The Greater St. Louis Regional Empowerment Zone | Programs

The Empowerment Zone (EZ) initiative provides a number of economic development tools for
projects including:

- Tax Credits for businesses
- Direct financial assistance in the form of grants for non-profits
- Access to business loans and tax-exempt bond financing.

Small Grants Program
Application Form

FILL OUT THE PDF ONLINE, PRINT IT
AND MAIL IT IN!
Attachment A
Attachment B

For information on Tax Breaks please follow the link. Businesses do not need to apply to the Empowerment Zone for tax breaks, they only need to utilize them when filing their tax returns.

All financial assistance decisions follow a formal application process as outlined below:

Eligible Applicants
Funding Process
Base Funding Criteria
Reporting Requirements

Eligible Applicants
Proposed projects must meet one of the following criteria in order to receive EZ funding:

1.	Be physically located within the geography of the Empowerment Zone or one of the developable sites. The EZ is defined by specific census tracts located within the cities of Wellston and St. Louis, and St. Louis County in Missouri and East St. Louis in Illinois. Please go the our EZ Map section to see if your project is located in the Empowerment Zone.
2.	Provide a service for businesses or residents of the Empowerment Zone. Client addresses must be located within the EZ geography.

These requirements are part of the EZ Initiative and are overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Empowerment Zone Funding Process

Project manager for the lead implementing entity completes an application requesting support. The application is submitted to the EZ office. Applicants are strongly encouraged to speak or meet with EZ staff before submitting their application.

Staff reviews the application to be sure it meets basic HUD requirements and is complete. The project is assigned to an Empowerment Zone Board of Directors' Program Committee/s for review.

Staff completes a due diligence review and compiles a summary report on the project.

The due diligence report and application are sent to the Community Council and Program Committee/s for their review. The Community Council is an advisory panel made up of residents, business owners, and area non-profits that provides community feedback to the Program Committees and EZ Board of Directors.

Meetings are scheduled to review the proposed project. The applicant will be invited to give a short presentation to the different committees.

The Program Committee has three options after reviewing the proposal:

a.	Recommend that the funding request be denied and pass it on to the Board of Directors for ratification.
b.	Recommend that the funding request be granted and pass it on to the Board of Directors for ratification. The committee can recommend stipulations on the funding.
c.	Request additional information from the applicant that will be reviewed before a decision is made. This request will be in writing and the applicant will be given adequate time to respond.

The Board of Directors reviews and acts on the recommendation of the Program Committee at their next regular meeting. The Board of Directors meets every other month.

If the project is approved, the staff and applicant complete a contract and any other required documents.

The applicant begins work on the proposed project.

Base Funding Criteria
It must be demonstrated how each project will meet the following minimum criteria. Projects that do not meet these minimum criteria will not be considered.

•	Collaboration: Evidence of collaboration or partnerships with other groups or organizations.
•	Impact: The project needs to have a specific impact that will benefit the EZ community.
•	Leverage: Must show that the EZ funding is leveraging other funding. It is our general policy that the EZ will not be the sole source of funding for any project. Proposals should also outline how the project will be sustained when the EZ funding is gone.
•	Timeline: The proposal must clearly outline the timeline for the project. It is the general policy of the EZ that grant funds be expended within 18 months. Exceptions can be made if the project clearly defines its needs.
•	Capacity: The proposal must demonstrate that the organization is capable of doing the proposed work.

Reporting Requirements
Outcomes: Each EZ funded project will be assigned a Goal, Category, and Outcomes from a pre-defined HUD reporting requirement list. Additional project specific outcomes may also be created. Progress on achieving the outcomes must be submitted to the EZ office on an annual basis. Additional reporting details will be worked out with EZ staff if the proposal is awarded funding.

For more information or to receive a copy of the funding application please contact the St. Louis Regional Empowerment Zone office at 314-241-0002 or by e-mail at info@stlouisezone.com.