Community Economic Development (CED)
Fact Sheet
What We Do
The Community Economic Development program (CED) is a federal discretionary grant program that increases employment opportunities for individuals with low incomes in communities facing persistent poverty and high unemployment by investing in community development corporations (CDCs) that create and expand businesses and job opportunities.
Who We Serve
CED serves individuals with low incomes residing in or near communities with high unemployment and poverty rates, including recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.
2021 Highlights
$14.6M
Was awarded to 20 new grant recipients
Projects were completed in
FY 2021
$226M
Was leveraged by the 35 grants that ended in FY 2021
$9.29
Was leveraged per CED award dollar by the 35 grants that ended in FY 2021
Advancing Equity
Businesses were created and/or expanded by the 35 grants that ended in FY 2021
Jobs were created for individuals with low incomes
Grant recipients are required to provide critical wraparound support services to employees, such as financial literacy assistance, childcare services, transportation, substance use disorder treatment, and English language education to remove barriers to maintaining long-term employment.
Focus on Energy Communities
Aligned with President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad - The White House and the Justice40 Initiative, the CED program supports efforts to revitalize energy communities. In FY 2021, CED awarded bonus points to applications that proposed projects located in or around coal, oil, gas, or power plant communities. There are now 17 active CED projects serving coal, oil, gas, or power plant communities, totaling over $12.6M. For more information about CED’s focus on energy communities, including examples of projects, see Community Economic Development Grants Supporting Energy Communities (PDF).
Eligible Applicants
Private, non-profit community development corporations (CDCs), including faith-based and tribal and Alaskan native organizations, that are a private, non-profit CDC, experienced in developing and managing economic development projects. CDCs must be governed by a tripartite board of directors that consists of residents of the community served, and local business and civic leaders. CDCs must have as their principal purpose planning, developing, or managing low-income housing or community development projects.
Program Highlights
CED is the only federal program with a primary focus on creating high quality jobs for individuals with low incomes in communities with high unemployment and poverty rates. Businesses in these distressed communities are often not granted capital from financial institutions due to the high risk. Therefore, it is vital that federal programs, like the CED program, invest in these communities and provide financing to fuel economic revitalization.
The versatility of the CED program allows CDCs to: 1) create locally driven solutions that support community investments and businesses and 2) provide sustainable economic development opportunities. Through CED, CDCs build community assets and ensure the profits and subsequent reinvestments remain in the local community. Grants are being used by CDCs across the country, in both urban and rural communities.
Grants completed between 2016 and 2021 created or expanded over 1,950 businesses and over 8,600 new, full-time, full-year jobs for individuals with low incomes. In addition, CED grants have resulted in $1 billion additional dollars committed by other sources and invested into the communities in which CED grantees work. For every $1 of CED grant funding, $6.67 in funding from other sources were invested into that community.
*The presented data for FY 2021 should be considered preliminary pending final data validation.
Community Economic Development Program
Division of Community Discretionary and Demonstration Programs
Office of Community Services