Press Release   ·   December 18, 2024

ReOregon Planning, Infrastructure, and Economic Revitalization program grants first funding awards

Southern Oregon organizations received over $1.7 million to help small businesses

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) announces its first economic revitalization awards via the Planning, Infrastructure, and Economic Revitalization (PIER) program, which is part of the ReOregon effort to help areas hardest hit by the 2020 Labor Day Disasters to recover.

OHCS has awarded more than $1.2 million to the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization (IVCanDO). The organization will use the money for two initiatives in Jackson County:

• Revolving Loan Fund: Fixed, low-interest rate loans to increase capital and encourage credit building to help small businesses in fire-affected areas to launch or expand.
• Microenterprise Grant Program: Flexible funding through an accessible grant program for low- to moderate- income microbusiness, which are often sole proprietors of businesses that are run from home, such as hairdressers, construction tradespeople, food producers, etc.

Federally funded by the $422 million Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery, PIER provides grants in the disaster’s eight most-impacted counties to address unmet infrastructure, planning, and economic revitalization recovery needs.

“The PIER funding is just the start of the $42 million OHCS will be sending to local communities to help their continued recovery from the devastating and long-lasting effects of the 2020 fires,” said Shannon Marheine, director of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at OHCS. “We will continue to work with PIER selection committees in each affected county to evaluate and fund other projects to help restore existing infrastructure and make communities more resilient to future disasters.”

OHCS PIER also awarded over $500,000 to the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center (SOU SBDC) to support IVCanDO’s grant and loan beneficiaries with technical assistance, consultation, and support services. The relationship between IVCanDo and SOU SBDC sets up microenterprises for successful launch and/or expansion of their businesses by providing capital, education, and advice on the best ways to use funding for long-term recovery.

"IVCanDO is committed to helping wildfire-affected businesses in Jackson County rebuild and thrive in the wake of the catastrophic 2020 Labor Day fires,” said Malcolm Voyager, Revolving Loan Fund manager at IVCanDO. “We have nearly 25 years of experience supporting and providing capital to small businesses in Southern Oregon and are honored to be able to help our southern neighbors create economic vibrancy through grant and loan funding opportunities."

To learn more about PIER and other ReOregon programs, visit re.oregon.gov or sign up to receive e-mail notifications. For more information about IVCanDO, visit www.ivcdo.org.

About Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) OHCS is Oregon's housing finance agency. The state agency provides financial and program support to create and preserve opportunities for quality, affordable housing for Oregonians of low and moderate income. OHCS administers programs that provide housing stabilization. OHCS delivers these programs primarily through grants, contracts, and loan agreements with local partners and community-based providers. For more information, please visit oregon.gov/ohcs.

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