BETTENDORF, IOWA (May 19, 2021) — The Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce has received a $202,000 US Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to aid it in implementation of a regional COVID-19 recovery strategy.
The grant, announced earlier today by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL 17), is part of $1.5 billion in funding the EDA received from the CARES Act to provide economic development-assistance programs across the nation. The funding provides a wide range of financial assistance to communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
“The Quad Cities Chamber has worked alongside our business community to support them throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kristin Glass, the Chamber’s Chief Strategy Officer. “The grant from EDA will allow the Chamber to expand its work to ensure the region is positioned to compete for talent and business growth in order to come out of the pandemic strong.”
The Chamber will utilize the grant to focus on three tasks:
- Business growth initiatives;
- Small- to medium-sized businesses’ recovery with emphasis on minority-owned businesses; and
- Talent attraction and retention.
The total cost of the Chamber’s proposed COVID-19 Recovery Strategy is $552,571 with the remaining costs to be covered in both cash and in-kind resources by the Chamber.
The grant will enable the Chamber to complete the final step of a comprehensive target industry-growth plan. Additionally, the Chamber will continue to assist small- to mid-sized businesses through advocacy, connections to financial resources, and access to reliable information. As part of this priority, the Chamber plans to launch Minority Business Councils to create a forum to connect unrepresented business owners and CEOs to resources and opportunities to grow their business.
“The Minority Business Councils will help foster belongingness and inclusion of underrepresented business owners and CEOs in the Quad Cities,” Glass said. “This ties back to our goal of engaging more businesses — members and non-members — and is part of our strategy to connect more businesses to resources so they can grow.”
With the funding, the Chamber will hire a new full-time staff member to focus on talent attraction and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The funds will also allow the Chamber to invest in an external marketing campaign centered on talent recruitment to grow the region’s population.
“The Quad Cities Chamber is grateful for the support and confidence from the Economic Development Administration to complete this important work,” Glass said.
About: The Quad Cities Chamber facilitates business growth to help create a prosperous regional economy where all can thrive. Its work is focused in three strategic areas: business and economic growth; placemaking; and talent-attraction and -development.
