Economic development organizations play an important role helping communities recover following disasters. Industry leaders have created or curated the following valuable resources for individuals and entities engaged in all aspects of economic recovery.

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) with funding from the US Economic Development Administration has been a leader on issues surrounding rebuilding local economies post-disaster. Lynn Knight, IEDC’s Vice President of Knowledge Management and Development, recently shared the following:

IEDC is committed to sharing resources and best practices that help communities build back quickly and better after a disaster. For those looking for economic recovery information, I’d like to point you to a few free resources from our disaster recovery center, www.RestoreYourEconomy.org.
Economic developers from around the country are already asking about volunteering in the recovery effort. IEDC is creating a list of experienced volunteers who will join our programs in the weeks and months ahead. We’ll need coaches, instructors, and other volunteers to share best practices and help with business recovery activities. Please consider signing up at www.iedconline.org/HelpForHurricaneHarvey.

 

Financial resources for businesses and neighborhoods can be critical. Check out the Business Financing Resources page at Restore Your Economy. The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) also offers resources on Disaster Recovery & Relief in its online resource database. Many resources are only available to members, but some items are accessible to all, such as:

  • CDFA Brownfields Redevelopment Webinar: Financing Post Disaster Recovery
  • Development Finance Perspectives: Reshored Manufacturing & Tax-Exempt Bonds to Drive Restoration Post-Sandy

Finally, a handful of business incentives are designed to assist companies in the aftermath of disasters, including these identified through C2ER’s State Business Incentives Database:

  • Rhode Island Natural Disaster Rebuilding – Manufacturers who have lost 60% or more of their facilities due to a natural disaster, resulting in the inability of active employees to continue production, may qualify for corporate income tax rate reductions under the Jobs Development Act for jobs retained or added
  • Wyoming Economic Disaster Loan Program – The Challenge Loan statute has a provision that allows a business or group of businesses to apply to the WBC for Economic Disaster declaration.
  • New York Lake Ontario Small Business Recovery Fund – The Lake Ontario Small Business Recovery Fund provides $15,000,000 to allow for grants of up to $50,000 to eligible small businesses, not for profit organizations, farms, and homeowners associations and up to $20,000 to eligible owners of multiple dwellings who experienced direct physical flood related damage and other losses due to the raised level of Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, Seneca Lake, the Seneca River, the Oswego River, the Oneida River, Oneida Lake and Cross Lake.