MEDIA ALERT

Contact: Megan Hill
Idaho Commerce
208.334.2470
megan.hill@commerce.idaho.gov
 

Idaho Commerce Opens Rural Idaho Economic Development Professional Program Grant Application
 

BOISE, Idaho—Wednesday, April 11, 2018— The Idaho Department of Commerce is seeking applications for participation in its Rural Idaho Economic Development Professional Program (RIEDP) for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018. Applications are due on May 15, 2018.

Created in 2001, RIEDP grants provide financial assistance to countywide or multi-county economic development organizations in Idaho’s rural counties. Currently, 30 of Idaho’s 44 counties are using this grant program with the help of rural economic development programs ranging from Boundary County on the Canadian border to Bear Lake County bordering Utah and Wyoming.

The maximum amount of state funding that may be requested by each applicant is $32,000. Applicants are required to provide a minimum of $18,000 in cash matching funds. Extra consideration will be given to applicants requesting less than $32,000 and/or providing matching funds in excess of $18,000. Allowable costs are limited to salary and benefits, and funds may not be used for administration, travel, or other program expenses.

Eligible applicants must be an Idaho county, or group of Idaho counties and cities joining together to submit a single application, and each participating county’s population must be less than 50,000. Counties with populations in excess of 50,000 may apply, provided other conditions specified in the application have been met. Examples are rural Twin Falls County, which has partnered with several counties in the Magic Valley, and rural Canyon County, which has partnered with Owyhee County.

For more information about the Rural Idaho Economic Development Professional Program, please contact Jake Reynolds (208)334-2470 or jake.reynolds@commerce.idaho.gov.

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