SOUTHERN INDIANA — Our Southern Indiana Regional Development Authority is preparing to issue requests for proposals for READI funding.
The RDA addressed the next steps and timeline for the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant at its Friday meeting.
The board voted to move forward with the RFPs and approve a timeline for the grant process.
The region is receiving $45 million in READI 2.0 funds. On Monday, the RDA will open RFPs for the READI grant, and they will be due on July 12 at noon.
The funding will be granted to projects in Clark, Floyd, Jefferson, Scott and Washington counties.
The region received $50 million from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation in the first round of READI funding.
River Hills Economic Development District is assisting the RDA with the implementation of the grant funding. River Hills Executive Director Cory Cochran said he is “excited about the opportunity to duplicate our success” with the READI program.
Project leads across the region already have presented ideas through an initial call for projects, which guided the RDA’s application for the READI 2.0 funding. The RFP process will determine the actual funding allocations.
After receiving the RFPs, the RDA directors will review and score them. They will formally rank the projects based on the score at an Aug. 2 meeting.
Project leads will select from the categories “quality of life,” “quality of place or “quality of opportunity.” The RDA will also consider projects in rural and disadvantaged communities, Cochran said.
Following a meeting with the IEDC, the allocations will be announced at a Sept. 6 meeting.
Project leads are asked to provide “a lot of detail,” Cochran said.
“I’ve been saying for months that this is going to be the call for projects kind of on steroids,” he said.
Cochran said 65% of the RDA’s total allocation for the first round of READI must be dispersed before any project in READI 2.0 can receive funding.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t allocate the funds toward projects,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that we can’t sign grant agreements with project leads for READI [2.0].”
This requirement is “significant” and “not something that we’re taking lightly,” Cochran said. So far, the RDA has dispersed more than $22 million, and it is about $11 million short of 65%.
“We need to start moving our READI 1 projects as soon as possible,” he said.
He said the River Hills team will be meeting with project leads who were allocated funds in the first round to “figure out a way to kind of push those projects along.”
The IEDC has also set new deadlines for the first round of READI funding. Each dollar must be “formally obligated” by Sept. 30.
“We’re very close,” Cochran said. “We shouldn’t have any problems meeting that deadline. But for those of you that have READI 1 funds, just know that Sept. 30 is the deadline to make any changes.”
All funds must be spent from the first round of READI by Sept. 30, 2026.
Friday’s meeting also addressed potential Lilly Endowment funding.
Earlier this year, Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded a $250 million grant to the IEDC to support redevelopment and arts/culture initiatives across the state.
Cochran said projects can receive both Lilly and READI funding. Project leads are asked to submit RFPs for the Lilly to the RDA, which involves a separate application process from the READI grant.
Like the READI funding, Our Southern Indiana RDA will review project proposals for the Lilly funding before sending them to the IEDC for consideration.
The RFPs will be due June 5. RDA will submit eight projects, including four blight remediation projects and four arts/cultural projects.
Cochran said the IEDC does not expect to issue many grants through the Lilly funding, but it would likely involve low-interest loans or equity partnerships.
According to Cochran, there is no set amount per region for the Lilly grant.
The RDA will score and submit the proposed Lilly projects in June, and the IEDC will take care of the process after that, he said. The IEDC has not announced when it will award the Lilly funding.
“The IEDC has not said how many will receive funding and/or how much each region should expect to receive,” Cochran said.
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