Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission
Serving Crawford, Edwards, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, And White Counties in Southeastern Illinois
DCEO Hosts EDA Public Works and
Adjustment Assistance Grant Webinar
GWRPC has partnered with Southeastern Regional Planning and Development Commission and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Regional Economic Development Team to host a webinar around the recently released EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant through the federal Cares Act.

The webinar will be on Thurs day, July 9th at 10:00 a.m.
Deputy Director of Regional Economic Development, Jonathan McGee, will be giving the presentation and a Q&A at the end.

Illinois State Fire Marshal Awards Grants
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and Governor JB Pritzker have announced the recipients of the Small Equipment Grant Program. A total of $3.5 million was awarded to 154 fire departments/districts and EMS providers. The OSFM received 540 applications, requesting around $12 million in funding during this grant period.

Our region had six communities that were awarded the grant. Two of which were written by GWRPC. The six communities are: Oblong Township Fire Projection District, West Salem Fire Protection District, City of Carmi, Enfield Fire Protection District, and Prophetstown Fire Protection District. We are so excited to see funding come to our region. For more information on the the awarded grants, click here .
CDBG 2020 Applications
GWRPC is currently preparing Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for the upcoming grant year. The CDBG application deadline is Wednesday, September 30th, 2020. The grant ceiling is $550,00.00 and the grant minimum is $250,000.00. 

The grant will cover the construction and up to $30,000.00 of the activity delivery fee. The community is responsible for paying the engineering fee. The community also needs to be registered with GATA and SAM. If you are not registered, our Community Development Coordinator, Heather Neuman, can assist you. Please email her at  heather@gwrpc.com .

One of the objectives is to improve public infrastructure eliminate conditions which are detrimental to health, safety, and public welfare. The project area must have a 51% or more of low-to-moderate income population, and there must be a health and safety concern. The health and safety concerns would need to be documented and less than two years old. 

Documentation to show a health and safety concern would include, but not limited to:
1)    Well water tests
2)    Pressure tests (PSI <20 is considered a threat)
3)    Photographs showing line breaks or other damage
4)    Boil orders, map of line breaks with dates, and IEPA reference documentation
5)    Surface water tests with map
6)    IEPA or US EPA violation letters or documentation
7)    Newspaper articles
8)    Current resident complaint letters
9)    Water and/or sewer break log with map

If your community is interested in applying please email our Executive Director, Olivia Baumgardner, or call (618)445-3612.
DCEO's Business Interruption Grants
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is launching the first round of Business Interruption Grants (BIG) by providing $60 million to businesses experiencing losses or business interruption as a result of COVID-19 related closures. The BIG Program is available for up to 3,500 businesses that experienced a limited ability to operate due to COVID-19 related closures. DCEO will begin distributing funds to qualifying businesses in early July. The total program funding will amount to at least $540 million in grants for small businesses, $270 million of which has been set aside for childcare providers and is funded by the CARES Act.

In the first wave of grants, priority will be given to small businesses that have been heavily restricted or completely shut down during the pandemic. Additional priority will be given to businesses located in disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs), or low-income areas that have had high rates of COVID-19 cases. Bars and restaurants, barbershops and salons, and fitness centers that are not located in DIAs are also eligible. Businesses eligible for the program must have experienced extreme hardship, demonstrated by experiencing eligible costs or losses in excess of the grant amount since March.

Specifically, the program includes support for:
  • Businesses located in DIAs Where There Was Recent Property Damage from Civil Unrest - $20 million for businesses that are located in a subset of DIAs that have recently experienced significant property damage, providing 1,000 grants of $20,000 each
  • Bars and Restaurants - $20 million for bars and restaurants unable to offer outside service, providing 1,000 grants of up to $20,000*
  • Barbershops and Salons - $10 million for barbershops and salons, providing 1,000 grants of $10,000 each*
  • Gyms and Fitness Centers - $10 million for gyms and fitness centers that have lost significant revenue due to COVID-19, providing 500 grants of $20,000 each*

Businesses must have been in operation for at least three months prior to March 2020 and must meet specific annual revenue criteria outlined in document below.

When and where to apply: DCEO will accept applications from June 26th until 5:00pm on July 7th. The application submission portal will be posted on this webpage .
USDA Interest Rates
USDA Rural Development interest rates are at an all time low. If your community is interested in community facility improvements or water and sewer improvements now would be time to apply for some possible financing.

For community facility loans informati on, click here . For water and waste disposal loans and grants information, click here .

If you have a project in mind please email our Community Development Coordinator, Heather Neuman at heather@gwrpc.com or call (618)445-3612