U.S. secretary of commerce, Gina M. Raimondo, announced Thursday, Aug. 5 that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to Invest Aurora, Aurora, to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund, providing gap financing to small local businesses. This EDA grant, to be matched with $500,000 in local funds, is expected to create 50 jobs, retain 120 jobs and generate $3 million in private investment.
This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program, provides a wide range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
—Office of congressman Bill Foster