Economic And Community Development Institute, Inc.

Economic And Community Development Institute, Inc. (ECDI), based in Columbus, Ohio, is a non-profit community development corporation and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that has demonstrated significant capacity in securing and managing federal grant awards. Since its registration in SAM.gov in November 2008, ECDI has established itself as a primary recipient of federal grant funding focused on economic development, entrepreneurship, and community revitalization. The organization specializes in providing comprehensive support services to underserved populations, including women entrepreneurs, minority-owned businesses, low-income individuals, veterans, refugees, and justice-involved individuals seeking economic self-sufficiency through small business development and job creation initiatives.

ECDI's federal grant portfolio reflects a diverse range of services and initiatives funded through multiple federal agencies. Through the Small Business Administration (SBA), ECDI has received substantial funding under several programs, including the Microloan Program (CFDA 59.046) with awards exceeding $3 million annually to provide microloans up to $50,000 and business training to small business concerns; the Women's Business Ownership Assistance program (CFDA 59.043) providing over $1 million in cumulative funding for entrepreneurial development services targeted to women-owned businesses; the Program for Investment in Microenterprises (PRIME, CFDA 59.050) supporting technical assistance and capacity building for disadvantaged microentrepreneurs; and the Veterans Outreach Program (CFDA 59.044) delivering entrepreneurship training and business development services to military-connected individuals. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families has awarded ECDI multiple Community Services Block Grant Discretionary Awards (CFDA 93.570), including a recent $800,000 award supporting the ECDI Food Manufacturing Job Creation Initiative that helps local restaurants like Dos Hermanos expand production and create jobs for low-income individuals, and a $1.6 million award for the Food Fort Expansion Columbus headquarters project. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund has provided ECDI with significant financial assistance awards totaling millions of dollars to build organizational lending capacity and respond to economic crises, including a CDFI Rapid Response Program award of $1.8 million during the pandemic period. The Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Services has funded ECDI through the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (CFDA 10.870) and multiple Rural Microenterprise Development Organizations grants to support rural microentrepreneurs and small businesses. Additional funding has come from the Small Business Administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement (Ohio Refugee Microenterprise Development Program) and the Appalachian Regional Commission. ECDI's sub-award partnerships have included collaborative arrangements with the City of Canton on microenterprise and microlending programs, and multiple capacity-building partnerships with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation focused on supporting minority contractors, residential developers, and small businesses in regions including Toledo and Cincinnati. Through these diverse federal grant programs, ECDI has demonstrated expertise in delivering business training, technical assistance, counseling, microloans, financial literacy education, wraparound supportive services including childcare assistance and career coaching, and specialized programming for veterans, women, minorities, low-income entrepreneurs, and other underserved populations seeking to establish or grow small businesses and achieve economic self-sufficiency.