The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded a $300,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State. The grant will boost their capacity to support regional economic development strategies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
PennTAP works closely with small to mid-sized manufacturers throughout Pennsylvania to help their operations become more energy efficient, cost effective and innovative by design. PennTAP provides consultations, unbiased technical advice, and connections to Penn State experts, resources, and programs.
“This investment comes at a crucial time to help Pennsylvania’s and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide hard-working Americans with new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, performing the delegated duties of the assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. “We are pleased to make this investment in Pennsylvania State University’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) to help Pennsylvania communities and businesses respond to coronavirus by providing vital technical assistance to support manufacturers as they pivot their product lines, innovate their process techniques, and adjust their business models to reflect new realities resulting from the pandemic.”
PennTAP director Tanna Pugh said this grant will enable PennTAP to reach more clients across Pennsylvania and create resources that will help manufacturers not only recover from the economic downturn but to also grow and advance their facilities.
“Everyone is in the process of recovery and pivoting business models right now, including us here at PennTAP,” Pugh said. “This grant will allow us to expand our statewide footprint and help even more small to mid-sized companies get on track to achieve their energy efficiency, financial, and innovation goals, for this year and beyond.”
Penn State, a current EDA University Center grantee, is one of the more than 850 existing, high-performing EDA Economic Development District, University Center, Tribal, and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grant recipients who were invited to apply for supplemental funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The federal CARES Act provides the EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the Bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide range of financial assistance programs to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit the recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.