Our general annual membership starts at $275.

Need more information visit our membership hub or contact Donna Hritz at [email protected] or call 570-891-4666.

Schuylkill County has determined that the best use of the CDBG CV Funds is to provide assistance to small businesses (maximum 20 employees) with up to $15,000 per loan to prevent, prepare for, and respond to Coronavirus.

Criteria for assistance are:

Schuylkill County has engaged NEPA to administer this program. NEPA will be responsible for underwriting the applications received for this program. We will recommend funding to the County who will disburse funds to approved businesses. NEPA will be accepting applications starting August 2, 2021. Only complete applications will be accepted, and funding will be made on a first-come first-served basis.

All CDBG CV funds are subject to the rules of the CDBG Program. For complete details click here.

The Great Pocono Raceway Airshow, headlined by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, will showcase incredible performances and aerobatic entertainment on Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22. The same, two-hour show will take place on consecutive days and gives ticket buyers the option to see all the acts twice in one weekend or on the day of their choosing. Additional performers for this unique, stadium-style Air Show will include the GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team, Scott Francis’ MXS, Mark Meredith’s Super Chipmunk, the Stars of History featuring a Corsair and Zero.

For tickets details, event times, guest information and performer details, please see below. To purchase tickets and for full event details, please visit www.poconoairshow.com.

Note: A full list of fan items, protocols and safety regulations can be found by visiting www.poconoairshow.com. 

Information on the assistance programs and the Coronavirus can be found on NEPA's COVID-19 Response site and our Spanish translated site NEPA COVID-19 Recursos en Español.

NEPA is currently partnering with federal and state agencies to ensure small businesses and nonprofits in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have available resources accessible to them through the coronavirus crisis. This includes help with the U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest federal disaster loan program for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus. In addition, NEPA also has numerous business loan programs that offer low fixed interest rates to businesses in the seven-county region of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

For the latest information, please contact NEPA at 866-758-1929 or visit NEPA's COVID-19 Response site. Information is continually changing, and the assistance programs that are being offered may change. NEPA will continue to evaluate all available options to best serve the Northeastern Pennsylvania business community.

To learn more about these loan programs, contact Stephen Ursich, Dave Nat or Donovan Klem, James Urso or Joseph Ward at 570-655-5581 or 866-758-1929.

Financing Structure

To learn more about these loan programs, contact Stephen Ursich, Dave Nat, Donovan Klem, James Urso or Joseph Ward at 570-655-5581 or 866-758-1929.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification - Accreditation Body (CMMC – AB) are warning businesses who are planning to become CMMC-certified members to be aware of businesses that are misinforming them of their ability to train a business for when they are evaluated by a CMMC assessor and CMMC instructor certification exams that have been created by the CMMC-AB. This has become the latest round of third-party solicitors infiltrating the registration world, much like the solicitations that many experience once their registrations are active in the System for Award Management (SAM).

The CMMC-AB has trainers and assessors that are approved by the Department of Defense (DoD). The CMMC – AB advises that anyone who would like to become certified as Certified CMMC Professional (CCP), Certified CMMC Assessor 1 (CCA-1), or Certified CMMC Assessor 3 (CCA-3), that they should review the CMMC information and requirements. Visit the CMMC – AB website for more information and to take the exams to become one of the above.

To find out more, click here.

This month, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that the HUBZone map boundaries will stay the same until June 30, 2023. Typically, the SBA adjusts the areas that qualify as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) based on data obtained during the decennial census. Because of the delays to the 2020 U.S. Census caused by the pandemic, the SBA may not have the socio-economic data needed to redraw the HUBZone map until late 2022. To eliminate uncertainty, the SBA has decided to freeze the current map until June 2023.

To learn more about the HUBZone program, click here

To view the current HUBZone map, click here

NEPA Alliance PTAC can help determine if your business meets the qualifications for HUBZone status and can help with the certification process. As always, our services are no charge for the businesses of Northeastern Pennsylvania. You can contact a PTAC Counselor by calling 570-655-5581 and select option 2.

PA DCED Office of International Business Development is happy to announce that the state’s Authorized Trade Representative (ATR) Office in China is now open to requests for export assistance.

PA now boasts 12 Trade Offices covering more than 45 countries. The ATRs will help guide you through the export process and market entry strategy development; coordinate your business trips; qualify buyers, agents, distributors, and partners through customized searches; support you on international trade missions and shows; research foreign companies and provide background checks; and much more. Contact Debbie Langan for more information.

Mark your calendars for Bringing the World to PA 2021, September 13 – 24. All programs will be offered virtually again this year. This will include general market and targeted industry presentations by PA’s ATRs. Look for more information coming soon, and visit the PA Virtual Trade Library to explore the presentations from 2020.

For more information and application materials, contact Debbie Langan at [email protected] or 570-891-4645.

Pre-Application Deadline is August 16^th

The 2021 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside of the Surface Block Grant Program (TA Set-Aside) application period is now open. The TA Set-Aside provides funding for projects that enhance pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to public transportation, create safe routes to schools, preserve historic transportation structures, provide environmental mitigation, create trails that serve a transportation purpose, and promote safety and mobility.

The eligible applicants for TA Set-Aside funding program include local governments; regional transportation authorities; transit agencies; natural resource or public land agencies; school districts, local education agencies or schools; tribal governments; and any other local or regional governmental entity with responsibility for oversight of transportation or recreational trails. Nonprofit organizations that oversee the administration of local transportation safety programs are now eligible project sponsors. All other non-profits remain ineligible, however, they may partner with an eligible entity as the project sponsor.

Eligible project sponsors may submit applications through October 15, 2021. A pre-application is required by August 16, 2021. More information can be found in the TA Set-Aside guidance document. Please contact Kate McMahon at [email protected] or (570) 891-4670 with any questions.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) has partnered with PennDOT to offer the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) training series in all seven NEPA counties: Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties. In-person classes will resume in August 2021. Staff is currently scheduling classes for Fall and Winter. If your municipality is interested in hosting a class, please contact Daniel Yelito at [email protected] or (570) 891-4652. LTAP will continue offering some courses and drop-in sessions in an online format. To learn more about upcoming virtual offerings, visit https://gis.penndot.gov/ltap/.  

Don’t forget that NCAC Members receive remote access and assistance in accessing the Foundation Directory Online, the most comprehensive foundation database. With access to informative profiles of over 235,000 U.S. foundations, you’ll know exactly which foundation fits your programmatic needs, how much to ask for and where to go for more information. Don’t forget that we’re here to help with all your nonprofit needs! For more information on this service, as well as membership benefits, contact Athena Aardweg, Community Services Manager for NCAC, at [email protected] or 570-891-4662.

Did you know that the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis has State and County Profiles, which can be accessed here? Data are related to population, labor force, personal income, employment and wages by industry sector and wages by major occupational group.

For additional information, contact Steve Zaricki at 570-891-4671 or 866-758-1929.