Recent News
05.11.2022
Funding will support regional economic development initiatives
Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced more than $1,261,859 in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grant awards for eight projects focused on creating critical talent pipelines to support regional economic growth, strengthen workforce development and support collaborative programs between localities, public entities and private businesses.
“GO Virginia is fostering a regional collaboration among businesses, education and government leaders while supporting innovative approaches to jumpstart our workforce and economic development,” said Governor Youngkin. “These projects will equip Virginians with the tools they need to thrive while strengthening workforce training and talent development opportunities across the Commonwealth.”
“GO Virginia has proven critical for building Virginia’s economic development strategies and fostering innovation and collaboration,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “We are creating a stronger portfolio of entrepreneurial ecosystems while offering Virginians with the workforce development opportunities they need to diversify unique regional economies throughout the Commonwealth.”
The GO Virginia Board includes key members of the Governor’s cabinet, leadership from the business community and the General Assembly, including Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick and Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings.
“As a new Board member, I am pleased to see the results of the hard work of all of the GO Virginia regional councils and partners today,” said GO Virginia Board Member and Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Todd Gilbert. “It is exciting to see how these projects plan to deliver the economic impact and growth that these regions are striving for–expanding the pool of job-ready talent to support strategic industry sectors and building a vibrant and supportive environment for high-growth potential startups in the Commonwealth.”
Since the program’s inception in 2017, GO Virginia has funded 215 projects and awarded approximately $82.2 million to support regional economic development efforts. To learn more about the GO Virginia program, visit dhcd.virginia.gov/gova.
2022 REGIONAL GRANT AWARDS
Regional Talent Strategy Implementation | $315,910
Region 2: Counties of Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke, and the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem
The Western Virginia Workforce Development Board (WVWDB), in partnership with the Roanoke Regional Partnership (RRP), will implement a regional talent strategy in the Roanoke Valley and Alleghany Highlands focused on talent development, talent attraction and retention. This project will include the creation of a regional web-based talent portal, toolkits for businesses to use for recruitment and an annual retreat for the region’s economic and workforce partners, as well as the development of a talent ambassador volunteer program.
GO TEC Region 1 | $308,924
Region 1: Counties of Carroll, Grayson and Wythe
Carroll County Public Schools, in partnership with Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (GO TEC), will pilot GO TEC Career Connections labs at Carroll County Middle School, Grayson County Middle School, and one middle school in Wythe County Public Schools. By offering students specialized training in Region 1 industry priorities, this project will create a talent pipeline yielding measurable results in terms of students being exposed to career pathways within the region, increasing the number of graduates who earn certifications in those pathways and offering new job opportunities upon graduation.
Activation Capital Regional Entrepreneurship Initiative (REI) for Region 4 | $300,000
Region 4: Counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan, Prince George, Surry and Sussex, and the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg
Activation Capital will lead an in-depth and region-wide planning process for the Regional Entrepreneurship Initiative (REI). This project will allow the partners to further grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in alignment with the regional growth and diversification plan while creating sustainable, long-term strategies.
Promoting Careers in Aquaculture | $100,000
Region 6: Counties of Gloucester, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland and Westmoreland
Rappahannock Community College (RCC) Educational Foundation will promote jobs in the aquaculture industry cluster through the development of online learning modules, a one-week immersive summer course experience and a four-week summer internship with a local aquaculture business. This project will expand high school students’ understanding of what jobs are available in the sector, expand educational opportunities that fit employer’s needs and support internship opportunities fostering experience and awareness. Additionally, RCC will work with business partners to explore an industry-recognized certificate/credential that would serve as a non-credit option available to RCC students interested in pursuing a career in aquaculture.
VGA Refresh/Restart: A Strategy for Regional Economic Development in Southern Virginia | $100,000
Regions 3 and 4: Counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg, and the city of Emporia
Virginia’s Growth Alliance (VGA) will lead the development of a strategic reset of goals, priorities, focus and support to better reflect changes in the organization and economic development landscape, realigning the organization into a more effective and sustainable posture. This grant will build and strengthen the capacity of the regional economic development organization through business sector analysis, workforce study, analysis of regional incentives and a fundraising campaign feasibility study.
Internship Expo and Hiring Workshops | $36,000
Region 6: Counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford, and the city of Fredericksburg
The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with five school divisions, Rappahannock Goodwill Career Works, Germanna Community College, and the University of Mary Washington, will pilot and host an Internship Expo that will connect high school and post-secondary students with employer-sponsored internships in region’s targeted industries. This grant will also include five hiring workshops hosted throughout the year, allowing students to make connections with business leaders and foster talent development in the region.
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY GRANT AWARDS:
Mountain Empire Community College Project WELD | $101,025
Region 1: Counties of Scott and Wise, and the city of Norton
Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) will create a welding certification program through a collaboration with the Virginia Department of Corrections Wise Correctional Unit and regional manufacturing and industrial employers to address a demonstrated workforce need for entry-level welders. This project will train incarcerated individuals and link them to available employment opportunities upon release, resolving the unmet need for skilled workers in this industry and providing opportunities to a ready-to-train population willing to work.
