Economic Development, Growth and Expansion Fund

What it funds

• Public land acquisition and site development.
• Siting or improving publicly owned infrastructure.
• Publicly owned industrial parks, technology parks and airports.

EDGE is used when a community is under active consideration as a relocation or expansion site and public investment would make the difference.

Who can apply

• General-purpose local governments, local government authorities, joint or multi-county development authorities, and state authorities can receive EDGE funds.
• Being eligible is not the same as being able to apply. EDGE is a state discretionary grant, and a community cannot request one.
• The project must be in a Rural County, defined as a county outside a metropolitan area with a population of 50,000 or less and a poverty rate of 10% or greater.
• Conditionally Eligible counties, meaning those under 500,000 population sharing a border with a rural county, may be considered where the project conveys significant economic benefit to the neighboring rural county through regional impact, revenue sharing or comparable evidence of regionalism.

What you'll need to match

• EDGE grants are not limited to a set amount.
• Assistance amounts are determined after consultation with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and DCA, and approved at the Authority's discretion.

Because the award is discretionary and negotiated, the scale of local commitment is part of what the state weighs rather than a fixed percentage you can calculate in advance.

How it works

• EDGE is a state discretionary grant. It is not a program a city or county can apply for on its own initiative.
• It comes into play when a community is under active consideration as a relocation or expansion site in a competitive project, and the state determines that public investment would help secure it.
• Projects are considered throughout the fiscal year, because EDGE follows live deals rather than a calendar.

Is this you?

Your rural county is on a shortlist for a company's location or expansion decision, the state is already involved, and a publicly owned improvement would strengthen the case.

Program figures are subject to change each program year. Call us at 770-209-2017 for this cycle's numbers.