions, or institutions of higher education to receive these funds. The application deadline will be January 26, 2022. Questions regarding this program should be directed to GoodJobsChallenge@eda.gov. Contact information for your Economic Development Representative can be found by clicking here. For more information on the Good Jobs Challenge, please click here.

$500 Million for the Economic Adjustment Assistance Challenge

Grant funds will target a range of technical, planning, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and public works and infrastructure projects. Tribal Nations and consortiums are included among those eligible to apply for this program. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the proposed application deadline will be March 15, 2022. Contact information for your Economic Development Representative can be found by clicking here. For more information on the Economic Adjustment Assistance Challenge, please click here.

$1 Billion for the Build Back Better Regional Challenge

Grant funds will be available for 20 to 30 regions across the country to grow new regional industry clusters or scale existing ones through planning, infrastructure, innovation and entrepreneurship, workforce development, and access to capital. Tribal Nations and consortiums are included among those eligible to apply for this program. However, Tribal Nations and consortiums will be required to join regional coalitions of states, state political subdivisions, or institutions of higher education to be eligible to apply for this funding. Awards to these regional coalitions will be provided in two phases. Phase 1 will award approximately $500,000 to 50 to 60 regional coalitions for technical assistance to develop and support three to eight projects to foster regional economic growth. Phase 2 will award $25 million to $75 million to 20 to 30 regional coalitions, and up to $100 million to implement proposed projects. The application deadline for Phase 1 will be October 19, 2021, and the application deadline for Phase 2 will be March 15, 2022. Questions regarding this program should be directed to BuildBackBetter@eda.gov. Contact information for your Economic Development Representative can be found by clicking here. For more information on the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, please click here.

$90 Million for Statewide Planning, Research and Networks Grants

Of the $90 million available for this program, $31 million will be awarded for Research and Network Grants to assess the effectiveness of EDA programs and provide support for communities around EDA initiatives. Tribal Nations and consortiums are listed as eligible to apply, however, they must compete with states, state political subdivisions, and institutions of higher education to receive these Research and Network grant funds. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the proposed application deadline will be October 31, 2021. Questions regarding this the Research Grant program should be directed to Research@eda.gov, while questions regarding Network Grants should be directed to Networks@eda.gov Contact information for your Economic Development Representative can be found by clicking here. For more information on Research and Network Grants, please click here.

For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.