WNDD Receives $400,000 Cares Act Recovery Grant From Economic Development Administration

Building Post-Pandemic Workforce and Community Resiliency

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce has awarded $400,000 to the Western Nevada Development District (WNDD) to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic and drive economic development planning going forward.

As part of EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance, this supplemental financial assistance award will help WNDD’s 12 local government, non-profit and educational community members respond to the unusual and compelling urgency of the coronavirus pandemic.

WNDD President Roy Edgington, Mayor of the City of Fernley, announced the receipt of the $400,000 EDA grant, stating: “The Western Nevada Development District is pleased to have received these funds to support our communities in the engagement of strategies that will diversify our regional economy, support workforce training aligned to careers post pandemic and to build economic resiliency for the future.”

The award’s scope of work requires the recipient to undertake one or more of the following pre-approved activities:

1. the development of an economic recovery and resilience plan, tied to the applicant’s approved Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, to address the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic,

2. the deployment of disaster recovery coordinators to orchestrate the region’s response to the pandemic,

3. the provision of technical assistance, as necessary, to local governments, businesses, and other stakeholder organizations, and

4. the funding of appropriate technology and staff support for these pandemic-response activities.

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on March 27, 2020, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

“Nevada has been one of the hardest-hit states in the nation in terms of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our citizens and small business owners,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I’m glad to see these CARES Act funds get to Nevada’s only Economic Development District through the EDA to help pursue strategic investments to bolster our economy and foster good paying jobs in Northern Nevada.”

For more information, contact Sheryl Gonzales at 775.473.6753 or SGonzales@WNDD.org