WEDA Awarded Grant Funds to Advance Economic Development in Wisconsin
Applauds WBD’s Grant Funding and the Company’s Generosity
The Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) was recently awarded $87,000 in grant funding by WBD to support numerous programs and projects aimed at supporting economic development and promoting growth across Wisconsin. Each year WBD invests in organizations and projects with efforts aligned with their mission to Grow Businesses, Create Jobs, and Build Communities.
“It’s an honor for WEDA, the economic development professionals we represent, and the Wisconsin communities we strive to support to receive such a generous grant from WBD to help drive our mission of making Wisconsin a better place to live and work through economic advancement,” said Mary Perry, WEDA President and CEO. “We are extremely grateful that WBD has both the resources and the commitment to invest in other economic development activities that provide avenues for growth and prosperity across the state.”
The WBD grant will support several exciting WEDA programs and projects to educate, support, and provide critical tools to Wisconsin’s economic development community:
- Childcare and the Workforce Report: One of the biggest challenges facing Wisconsin businesses is the state’s severe workforce shortage, which impacts every industry and threatens Wisconsin’s overall economic growth. There are several complex factors behind Wisconsin’s worker shortage crisis, but one key contributing factor is inadequate access to childcare, which has become a significant barrier to employment. To bring greater attention to the issue and educate the business community and state policymakers on Wisconsin’s childcare challenges, WEDA is working with its non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation to commission a report to help clearly identify the views of employers and employees on the scarcity of affordable childcare and its impact on the workforce.
- WEDA Education Scholarships: Like all industries across Wisconsin, the economic development profession is aging, and it will be critical to ensure the next generation of individuals tasked with growing the Wisconsin economy are equipped with the knowledge, technical skills, and best practices to be successful. As the “Voice of Economic Development” in Wisconsin, WEDA offers leading-edge economic development programming and educational opportunities. To expand access to its programming, WEDA is creating a scholarship fund for current and future economic development professionals looking to expand their knowledge and help their communities succeed. These scholarships will help develop a new generation of diverse economic development professionals who will shape the future of the state’s economic landscape.
- WEDA Executive Assistant Position: WEDA is creating a part-time position that will expand and improve the organization’s statewide economic development programming. The position, which will serve as the organization’s member services manager, is being created to oversee memberships in WEDA’s CRA-Network, manage corporate investments, and spearhead general member recruitment and retention efforts. In addition to increasing WEDA member satisfaction and strengthening revenue streams, WEDA’s new employee will focus on identifying and developing programs and projects to help revitalize, stabilize, and grow communities across Wisconsin.
“A thriving association of passionate economic development professionals help communities across Wisconsin attract, nurture, and grow business,” said Dan Schneider, WBD President and CEO “WBD is committed to helping keep the economic development ecosystem in Wisconsin healthy and proud to support a number of WEDA efforts in the year ahead.”
WBD is a nonprofit company that helps businesses access long-term, fixed-rate commercial financing with less money down. Partnering with a local bank on every project, WBD provides financing to hundreds of businesses each year across Wisconsin and 14 counties in Minnesota (largely the twin cities metro area and Duluth). With a portfolio of nearly $1 Billion, WBD is able to reinvest in other economic development activities each year. In 2022 WBD’s investments in these activities was over $400,000.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Association, founded in 1975, is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to growing Wisconsin’s economy. Driven by the needs of our 400-plus members, we represent the economic development interests of both the private and public sectors through advocacy, education, and leadership on statewide initiatives.
