Kentucky

During Fiscal Year 2013, EDA invested $6,168,772 in 10 projects in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. These projects are expected to create or retain 272 jobs and leverage $3,500,000 in private investment, according to grantee estimates. EDA’s investments help Kentucky communities achieve bottom-up, locally-defined economic development goals and strategies.

EDA offers a complementary, balanced portfolio of grant programs designed to help rural and urban communities grow their private sectors and create jobs.

Investment Spotlight: Building Disaster Resiliency by Investing in the Workforce

Severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes devastated parts of eastern Kentucky in 2011, leaving many businesses unable to reopen or forced to relocate out of the region. In the aftermath of the destruction, this rural region endeavored to do more than just rebuild its damaged structures. The ultimate goal was to not simply replace the jobs that were lost, but create new opportunities in growing sectors, rebuilding an economy that was stronger and more resilient than before the disasters.

Local officials focused on building workforce training programs that would match emerging job opportunities and needed community services. In July 2013, EDA invested $1.5 million to help establish a new Nursing and Health Sciences facility at Union College in Barboursville. The new facility will train workers for jobs in the region’s growing health care sector.

These projects are part of a $200 million appropriation made by Congress to EDA to help communities that received a major disaster designation in fiscal year 2011 with long-term economic recovery and infrastructure support. Not only does the EDA grant diversify the economy of rural Kentucky, but it also addresses the need for increased healthcare delivery services—truly a win for everyone.