The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and the Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA) held it's 2023 Annual Conference in Washinton, D.C. from March 12-15th. Sessions focused on regional development, the federal landscape, and the programs and policies that matter most to Regional Development Organizations and their stakeholders.

NEPA Alliance President and CEO Jeffrey Box, DDDA Board Chair welcomed attendees to the Conference.

The link below provides a profile of Carbon County as prepared by NEPA under our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

This month’s Membership Spotlight is King’s College. NEPA spoke with Brandi George, Director of College Marketing & Communications.

King's College was founded in 1946 by the Congregation of Holy Cross, whose priests and brothers came to Wilkes-Barre from the University of Notre Dame to provide a liberal arts education to the sons of working-class families. Today, this mission continues as the College educates both men and women and countless numbers of first-generation and/or low-income college students. The Princeton Review has ranked King’s College as a “Best in the Northeast” and features the College on the 2022 Best Regional Colleges list. Showcasing their commitment to first generation students and preparing low-income students to climb the economic ladder, the Third Way Organization has ranked the College in the Top 50% of their Economic Mobility Index, and NAPSA has named King’s a First-Gen Forward™ Institution.

As part of its mission to support and serve the community, King's College's students, faculty, and staff have consistently performed well over 200,000 hours of community service each year, with the average student dedicating almost 90 hours to public service with approximately 80% of all King's full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students participating in service efforts.

King's College offers 57 undergraduate and graduate programs in business, engineering, sciences, humanities, education, and health sciences as well as several pre-professional programs with guaranteed placement in some of the most competitive programs throughout the country. Students can choose from more than 50 clubs and organizations and 28 NCAA Division III athletic programs with additional intramural and recreational programs.

With intentionally small classes (average class size is 18 students) and a focus on community engagement, students from all backgrounds and faiths find success through a personalized education in which professors get to know their students well enough to understand how each one learns. Engaged mentorship means students deepen their educational experience and develop skills for both a meaningful career and life.

Brandi George stated, “The NEPA Alliance and its staff have been a tremendous asset to King's, continually providing information on funding opportunities along with extensive data through its Research & Information Center, which is extremely helpful in pursuing funding for the College's programs and projects.”

To learn more about King’s College, visit their website at kings.edu

Join the PA Director of Outdoor Recreation and others for a unique opportunity to learn about the importance of outdoor recreation for Pennsylvania's future. You'll hear about emerging initiatives to support the growing outdoor economy and have a chance to provide input on the mission, scope and priorities of a new PA Office of Outdoor Recreation.

The Get Connected Program, an eCommerce program for small businesses to improve their website presence and increase online sales, is actively seeking applications for businesses in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, and Wayne counties. Information about the program and an application intake form are available here.

As part of the eligibility requirements, candidate firms must complete two online trainings that were developed by the Small Business Development Centers at The University of Scranton and Wilkes University. Registration for the first training is here. To be considered for the first-come, first-serve program, please complete the application intake form and the first training. NEPA is grateful to the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development and the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners for their continued financial support of this Program. 

For additional information, contact Kurt Bauman at 570-891-4665 or 866-758-1929.

NEPA is soliciting capital projects that are in need of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC). Specifically, we are seeking projects from eligible distressed census tracks within the Commonwealth of PA that have capital estimates ranging from $6-$60M. NEPA will be applying to the U.S. Treasury seeking a NMTC allocation for 2023. Contact Kurt Bauman or Steve Ursich. For more on New Market Tax Credits, click here.

Our general annual membership starts at $295.

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

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

Financing Structure

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

This program will include an analysis and evaluation of surface, water, air and intermodal transportation systems within the framework of a total distribution network. We will also discuss the trade-offs between transportation and the other components of the distribution system (warehousing, inventory control, communications, packaging, cargo handling, transportation and logistics) as well as supply chain management.

