Robert Hiett
Executive Director
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Creating Regional Solutions Since 1971 |
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Upper Coastal Plain Region Announces Detailed Study On Local Healthy Food Access, Food System, And Recommendations For Improvement
For the past 18 months, over 42 organizations have been engaged in a massive effort to better understand and map the local food system, from farm to table, and develop recommendations on how to improve healthy food access, especially for those that are underserved. The effort also addresses the “local food value chain system” needs and opportunities to better understand how to support small and minority food farms, distributors, processors, buyers, and others to help build new economic opportunity and resiliency.
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COVID-19 Federal Assistance e311
A collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the U.S. Conference of Mayors helping cities identify, obtain, and retain federal funding for COVID recovery and response efforts.
Search guidance and expertise on the COVID-19 federal reimbursement process
Our team of experts has already answered nearly 200 questions from cities across the country—about the streams of federal funding available to support your city’s COVID recovery, best-in-class strategies and practices for accessing and spending it, technical requirements for compliance, and more. Browse the questions and answers, or search for a topic or keyword to get straight to the information your city needs.
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Telework In Action: A Disability Inclusion Practice Whose Time Has Arrived
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies quickly transitioned to telework. As a result, much has been learned about conducting business in a teleworking environment. Once considered a workplace accommodation or employee benefit, telework has now become a common workplace practice.
This webinar focused on how organizations and employees have adapted to telework and how it will remain an integral part of the workplace of the future. Guest speakers discussed the many benefits of telework, including cost savings, increased productivity of employees, and expanded access to a qualified talent pool of people with disabilities. Participants also learned about providing accommodations remotely and ensuring accessibility of recruiting, onboarding, communication, and training platforms.
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2021 CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization Program NOFA
Approximately $10 million is available for the 2021 CDBG-NR program. Eligible activities include housing rehabilitation, infrastructure support for housing development, and public facilities. Special consideration will be given to projects impacted by the Pre-2015 US Treasury recapture.
Please be aware that NC Commerce now requires that all visitors to the building have a scheduled appointment. Also, staff must come to the lobby to greet all guests. For this reason, applications and other program documents must be sent by US Postal Service or an overnight service.
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EPA is accepting applications from eligible applicants that will improve community resilience and sustainability through sustainable materials management (SMM). EPA is anticipating making 3-7 grants through their Southeastern Regional office, which covers North Carolina, and will provide grants ranging between $40,0000 to $100,000 for a range of projects that can enhance SMM.
Applications are due 11:59 PM ET on October 25, 2021.
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EDA’s American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge aims to get Americans back to work by building and strengthening systems and partnerships that bring together employers who have hiring needs with other key entities to train workers with in-demand skills that lead to good-paying jobs.
Through the Good Jobs Challenge, EDA is allocating $500 million to collaborative skills training systems and programs. EDA encourages efforts to reach historically underserved populations and areas, communities of color, women, and other groups facing labor market barriers such as persons with disabilities, disconnected youth, individuals in recovery, individuals with past criminal records, including justice impacted and reentry participants, serving trainees participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and veterans and military spouses.
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SITE Program
Golden LEAF recognizes that rural and economically distressed communities must have sites available for development to attract new businesses and create opportunities for existing businesses to expand. To address this need, Golden LEAF created a new SITE Program. Through this program, Golden LEAF will provide support to communities to identify potential sites for economic development, and funds to enable completion of due diligence on sites already identified, or to extend public utilities to or conduct rough grading and clearing of sites for which due diligence has been completed.
Organizations will be able to begin the process at any of the three phases, and a site may progress from identification through to development over time
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SITE Program – Identification support to identify potential industrial sites in communities that do not currently have quality industrial sites to market.
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SITE Program – Due diligence funding to complete eligible due diligence activities such as environmental assessments, archaeological analyses, and mapping.
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SITE Program – Development funding for public infrastructure and, for publicly owned sites, clearing and rough grading, to benefit sites that have completed the due diligence necessary to demonstrate that the site is suitable for development.
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COVID EIDL Program Updates
On September 9, 2021, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced the following major enhancements to the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
- Increasing the COVID EIDL Cap. The SBA will lift the COVID EIDL cap from $500,000 to $2 million. Loan funds can be used for any normal operating expenses and working capital, including payroll, purchasing equipment, and paying debt.
