Berkshire Economic Recovery Project
August 11, 2021
Economic Recovery and Resilience Resources
for Berkshire County Municipalities
ARPA Grants through the EDA

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced six ARPA-funded grant opportunities, representing $3 billion in pending investment.
These opportunities include: 

Build Back Better Regional Challenge ($1 billion) to provide a transformational investment to regions across the country to revitalize their economies.

Good Jobs Challenge ($500 million) to develop and strengthen regional workforce training systems and sector-based partnerships.

Economic Adjustment Assistance ($500 million) to help communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through projects tailored to local needs.  

Indigenous Communities ($100 million) to develop and execute economic development projects to recover from the pandemic, build economies for the future. 

Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation ($750 million) to revitalize the hard-hit travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries.  

Statewide Planning, Research and Networks ($90 million) for state planning efforts as well as grants to build Communities of Practice to support EDA’s work with grantees.  
We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible if you're interested in applying for any of these, or in being a part of a regional application. Please email lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org with your potential project(s) and concepts.

Learn more at: https://eda.gov/arpa/
Need a crash course?
IEDC is offering a free webinar on August 23rd, entitled "EDA's Latest Funding Opportunity: Everything You Need to Know"
Community Compact
Best Practices Program

MA Division of Local Services
Rolling Applications open August 15th

Under a Community Compact Best Practices agreement, a municipality implements at least one best practice they select from a variety of eligible areas. 

Applications for Year 7 of the program can be submitted by municipalities who did not apply in FY21. Every Berkshire County municipality is eligible this year. Passcodes were emailed on August 9th.

To preview application instructions, please click here. Note that typical awards fall in the $10,000 to $20,000 range, and do NOT require a local match. Sample past projects are available here. For assistance in estimating a project budget, please contact us as soon as possible.
See below for information on other FY22 Community Compact Cabinet grants
Technical Assistance Program
BRPC and 1Berkshire have partnered to offer technical assistance for businesses, non-profits, and municipalities.

Our surveys indicate interest from municipalities in grant identification, cybersecurity, improvements to online communications (websites, social media, e-newsletters, online permitting), as well as training for boards and committees.

If you haven't already, please let us know if these topics resonate for your community: lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org
Community Compact Cabinet FY22 Programs
In addition to the Best Practices program described above, FY22 CCC programs also include:


The IT program focuses on innovation and transformation at the local level, seeking efficiency, savings, and improved access. Applications open on Sept. 15th and close on Oct. 1st.

The E&R program supports regionalization and other efficiency initiatives, directed toward one-time or transition costs in projects with a plan for long-term sustainability. Applications open on January 10, 2022, and close on February 10, 2022. Project work must be complete by September 15, 2022.

The Municipal Fiber program was created to assist municipalities with the construction of municipal fiber broadband infrastructure and related projects. Applications open on March 15, 2022 and close on April 15, 2022.

Contact us with requests for support in applying to any of these programs!
Online Communication Best Practices
Does your community have an e-newsletter?
Moving from a printed newsletter saves time, paper and postage, and provides flexibility when it comes to publication dates and compiling content from anywhere. If you don't yet have a newsletter of any type, kicking one off electronically is a great way to keep your community informed and connected.

Here are two platforms we currently use to help Berkshire County municipalities stay in touch with their residents and businesses:

Constant Contact
Get an overview HERE.

Mailchimp
Get an overview HERE.

Want a quick comparison? Read this recent article from emailtooltester.com.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission