Atlanta 

401 West Peachtree Street, NW 

Suite 1820 

Atlanta, GA 30308-3510 

(404) 730-3002 

Serving: AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN

Austin

903 San Jacinto 

Suite 206 

Austin, TX 78701 

(512) 381-8144 

Serving: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX

Chicago

230 South Dearborn Street 

Suite 3280 

Chicago, IL 60604-1512 

(312) 353-8143 

Serving: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI 

Denver 

1244 Speer Boulevard 

Suite 431 

Denver, CO 80204 

(303) 844-4715 

Serving: CO, IA, KS, MO, MT, ND, NE, 

SD, UT, WY

Philadelphia

Robert N.C. Nix Federal Building 

900 Market Street

Room 602 

Philadelphia, PA 19107 

(215) 597-4603 

Serving: CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, 

NY, PA, RI, VT, VA, WV, PR, USVI 

Seattle

915 Second Avenue 

Room 1890 

Seattle, WA 98174 

(206) 220-7660 

Serving: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, WA, 

American Samoa, Northern Mariana 

Islands, Guam, Federated States 

of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall 

Islands, Republic of Palau

U.S. Department of Commerce

1401 Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC 20230

For information about EDA’s disaster recovery work, please e-mail edi@eda.gov. 

Follow us on social media at @US–EDA on Twitter

and at www.facebook.com/eda.commerce/ on Facebook.

Sign up for the latest news, stories and updates at eda.gov.

EDA METHODS AND TOOLS

Strategic Planning 

EDA’s disaster recovery grants can help eligible organizations create 

economic recovery and resiliency plans, sometimes with the assistance of 

EDA-funded disaster recovery coordinators.

Capital for Alternative Financing

EDA funding can be used to capitalize or recapitalize Revolving Loan 

Funds (RLFs) through non-profit and governmental entities. EDA offers 

below-market rate loans to businesses to help provide gap financing and 

support new business development.

Infrastructure Development 

EDA funds can be used to finance construction of newer, climate-resilient 

infrastructure designed to adapt to changing weather conditions. 

EDA also supports infrastructure repair and enhancements to diversify 

economies and prepare for future disasters. Examples include business 

incubators, technology parks, research facilities, access roads, storm 

drainage, and water treatment facilities designed to prevent business 

disruption and retain and create jobs in the impacted region.

Resiliency 

EDA funding can help communities develop a more resilient economy 

through planning, technical assistance, and core capacity building 

investments that help businesses, along with state, local, and Tribal 

governments prepare for, withstand, and recover from disasters. 

Equity

EDA’s first investment priority is equity. We prioritize economic 

development planning or implementation projects that directly 

benefit traditionally underserved populations, including women, 

African Americans, Tribal communities, 

Hispanics, Asian Americans, 

and Pacific Islanders.

EDA REGIONAL OFFICES

Contact your regional EDA office for more information about the agency’s 

disaster recovery and other program resources. Full contact information can 

be found at www.eda.gov/contact.

www.eda.gov

Leading Economic 

Recovery Efforts

in Disaster-Impacted 

Communities

6/2023
REGIONAL REPORT

“This EDA investment in internal drainage infrastructure will help 

minimize the impact of heavy rain and flooding events on downtown 

businesses and residents, long susceptible to flooding, and it 

compliments a larger Army Corps of Engineers project that will mitigate 

flooding throughout the area.”

Chadwick Hawkins, City Administrator, Arcadia, Wisconsin

on EDA’s $4.3 million grant to improve local stormwater management infrastructure.

“The Hub is building wealth in the community, enhancing 

the surrounding neighborhood, while creating jobs.” 

Patrick Ezzell, President, Urban Partnerships Community Development 

Corporation, Pearland, Texas

on EDA’s $5 million investment to develop the East End Maker Hub, a 30,000-square 

foot innovation space for entrepreneurs, created in response to Hurricane Harvey.

“It got to the point where a lack of quality infrastructure was prohibiting 

people from investing in our downtown and bringing a business down 

there. Being able to revitalize and reinvest in our downtown with the 

help of this grant money is going to be a long-term investment in the 

downtown merchants.” 

Brian Crane, City Manager, Moberly, Missouri

on EDA’s $4.8 million grant to improve water infrastructure after frequent flooding. 

“These projects are transformational for the people of the United States 

Virgin Islands. We are delighted to work with EDA to provide new 

education and training opportunities through the EDA-funded Medical 

Simulation Center on St. Croix and the Medical Research and Training 

Center on St. Thomas.” 

Haldane Davies, Vice President, University of the Virgin Islands, 

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

on EDA’s $28.6 million grant for the construction of new medical facilities 

following Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017. 

“This project will be transformational for the Northwest Florida region, 

as it will create more than 270 direct and indirect positions over 

the next ten years, generate $9 million in revenues to local entities 

providing support services for the additional 300,000 tons of cargo 

projected to move through the Port.” 

Alex King, Executive Director of the Panama City Port Authority, 

Panama City, Florida

on EDA’s $10 million grant for facility upgrades following Hurricane Michael in 2018.

“EDA came to us and asked, how can we support you? Sometimes 

federal agencies come in and know how to do everything and stomp 

their way around. This was completely different.” 

Chelsea Irvine, 3CORE, Chico, California 

on EDA’s $13.3 million grant to widen a two-mile stretch of road used 

by first responders.

A HISTORY OF SUPPORT: 

EDA AND DISASTER RECOVERY

EDA has a long history of supporting locally led disaster recovery and 

resiliency efforts. Since the early 1990s, EDA has received a total of 

$3.2 billion in supplemental appropriations from Congress to support 

long-term economic recovery and economic resiliency in the aftermath 

of natural disasters as well as $4.5 billion for recovery from the 

coronavirus pandemic. 

Here are some examples:

• In FY 2023, EDA published a Disaster Supplemental Notice of Funding 

Opportunity for those communities where a Presidential declaration 

of a major disaster was issued in 2021 and 2022. Total program 

funding is $483 million. For more information, please visit 

www.eda.gov/strategic-initiatives/disaster-recovery/supplemental.

• In FY 2020 and 2021, EDA received supplemental funding through 

both the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act 

($1.5 billion) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act ($3 billion). 

For more information, please visit www.eda.gov/coronavirus.

• In FY 2018 and 2019, EDA received a total of $1.2 billion in 

supplemental funding to help communities impacted by Hurricanes 

Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, and by 

wildfires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

Who is Eligible to Receive Disaster Recovery Grants? 

Eligible applicants under EDA’s Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) 

program include District Planning Organizations; Tribal, state, county, or 

city governments; institutions of higher education; and public or private 

non-profit organizations. EDA is not authorized to provide EAA grants to 

individuals or for-profit entities and will not consider such requests.

What Specific Activities are Eligible 

for Disaster Supplemental Funding?

Through the EAA Program, EDA can support both the development 

of disaster recovery strategies/plans and the implementation of 

recovery projects, including construction activities, capitalizing RLFs, 

entrepreneurship development, and technical assistance. All projects 

must be consistent with at least one of EDA’s Investment Priorities, 

which can be found at www.eda.gov/about/investment-priorities.

Where do You Apply?

For more information on EDA funding opportunities, please visit 

www.eda.gov/funding-opportunities/.

EDA’S MISSION

As the sole federal government agency focused 

exclusively on economic development, the 

U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic 

Development Administration (EDA) plays a critical, 

national role in supporting regional economic 

development efforts in economically distressed 

communities across the nation. 

Guided by the basic principle that sustainable economic development 

should be locally driven, EDA works directly with communities, helping 

them build capacity for economic development based on local business 

conditions and needs. EDA’s grant investments in infrastructure, strategic 

planning, and access to capital and technical assistance are designed 

to leverage existing regional assets to support the implementation of 

economic development strategies that support business start-up, growth, 

and job creation.

EDA and Disaster Recovery

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA leads the Economic 

Recovery Support Function (ERSF) under the Federal Government’s 

National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). EDA facilitates the 

effective delivery of federal economic development assistance to support 

long-term economic recovery planning and project implementation, 

economic diversification, and economic resiliency. 

EDA is uniquely positioned to coordinate regional disaster recovery efforts 

in partnership with its extensive network of Economic Development 

Districts, University Centers, and other partners in disaster-impacted 

areas. EDA has led a series of economic recovery missions in response 

to natural disasters. These include tornadoes in Kentucky; flooding in 

Missouri and Nebraska; and hurricanes in Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, 

Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, among others.

Visit EDA’s website for more information about the 

agency’s disaster activities and supplemental funding www.eda.gov/disaster-recovery