04.21.2022
The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced today that it is closing the Virginia Rent Relief Program (RRP) application portal at 11:59 p.m., May 15, 2022, to new applications.
Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) requires a prioritization of assistance for households with incomes less than 50 percent of area median income or households with one or more individuals that have not been employed for the 90-day period preceding the date of application. Any application submitted after April 21, 2022, will be prioritized based on these criteria, then processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Through March 31, the Virginia Rent Relief Program (RRP) has processed and disbursed more than $713 million in 141,330 rent relief payments for more than 104,990 unique households throughout Virginia.
In June 2020, Virginia was one of the first states in the nation to create a statewide rent and mortgage relief program with federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, and received additional state support as a bridge between the CARES and Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funding streams. In total, the program has received more than $1 billion in funding through federal aid and the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. Chesterfield County and Fairfax County have operated their own ERA-funded rent relief programs for residents with ERA funding.
DHCD will continue to work with partners and stakeholders across the state to create comprehensive strategies to increase the supply of affordable housing, address and prevent evictions and reduce barriers in housing throughout the Commonwealth. Additional information on RRP are available at dhcd.virginia.gov/RRP. FAQs on the portal closure are available here.
About DHCD
The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) partners with state, federal, local and nonprofit housing and community and economic development initiatives. DHCD programs strive to maintain the vibrancy of communities throughout the Commonwealth and include providing universal broadband access, investing in economic development initiatives, promulgating the statewide building and fire regulations, preserving the affordability and efficiency of Virginia’s homes and buildings, addressing homelessness, reducing eviction rates across the state and fostering innovative solutions to create affordable housing. DHCD invests over $350 million annually, in addition to $2 billion in federal recovery programs, as a partner to Virginia communities to create safe, affordable and prosperous communities to live, work and do business in Virginia.
03.17.2022
~ Funding will support workforce development and middle-mile broadband infrastructure development~
Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced $5,482,330 in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grant awards for two projects focused on creating a critical talent pipeline to support the emerging advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and expanding middle-mile broadband infrastructure to increase access and service quality to existing industry, as well as key economic development sites.
“Industry-responsive workforce development programs will play a critical role in jumpstarting our economy, as will increasing the marketability of sites through improved infrastructure, like broadband,” said Governor Youngkin. “These projects will provide invaluable support to our goals of opening Virginia for business, reinvigorating job growth and delivering on our Day One promises.”
The GO Virginia Board includes key members of the Governor’s cabinet, leadership from the business community and the General Assembly, including Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick and Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings. Newly appointed House of Delegates members include Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert, Del. Terry Kilgore, House Majority Leader, Del. Barry Knight, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, and Del. Terry Austin.
“GO Virginia plays an important role in developing the next generation of leaders and innovators across the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “These projects showcase a collaborative approach by bringing regional partners together to expand and attract businesses and provide quality job opportunities to Virginians.”
“These recent efforts of the GO Virginia program demonstrate the critical nature of strategic thinking in these regions and how addressing near-term economic and infrastructure needs can create long-term economic growth opportunities,” said GO Virginia Board Member and Virginia Senator Frank Ruff. “These two projects represent how regions can come together to combine public, private and federal resources to ultimately produce a tremendously positive impact on communities in these particular regions and around the Commonwealth.”
Since the program’s inception in 2017, GO Virginia has funded 209 projects and awarded approximately $81 million to support regional economic development efforts. To learn more about the GO Virginia program, visit dhcd.virginia.gov/gova.
2022 STATEWIDE COMPETITIVE AWARDS:
MBC Middle Mile Fiber Expansion Project | $5,000,000
Region 3: Counties of Prince Edward, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg
Region 4: Counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George and Sussex, and the city of Petersburg
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Inc. will build six middle-mile broadband infrastructure segments that will provide critical broadband connectivity and diversity in nine localities. The effort will extend middle mile open-access fiber optic infrastructure to critical business and industrial parks in GO Virginia Regions 3 and 4, increasing marketability, reducing future infrastructure extension costs and providing a robust fiber connection that will enable private-sector telecom carriers to support business and industry on strategic economic development sites.
2022 REGIONAL GRANT AWARDS:
Building a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Talent Pipeline | $482,330
Region 4: Counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George, and the city of Petersburg
John Tyler Community College (JTCC), which is becoming Brightpoint Community College, has developed the Building a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Talent Pipeline (BPMTP) project to offer career-training programs and credentials to emerging advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing technicians. The project will address regional interest in growing a diverse pharmaceutical manufacturing talent pipeline, offer programs and credentials that meet the emerging global pharmaceutical manufacturing sector’s immediate workforce demands and grow a diverse regional pipeline of skilled, advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing technicians.
