Success Stories

The place-based investment is core to EDA’s mission, with our team working closely with local community leaders to ensure EDA’s grants support targeted economic development based on each community’s unique needs. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, which allows EDA’s grants to be flexible, dynamic, and meet the moment that’s called for in each community. In Lubbock, Texas, that has translated into multiple EDA investments, as leaders turn a painful Air Force Base closure into economic opportunity for the region.

Franklin County, Tennessee is a small community rich in history. Located about two hours from Nashville, it was first established in 1800 and named for one of the most famous Americans of that time—or any time—Benjamin Franklin. One of the earliest settlers was noted frontiersman Davey Crockett, who called Franklin County his home for more than four years.

Decatur, Alabama, is a small community just outside of Huntsville, a city that has been experiencing steady growth over the last few decades. As the population grows, so too does the vast number of businesses to serve their needs.  Now Decatur is home to more than two dozen automotive dealerships.

In 2018, Brookings reported: “A central development problem is that high-quality, timely, accessible data are absent in most poor countries, where development needs are greatest. In a world of unequal distributions of income and wealth across space, age and class, gender and ethnic pay gaps, and environmental risks, data that provide only national averages conceal more than they reveal.”

Commercial drivers play a critical role in our nation’s economy. Those with a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) operate the tractor-trailers, semi-trucks, and passenger buses that transport supplies, materials, products, and people across the country.  Simply put, commercial drivers help America move forward.

Lack of access to broadband is a problem for millions across the country, including residents in the state of Missouri. According to surveys from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the state ranks near the bottom for access to high-speed internet. Some local business owners had to find creative workarounds including completing tasks and then traveling into town to upload their completed work. 

“I was just a humble chocolate maker with a dream.” Daniel Herskovic, a gourmet chef who worked at top restaurants in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, started his luxury chocolate company, Mayana Chocolate, in his apartment and eventually moved to a small table in the corner of a local cheesecake bakery on Chicago’s North Side.

With just two employees, the Mid-Shore Regional Council (MSRC) may be among the smallest of EDA’s economic development districts. But by leveraging the strength of its regional partners, the MSRC makes an enormous impact on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Economic Development Districts (EDD) play a vital role in the EDA grant application process. Comprised of multiple jurisdictions that often cross state lines, EDDs leverage the involvement of the public, private, and non-profit sectors to establish a strategic blueprint for economic development.

In January 2022, The Opportunity Center opened for business in North Charleston, South Carolina, designed to create economic development opportunities for low-income communities. This innovative space provides workforce development, small business incubators, and coworking spaces benefiting entrepreneurs and start-ups, while maintaining offices of local non-profits actively working in the community and economic development sector.