Delta Regional Authority States Economic Development Assistance Program (SEDAP)

sedap.cif@dra.gov

Local development district contacts

Delta Regional Authority Economic Development Assistance Program offers grants to help Delta communities create jobs and improve infrastructure.

SEDAP may be used to fund projects for basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, broadband, and business development including entrepreneurship and workforce education and training.

Priority areas include:

• Move toward equity: Programmatic and policy- related changes to prioritize equity across the DRA's programs and respond to the unique needs, opportunities, and cultural contexts across the region
• Elevate rural communities: Investments in economically distressed communities and in support of inclusive, sustainable rural communities, including access to services, funding, and programs that enable career stability such as healthcare, housing, education, and food security
• Foster true collaboration: Promoting collaboration among states, economic development districts, institutions of higher learning, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, and residents in the DRA region
• Adopt leading practices: Implementing evidence-based practices to rapidly reinvest taxpayer dollars in the communities served to increase efficiency and effectiveness
• Measure outcomes: Using data to inform decisions, track outcomes, and facilitate thought-leadership and data-sharing to promote transparency
• Look to the long term: Investments that address future challenges and needs in the region, including resilient infrastructure to reduce environmental impact
• Healthy food for underserved communities: Projects with a direct connection between economic development and access to healthy, affordable food for historically underserved DRA communities
• Projects that use resilient construction methods and materials and that promote sustainable, clean energy, and/or address the effects of climate change

Entities that are eligible to apply for DRA funding include:

• State and local governments (state agencies, cities, and counties/parishes)
• Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations
• Regional development organizations
• Economic development organizations
• Workforce investment boards
• Unions/labor organizations
• Community and faith-based organizations
• Public institutions of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education
• Minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs)
• Trade and technical schools
• Federally recognized tribes

Applicants must be located in the counties and parishes served by the Delta Regional Authority.

State allocations for fiscal year 2023 are available in the application instructions.

Project period: Up to 2 years
Estimated total program funding: $16,814,154

Links to the application instructions and the online application portal are available on the program website.