NIRPC Awarded Grants for Economic Development Recovery Assistance
Committed to helping Northwest Indiana respond and recover to the coronavirus pandemic, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded NIRPC with two CARES Act Grants to assist Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties in responding to economic injury as a result of the pandemic.
NIRPC received funds from the EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grant totaling $583,000 to capitalize, establish and administer a new Regional Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to make loans available to small businesses in Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. This new program is designed to assist businesses in alleviating sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the pandemic, NIRPC will have $530,000 to loan out to alleviate sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic to businesses. Efforts will include the hiring of additional staff to provide capacity-building and technical assistance.
NIRPC also received an additional $400,000 from the CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grant to respond to and recover from the coronavirus pandemic by addressing short and long-term economic development impacts. These efforts include the development of a regional economic resiliency plan to aid in the economic recovery from the coronavirus and for future pandemics and disasters. NIRPC will hire additional staff to provide capacity-building and technical assistance to local communities for recovery and resiliency and assist Northwest Indiana to continue to be a talent-attractor in the Chicago regional economy.
“No one could have predicted the pandemic, but NIRPC’s designation as an Economic Development District came just in time,” said Ty Warner, NIRPC’s Executive Director. “As small businesses and the regional economy in general have taken a hit from the coronavirus, these resources will aid in our regional recovery. We’re thankful for our partnership with the EDA in a time like this.”
