Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council

Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, a U.S. government entity organized as a council of governments, receives federal grants as prime recipient in regional economic development, environmental remediation, and agricultural marketing programs, with 93% of recent awards structured as direct prime grants rather than subrecipient work. The Council operates as a planning and coordination body serving Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Sarasota counties in Southwest Florida and does not compete for federal contracts.

The Council's grant footprint concentrates in three federal grant programs. The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration has funded 13 awards, anchoring the customer concentration at 54% of the award count. Representative EDA work includes a $600,000 Project Grant under the Economic Development Support for Planning Organizations program (CFDA 11.302) awarded January 1, 2023 and completing December 31, 2025 to develop and implement a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the six-county region, and a $321,836 Economic Adjustment Assistance award (CFDA 11.307) dated December 13, 2022 to fund a disaster recovery coordinator supporting long-term economic recovery and small-business resilience in the region through December 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency has funded 9 awards, including a $500,000 Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 66.818) awarded July 1, 2022 and extending through September 30, 2026 to conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, community meetings, and brownfield revitalization planning across the six counties. The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service has funded 2 awards: a $752,426 Regional Food System Partnerships grant dated October 31, 2021 (completing October 30, 2024) to implement regional branding and marketing for local food producers in partnership with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and a $626,261 Cooperative Agreement under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (CFDA 10.175) awarded March 1, 2026 running through February 28, 2029 to support sustainable growth and geographic expansion for Burroughs Family Orchards, a certified organic farm based in California.

Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $17.2 million over a data span of twenty years. Activity has been episodic, with two awards in 2020, one in 2021, two in 2022, two in 2023, and two in 2026. Only one award (combined potential value not specified in the source) reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The Council holds two subrecipient positions under State of Florida Division of Emergency Management HMEP (Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness) grants dated January 23, 2026 and January 13, 2023, with amendments continuing through fiscal year 2025.