In Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), the Office of Community Services (OCS) awarded $18.57 million in Community Economic Development (CED) funding to 24 new CED Job Creation projects. CED Job Creation projects support business development and create jobs in communities across the Nation through well planned and financially viable economic development projects. Read on to learn more about the new projects awarded in FY25 or download the associated PDF document (PDF).
*Melwood Community Services, Inc. is headquartered in Maryland, but its CED project will serve the Washington, DC metro area.
Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. will use $800,000 in CED funds to expand operations at Friedman Recycling Company, a local waste management and recycling business in Phoenix, Arizona, via a loan to support operational capital. This project will create 30 new jobs, 23 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
The Coalition for Responsible Community Development will use $800,000 in CED funds to expand its social enterprise and subsidiary, CRCD Enterprises, to create full-time jobs in the lead abatement and construction industries in South Los Angeles, California. This project will create 29 new jobs, 22 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Main Street Launch will use $800,000 in CED funds to expand its San Francisco Business Resilience Loan Fund, an existing fund providing low-interest loans and technical assistance to local restaurants in San Francisco, California. This project will create 30 new jobs, 23 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
The Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc. will use $800,000 in CED funds to support construction of the Fast Lane Business Center, a commercial facility located in a community redevelopment area in Tampa, Florida. This project will create 25 new jobs, 19 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Albany Community Together will use $800,000 in CED funds to provide a below-market-rate loan to the Harlem Legacy Wellness Center, a newly created “one-stop” health and wellness center that will house a healthcare clinic, dental clinic, physical therapy and chiropractic center, and mental health clinic in Albany, Georgia. This project will create 29 jobs, 22 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Stafford County Economic Development will use $800,000 in CED funds to expand the impact of the Port Authority of Stafford County to create sustainable economic opportunities that will strengthen the local economy and build assets for local, rural residents of St. John, Kansas. This project will create 26 new jobs, 20 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Kentucky Highlands Community Development Corporation will use $800,000 in CED funds to provide a below market rate working capital loan to expand Renfro Supply Company, a century-old wholesale distribution business in Williamsburg, Kentucky. This project will create 30 new jobs, 23 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission will use $796,400 in CED funds in partnership with Aviatra Accelerators to implement the Ready to Hire (R2H) initiative, a program designed to create or expand at least ten businesses in Covington and throughout Northern Kentucky. This project will create 29 new, full-time jobs, 22 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Coastal Enterprises, Inc. will use $800,000 in CED funds to support their Maine Made Hospitality: Rural Jobs with a Lasting Impact project by making a loan to the Rangeley Lodge in Franklin County, Maine. This project will create 29 new jobs, 22 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc. (LCW) will use $800,000 in CED funds to complete the Dye Works Project, part of LCW’s Union Crossing initiative, to transform an abandoned industrial site into a thriving community hub in Lawrence, Massachusetts. This project will create 25 new jobs, 19 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Mel Trotter Ministries will use $800,000 in CED funds to expand Chop Tree Service, LLC (Chop), in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Chop is a vegetation management company specializing in utility line clearing, tree trimming, tree removal, and tree health. This project will create 30 new jobs, 23 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Jackson Resource Center will use $800,000 in CED funds to create two multipurpose community business hubs, establishing five new businesses and supporting one existing business across the food service, child-care, design, technology, and creative industries, in Hinds County, Mississippi. This project will create at least 25 new jobs, 19 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Community Capital New York, Inc. will use $800,000 in CED funds to establish a revolving loan fund to create or expand local businesses in and around Elmsford, New York. This revolving loan fund will be accessible to communities across the New York Metropolitan service area, including Bronx, Kings, Queens, and Westchester counties in New York, and Fairfield County in Connecticut. This project will create 29 new jobs, 22 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
The Economic and Community Development Institute will use $800,000 in CED funds to help Dos Hermanos, a successful local Mexican restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, expand into the consumer-packaged goods market by scaling its jarred salsas, guacamole, and sauce production for wholesale and retail distribution. This project will create 25 new jobs, 19 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Fayette County Community Action Agency Inc. will use $800,000 in CED funds to implement a commercial kitchen incubator to provide affordable space, equipment, and services to entrepreneurs with low incomes in the food space in Republic, Pennsylvania. This project will create 30 jobs, 23 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
Melwood Community Development Corporation will use $270,293 in CED funds to extend a loan to Enabled Intelligence to grow their business in the artificial intelligence arena and create new jobs in the Washington, D.C. metro area. This project will create 10 new jobs, 8 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.
ADVOCAP Inc. will use $704,000 in CED funds to construct a child-care incubator facility at a formerly vacant site in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to provide accessible child-care to residents in surrounding Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Winnebago counties. This project will create 22 new jobs, 17 of which will be filled by individuals with low incomes.