Illinois Business and Commerce Grants

A grant provided through this opportunity will support business retention investments needed for the continuation of a company’s operating presence in Illinois. Mandatory requirements: • Minimum employee retention level:100 • Eligible entities: 1. Must be a private for-profit business entity 2. Must be the legal owner of and have the authority to implement investments in a manufacturing complex already located and operating in Bushnell, IL. 3. Must have extensive direct applicable experience in operating a successful tool manufacturing firm. 4. Business entity must have less than 1,000 employees in Illinois. 5. Must have acquired a 100 full-time equivalent tool manufacturing firm in in McDonough County. In order to maximize the effectiveness of this retention investment, the applicant must maintain the operational production status of current product lines and not relocate these to other physical sites outside of an existing manufacturing plant located within Bushnell, IL. Expenses related to this grant must be directly tied to the retention of employees or improvements of the facilities located in Bushnell. For example, reimbursements for payroll and facility improvements may be acceptable under this grant.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is the SSBCI implementing entity for the State of Illinois. Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), DCEO is seeking grantees to provide technical assistance to eligible VSB and SEDI-owned businesses that are applying for, preparing to apply for, or have previously applied for a SSBCI capital program or other federal or other jurisdiction small business program.

This program provides $15 million to Illinois-based businesses and organizations to help them secure competitive federal grants by assisting with matching fund requirements.

This program provides financial assistance to new small businesses in Evanston, helping them cover essential operating costs and equipment expenses to foster job creation and sustainability.

UPDATED NOTICE - PLEASE READ: April 6, 2023 EDA is excited to announce the launch of its new grants management platform: the Economic Development Grants Experience (EDGE). EDGE was developed to streamline the application and grants management process by implementing a single platform with increased transparency, improved user experience, higher data quality, and more efficiency throughout the entire grant lifecycle. As of April 6th, 2023, applications can no longer be submitted on Grants.gov, and will ONLY be accepted through EDGE. To apply in EDGE, please go to: sfgrants.eda.gov. More information on how to apply is provided in the full NOFO. PARTNERSHIP PLANNING program instructions: Please note that applicants will be invited to submit applications through EDGE for the Partnership Planning program. For more information, please reach out to your EDA point of contact. Program Description: EDA makes planning and local technical assistance investments to support economic development, foster job creation, and attract private investment in economically distressed areas of the United States. Under the Planning program, EDA makes Partnership Planning, Short-Term Planning, and State Planning awards to eligible recipients to create and implement regional economic development plans designed to build capacity and guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region. More specifically, EDA makes Partnership Planning investments to designated planning organizations (i.e., District Organizations) serving EDA-designated Economic Development Districts and to Indian Tribes to facilitate the development, implementation, revision, or replacement of Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS), which articulate and prioritize the strategic economic goals of recipients respective regions. EDA also makes Short-Term and State Planning awards for economic development planning activities that guide the eventual creation and retention of high-quality jobs, particularly for the unemployed and underemployed in the Nations most economically distressed regions. Under the Local Technical Assistance program, EDA makes awards to strengthen the capacity of local or State organizations, institutions of higher education, and other eligible entities to undertake and promote effective economic development programs through projects such as feasibility studies, impact analyses, disaster resiliency plans, and project planning. **Please note: While the published Notice of Funding Opportunity (available under "Related Documents") states that the ED900A form and the SF424B form are both required for a complete application, these forms are no longer required and have therefore been removed from the package template.