Providence Reporter

The EDA's Washington, D.C. office awarded an Opportunity Zone grant to RI Bio on Sept. 16, 2020 with a total project amount of $595,000 from the US Economic Development Administration.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration offered the following description of this project:

"This EDA investment funds the RI Bio Network Program to commercialize and expand life science start-up activity in Rhode Island's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The project will permit RI Bio to progress its suite of business and technical assistance that has been provided to the state life science community since 2013."

According to the Internal Revenue Service, opportunity zones were added to the tax code under The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The bill has come under some criticism for creating another big tax break for the ultra-wealthy.

The EDA is a federal government agency that focuses exclusively on economic development.The agency solicits applications for funding in order to support construction, non-construction planning, technical assistance, and revolving loan fund projects under the agency's Public Works and the Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) programs. Grants made under these programs are designed to advance economic development in distressed communities.

Grantee Name	Total Project Funding	Grant Award Date
BioSTL	$3,337,602	Sept. 16
Delaware Innovation Space	$2,976,166	Sept. 16
Roanoke - The Blacksburg Innovation Network	$2,079,184	Sept. 16
University of Maryland Baltimore County	$1,323,540	Sept. 16
University System of New Hampshire	$1,196,436	Sept. 16
Trustees Of Indiana University	$952,574	Sept. 14
Pennsylvania Economy League	$600,000	Sept. 16
Casper Area Economic Development Alliance	$352,700	Sept. 16