Success Stories

The seafood industry is often described as the lifeblood of Maine, providing food to customers the world over. Generations of fishermen have sailed its waters in search of lobsters, crabs, scallops, and a variety of other fish. In recent years, the cultivation of oysters, mussels, seaweed, and other species has added to their hauls. Seafood, along with forestry, agriculture, and outdoor recreation, is one of the iconic natural resource-based industries that dominate the economy in the Pine Tree State.

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.

In September 2022, President Joe Biden announced the 21 winners of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC), a key component of his American Rescue Plan. The competition was designed to boost economic recovery from the pandemic and rebuild American communities, including those grappling with decades of disinvestment.

In 2007, Lowcountry Local First (LLF) opened its doors in Charleston, South Carolina. The founders of this non-profit organization wanted to advance economic prosperity and local ownership through innovative and inclusive initiatives—exactly the kind of initiative that would benefit from EDA’s investment.

Since 1943, the State of Maine was home to the Brunswick Naval Air Station, a training facility for pilots heading off to Europe during World War 2. They operated under the motto: “Built for Business.”  Today, that slogan has taken on a new meaning.

“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.

EDA is helping create the cities of tomorrow, today. Curiosity Lab is a technological business incubator and living laboratory in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. It provides a test environment for more than fifty local businesses to advance smart city technology and next-generation intelligent mobility.

The EDA University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (REI) at Michigan State University connects economic development practitioners in the state’s underserved communities to much-needed resources and technical support.

Montana attracts millions of visitors every year with its vast landscapes, natural beauty, and wildlife. The Big Sky State is one of the country’s largest by area, but is one of the least populated, home to less than 2 million residents and averaging less than seven people for every square mile of land. It is also home to eight federally recognized tribes.

Pennsylvania offers visitors a variety of destinations for travel and tourism. While some are drawn to the history and culture of Philadelphia, others prefer outdoor recreational opportunities, such as those available in the rural Pennsylvania Wilds.