- Implementation of a Deferred Payment Period. The SBA will ensure small business owners will not have to begin COVID EIDL repayment until two years after loan origination so that they can get through the pandemic without having to worry about making ends meet.
- Establishment of a 30-Day Exclusivity Window. To ensure main street businesses have additional time to access these funds, the SBA will implement a 30-day exclusivity window of approving and disbursing funds for loans of $500,000 or less. Approval and disbursement of loans over $500,000 will begin after the 30-day period.
- Expansion of Eligible Use of Funds. COVID EIDL funds will now be eligible to prepay commercial debt and make payments on federal business debt.
- Simplification of affiliation requirements. To ease the COVID EIDL application process for small businesses, the SBA has established more simplified affiliation requirements to model those of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
To learn about eligibility and application requirements and how to apply, visit sba.gov/eidl. The last day that applications may be received is December 31, 2021. All eligible applicants should file their applications as soon as possible.
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You’re invited!
The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency is looking for local leaders to share their insights at focus groups on the needs of North Carolina communities that want to enhance resilience to climate-related hazards. Your feedback and ideas will directly inform the content and design of the North Carolina Resilient Communities Guide, a new state resource in development. We want to hear from local leaders, including local government staff, from a diversity of North Carolina communities. If you are unable to attend a focus group designated for your region or type of community, you are welcome to register for another group. We greatly appreciate your willingness to share your expertise.
If you would like to participate in one of these groups, please RSVP by registering for one of the sessions below:
Central NC and the Piedmont
October 4, 2021, 1-2 PM
Urban and suburban communities
October 5, 2021, 12-1 PM
Western NC and the mountains
October 6, 2021, 9-10 AM
Rural communities
October 7, 2021, 9-10 AM
Thank you and we look forward to speaking with you soon!
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USDA released a new guide designed to help communities better understand how various USDA Rural Development programs can be leveraged to support disaster recovery and resiliency. To review, please go to:
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NADO Recognizes North Carolina Workforce Boards
The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) recently announced awards to recognize projects conducted by groups in North Carolina, including innovative efforts by workforce development boards that are affiliated with regional councils of governments (COGs). We congratulate these local workforce boards, our NCWorks partners!
Recipients of the 2021 Aliceann Wohlbruck NADO Impact Awards for innovative workforce-related projects included:
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Land of Sky Regional Council (Mountain Area Workforce Development Board): for the “$17 per Hour And Beyond Job Fair.” This event was held on June 15, 2021, attracting 70+ employers and 300+ job seekers. Each participating employer offered at least one job opportunity paying $17 per hour or more. This was the first hiring event that mentioned a specific wage rate in the title of the job fair - an innovative approach that generated much interest from the local media and helped employers hire in a tight labor market. The job fair also offered a COVID-19 vaccine clinic through Buncombe County Government.
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Lumber River Council of Governments (Lumber River Workforce Development Board): for the board’s implementation of the Finish Line Grants program. The program helps ensure that community college students can overcome unexpected financial hardships that might prevent them from being able to cross the “finish line” to achieve their certification or degree. By partnering with four local community colleges (Bladen Community College, Richmond Community College, Robeson Community College and Sandhills Community College), Lumber River WDB has provided over 500 grants to 373 community college students. These grants have totaled more than $280,000. These grants have helped students deal with everything from unexpected roof repairs due to damage from hurricanes, to loss of income related to the pandemic, to needed repairs to a student’s automobile so that they could continue to attend class. Through the support of this program, more than 200 community college students to date have been able to complete their associate’s degree or certifications, while the remaining students are still on the path to completion.
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Piedmont Triad Regional Council: for Triad Career Connect (TCC), which is designed for in and out of school youth, aged 16-24, who face barriers to achieving employment. This program consists of a combination of work-based learning under the supervision of an experienced craft person or trade professional and dedicated time for in-class learning through the local community college. Participants learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation, as they are exposed to potential career options. TCC targets disengaged and emerging youth populations to provide career connections and credential attainment for individuals and exposure to a viable and diverse talent pool for employers.
Several other awards also included features that are relevant to workforce development:
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Virtual Workforce Conference
Register now for the Virtual NCWorks Partnership Conference set for October 12—22, 2021. Join us in just 1 or all 10 workshops to meet the workforce needs of today and tomorrow. Check out what we have got planned! View the full conference agenda to start planning your Virtual Conference experience.
