Southwest Georgia United Empowerment Zone, Inc.

Southwest Georgia United Empowerment Zone, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation and community development entity located in Cordele, Georgia, has established itself as a significant recipient of federal grant funding since its registration with SAM.gov in 2005. The organization operates as a Community Development Corporation dedicated to expanding economic opportunity and improving quality of life for underserved populations in southwest Georgia through comprehensive workforce development, housing assistance, and community development financial services.

The organization's federal grant portfolio demonstrates a multifaceted approach to community and economic development. Most recently, the organization received a $4.1 million Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration in February 2025 to support the YouthBuild program, which provides pre-apprenticeship services, education, occupational skills training, and employment assistance to at-risk youth ages 16-24 who have dropped out of high school, with vocational focus areas in construction, healthcare, information technology, and hospitality. Prior to this award, Southwest Georgia United Empowerment Zone received multiple grants from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund—including a $2.9 million grant in April 2023 for CDFI Expansion and a $1.8 million Rapid Response Program award in June 2021—enabling the organization to expand lending and financial services to low and moderate-income communities and individuals disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization also received a $2.9 million Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service Multi Family Housing Program in August 2023 to provide safe, affordable housing for domestic farm laborers. Additionally, Southwest Georgia United Empowerment Zone has received recent awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Services, including grants under the Rural Business Cooperative and Rural Enterprise Grant program and the Rural Microenterprise Development Organization program, further expanding its capacity to support rural economic development initiatives in its service region.