A new name, but the mission of NEPA Alliance APEX Accelerator (formerly PTAC) remains the same - To serve as the axis for existing and new businesses, thereby strengthening the defense industrial base by accelerating innovation, fostering ingenuity, and establishing resilient and diverse government supply chains.

The services provided by the NEPA Alliance APEX Accelerator will largely remain the same: to assist Northeastern Pennsylvania businesses succeed in the government marketplace. The NEPA Alliance APEX Accelerator Team of government contracting specialists will continue to provide no-cost professional counseling, training, and events to regional businesses.

In addition to the existing services, the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) plans to leverage the APEX Accelerators to find and connect companies with innovative products/services to government-led innovation programs. They also want APEX Accelerators to focus on getting former government contractors who opted out of doing business with the government to re-enter the government market, due to a forty percent (40%) decline in the defense industrial base over the past decade.

“The NEPA Alliance APEX Accelerator is committed to continuing to serve the businesses of our seven country region. We are looking forward to assisting new and existing clients as a DoD OSBP APEX Accelerator,” said Frank Migneco, NEPA Alliance Government Procurement Program Manager. “Our assistance will not change. Clients will continue to experience exceptional support, just under a new name.”

National Small Business Week Virtual Summit 

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE, mentors to America’s small businesses and a resource partner of the SBA, announced registration for the 2023 National Small Business Week Virtual Summit is now open. The two-day online event will take place from May 2 - 3, 2023. Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required.

This year’s Virtual Summit will feature educational workshops presented by event co-sponsors, access to federal resources, and networking. A detailed agenda and list of co-sponsor speakers will be published at a later date.

PennDOT and the State Transportation Commission (STC) have kicked off the public comment period for the development of the 2023 Twelve Year Program update. The public comment period is an important step in the process to hear from individuals with their comments about multimodal transportation needs, issues and concerns.  You can share your priorities and pinpoint transportation needs within your community by taking the online Transportation Survey. Survey responses will also be used to inform the development of the NEPA MPO 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan. The deadline to take the survey is April 30th. 

In addition to the survey, PennDOT will host an Online Public Forum on Wednesday, April 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The forum will feature a presentation from PennDOT leadership and members of the STC, followed by a Q&A session. You can register for the online public forum here. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) is currently accepting applications for funding through its Multimodal Transportation Fund for 2023-2024. The application period closes on July 31, 2023.

Funding can be used to coordinate local land use with transportation assets to enhance existing communities; for projects related to streetscapes, lighting, sidewalk enhancement and pedestrian safety; for projects improving connectivity or utilization of existing transportation assets; and for projects related to transit-oriented development. Municipalities, counties, school districts, economic development organizations, public transportation agencies, ports, rail freight and passenger rail entities are eligible to apply. A local match of 30% is required. More information can be found on the DCED website.

Active Transportation Plans, Complete Streets policies and/or Vision Zero policies. These plans and policies establish activity-friendly routes that connect people to everyday destinations and opportunities for physical activity. Active transportation includes walking, wheeling or biking, and public transit.  A non-mandatory webinar about the grant program will be held on April 6. To register for the webinar, click here.

Applications are due May 26, 2023. For more information, including program details and applications, click here. Look for “Funding Opportunity Announcement” on the right side of the page. 

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance 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.

NEPA is currently scheduling in-person classes for Spring 2023. If you are interested in requesting a class for your municipality, please contact Daniel Yelito, Transportation Services Manager, NEPA Alliance at 570-891-4652 or email [email protected].

LTAP will also continue offering online classes, webinars and virtual drop-in sessions. To learn more about upcoming virtual offerings, visit https://gis.penndot.gov/ltap/.  

Don’t forget that NCAC Members receive 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. NCAC members can receive access to the Foundation Directory Online by visiting our in-office workstation any time during normal business hours. 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 Betsy Ardizoni, Community Services Manager for NCAC, at [email protected] or 570-891-4662.

Click here to read more in this month’s brief.

For additional information, contact Kurt Bauman at 570-891-4665 or 866-758-1929.