Category: Economic Development

The Rhode Island Rebounds Take It Outside program is a statewide effort to encourage and increase outdoor activities in an effort to reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19 and support small businesses recovery.

The Take It Outside program awarded approximately $4.8 million to 21 eligible proposers to allow them to create, design, and offer programs/activities that increase outdoor capacity of small businesses.

Awarded funds can be used to cover the cost of purchasing, obtaining, delivering, or installing

• chairs
• tables
• heat lamps
• bike racks
• other costs for purchasing or obtaining goods or services that are deemed necessary to increase outdoor opportunities for impacted small businesses.

Rhode Island based businesses that are interested in participating in the Take It Outside program must meet a number of requirements including:

• Have less than $1 million in annual gross revenues
• Demonstrate a negative economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic
• At least twenty percent of all funds awarded to small businesses will be reserved for awards to assist minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises.

The project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRFP0136 (State Fiscal Recovery Funds) awarded to the State of Rhode Island by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

For more information, please visit the RI Commerce website >

BRISTOL, RI–On Wednesday, January 12th, 2022, the Town of Bristol announced a new partnership with Church Community Housing Corporation (CCHC) to administer the municipality’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

“The Town of Bristol is pleased to bring Church Community Housing on board to assist with local CDBG grant administration,” said Economic Development Coordinator Chris Vitale. “This new partnership will boost the Town’s capacity to seek and manage these important federal funds.”

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is one of the longest-running U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. CDBG funds support an array of community development activities including affordable housing, home rehabilitation, essential public services, and infrastructure improvements. Over the past five years, these funds have supported several local projects, including the recent $1.7M Wood St. Neighborhood Streetscape Project.

In 2021, the Town of Bristol issued a Request for Proposals (#955) for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administrative services. Church Community Housing Corporation was awarded the service contract and will serve as the point of contact for Bristol’s Home Repair Program and Competitive Applications.

“With over 50 years of experience, we look forward to our partnership with the Town of Bristol and expanding our service to a new community,” said Church Community Housing Corporation’s CDBG Program Director Rain Daugherty.

Church Community Housing Corporation (CCHC) is an affordable housing developer that has been working in Newport County since 1969. Starting in 1976, CCHC became the administrator for the City of Newport’s housing rehabilitation revolving loan program. Since that time, CCHC has expanded its efforts to include all six communities in Newport County for both housing rehabilitation and CDBG Administration.

Beginning Tuesday, January 18th, 2022, the Town of Bristol will begin accepting 2021-2022 Bristol Home Repair Program applications.

Funded through CDBG, this program helps to revitalize the local community and provide safe, suitable living environments for low and moderate-income residents. Applicants can seek funding for various home improvement projects, including emergency roof replacements, window replacements, and code violation corrections.

All funding assistance is in the form of a 0%-interest forgivable loan with no closing costs or fees when conditions are met. CDBG grant funds can cover up to 100% of project costs.

Funding is limited and will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis to eligible households. Application information is available online through the Town of Bristol website.

For more information, please contact:

Rain Daugherty, CDBG Program Director at 401-846-5114 ext. 119 [email protected].

Earlier this week, the State of Rhode Island announced the PY2020/2021 CDBG competitive application process. Eligible activities include public facility/infrastructure improvements, essential services, and planning activities.

An organization’s activity must meet one of the three national objectives:

·         Benefiting low and moderate-income persons,
·         Preventing or eliminating blight, or
·         Meeting other community development needs that are of particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community, and other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.

Organizations planning to seek CDBG funds through this application cycle must submit a Letter of Intent announcing their interest in applying for either a public service or a public facilities grant.

Letters of Intent are a one-page notice on organizational letterhead that includes a summary of project activities as well as the estimated amount being requesting.

Letters of Intent are due via email to Rain Daugherty at [email protected] by Thursday, January 20th, 2022.

Grant application forms will be provided by CCHC once a Letter of Intent is received and the proposed activity has been verified for eligibility.

Completed application packets are due by 4:00 PM on Thursday, February 9th, 2022.