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The My Future NC collaborative session will be held on October 26th to discuss goals for educational attainment as outlined with partners such as Workforce boards, Community colleges, NC Commerce and others. This is a Governor supported Initiative for the State’s goal of 2 million by 2030. Goals will be outlined and an overview of this initiative provided. The link for registration is myFutureNC Local Educational Attainment Collaboratives - ncIMPACT Initiative (unc.edu)
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Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo spoke at the Founders Day and grand opening of the HCC Advanced Manufacturing and Training Center in September along with other guests including Congressman Butterfield. The EDA invested $2 million in Halifax Community College to help build the Center that will house curriculum and short-term training programs for industrial systems technology, welding technology, and automotive systems technology. This public-private partnership included two companies – paper and wood products #manufacturers – who export products to countries outside of the US.
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The Turning Point WDB will host a virtual career fair on November 10th from 10am to noon. Employers are now able to sign up to participate to reserve your space to showcase available positions, and jobseekers can also sign up to attend this event.
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Hot Off the Press: Foundation for National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers Released!
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Opportunity to Partner to Address Homelessness
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Six-Session ARPA Course:
American Rescue Plan Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Allowable Expenditures, Compliance Requirements, Strategic Planning, and Evaluating Outcomes.
All Counties and municipalities have received (or will shortly receive) their first distribution of American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARP/CLFRF). Local governments may use these monies to address urgent pandemic-related needs and to make longer term, potentially transformational, investments in their communities. But the funds must be spent in accordance with the grant award and state law authority. And there is a complex maze of budgeting, cash management, accounting, contracting, monitoring, and auditing requirements that a local government must navigate to avoid recoupment.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP!
In this FREE six-day course, held over 3 weeks in October via Zoom, county and municipal officials and staff will take a deep dive into the ARP/CLFRF. Join faculty and staff from the School of Government, as well as our colleagues from the NC Association of County Commissioners, NC Department of State Treasurer, NC League of Municipalities, NC Pandemic Recovery Office, NC Regional Councils of Government and others to explore allowable expenditures under the ARP/CLFRF and state law, learn the intricacies of the Uniform Guidance and other state and federal compliance, reporting, and auditing requirements, and identify best practices in strategic planning, community engagement, and outcome evaluation.
This course is open to any local government staff member or elected official who is involved in deciding how to spend the ARP/CLFRF monies, managing, administering, and reporting on these funds, or evaluating the impact of ARP/CLFRF-funded projects. Although the course is FREE, you must register to participate. There will be separate tracks for smaller and mid-large jurisdictions for several of these topics. Participants may attend the whole course or pick and choose among the sessions. The live course will be recorded and made available to view on-demand for those unable to attend the session.
The course dates and topics are:
- Wednesday, October 13: Understanding ARP/CLFRF: Laying the Foundation*
- Friday, October 15: Compliance Requirements I: Auditing, Subawards, and Reports
- Wednesday, October 20: Compliance Requirements II: Procurement, Conflicts of Interest, and Other Uniform Guidance Provisions
- Friday, October 22: Eligible Uses Under CLFRF and State Law
- Tuesday, October 26: Best Practices for Effective Community Engagement
- Thursday, October 28: Strategic Planning and Performance Management
*This session will include an optional preliminary session targeted to very small units of government and/or local government officials who are brand new to the ARP/CLFRF
REGISTRATION WILL OPEN SOON!
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In this webinar, presented by USAging’s Aging and Disability Business Institute and engAGED: The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, speakers will discuss opportunities for contracting between community-based organizations and health plans to address social isolation. | October 20 at 1:00 PM ET
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Register for Digital Inclusion Workshops
The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) has announced a new round of funding from BAND-NC, a grant program designed to increase the number of people with internet in their homes, with the goal of making the state “first in digital inclusion.”
We will host a virtual planning workshop for those interested in learning more about how to move forward with creating a digital inclusion plan in their community. This is the second of four planned workshops total.
Introduction to Digital Inclusion Planning
(This session will be recorded.)
Thursday, October 21 from 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Special guest: Jeremy Collins, Director of the new Office of Digital Equity and Literacy at North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT).
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121 W. Nash St. Wilson, NC 27893
252-234-5952
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