Please Note: Bristol is limited on the number of proposals it can submit to the State of Rhode Island. Regional organizations may apply through any one eligible community and may serve an entire area.

To discuss an activity’s eligibility, reporting requirements, program obligations, or submission details, please contact:

Rain Daugherty, CDBG Program Director at 401-846-5114 ext. 119 [email protected].

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BRISTOL, RI-On Thursday, January 6th, 2022, the Town of Bristol announced it would extend the submission deadline for its 2021 Annual Business Survey.

The new deadline date to submit survey responses is January 21^st, 2021, at 12:00PM (noon).

To access the business survey, please scan the QR code below or visit www.bristolri.gov/abs.

In 2021, the Town of Bristol announced it would begin tracking local business data through an Annual Business Survey. The information collected will help Town measure the state of the Bristol economy, assess the effectiveness of municipal programs, support planning and economic development efforts, and inform key decisions.

For additional information, please contact Bristol Economic Development Coordinator Chris Vitale at [email protected] or 401-253-7000 ext. 129.

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BRISTOL, RI-In an effort to better serve the needs of the local business community, the Town of Bristol has released a 2021 Annual Business Survey.

The data collected through this survey will help Town measure the state of the Bristol economy, assess the effectiveness of municipal programs, support planning and economic development efforts, and inform key decisions.

To access the business survey, please scan the QR code below or visit www.bristolri.gov/abs.

The deadline to submit survey responses is January 14^th, 2021, at 12:00PM (noon).

For additional information, please contact Bristol Economic Development Coordinator Chris Vitale at [email protected] or 401-253-7000 ext. 129.

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BRISTOL, RI– On Wednesday, November 24th, 2021, the Town of Bristol announced the launch of Propel East Bay RI. Propel East Bay RI is a new online job board dedicated to promoting work opportunities in Bristol County, Rhode Island. This free-to-use platform is available to local businesses, residents, and students.

Users have the ability to create online profiles to search, save, and apply to selected jobs. Businesses have access to a dashboard to manage job postings, create custom applications, and view job listing statistics.

Propel East Bay RI was created in collaboration with the Bristol Town Administration, the Bristol-Warren Regional School District (BWRSD), and the East Bay Chamber of Commerce. The initiative also received support from the Town of Warren and the Town of Barrington.

“As we continue to deal with impacts of COVID-19 on our local economy, businesses are having a difficult time finding talent to fill job openings,” said Chris Vitale, Bristol’s Economic Development Coordinator. “The goal of this platform is to help bridge the gap between our local businesses and job seekers and encourage workforce participation.”

Propel East Bay RI is sponsored in part by the Town of Bristol and BWRSD through a Pell Grant. The job board also offers paid Premium Listings, which give businesses a way to promote immediate openings while supporting the platform’s maintenance costs.

In addition to listing available full-time, part-time, and seasonal job opportunities, BWRSD is also working with local municipalities to develop an internship program. Students can explore their career interests more in-depth and access opportunities directly through the job board.

“As a district, we want to expand access for each student to gain valuable on-the-job experience to develop their skills for whichever career they decide to pursue,” said Dr. Nicole Lyons, College and Career Coordinator at Bristol-Warren Regional School District. “The job board will allow the community access to the untapped power of our students and connect students with our local economy.”

During the development of Propel East Bay RI, students at Mt. Hope High School played an integral role in designing the branding for the platform.

“The MHHS Art Department appreciated the opportunity for our graphic design students to work with the Town of Bristol to create the logo for the new Propel East Bay RI job board,” said Mt. Hope High School Teacher Lauren Enjeti. “Seniors Chelsea Goodman, Brandon Nelson, Kristiana Cabral, and Logan Justa contributed to the design, with Chelsea Goodman taking the lead on the finished logo.”

Businesses, residents, and students in the East Bay are encouraged to register for the online job board at www.propeleastbayri.com.

For additional questions, please contact Chris Vitale, Economic Development Coordinator at [email protected], or by calling 401-253-7000 ext. 129.

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