Welch Ave LLC, which does business as Gravitate, received a $20,000 grant in the inaugural round of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Rural Innovation program. The grant will be used to develop a coworking space in the east bay of the building at 200 E. State St in Jefferson. Total project cost is $95,000. The grants were announced July 14.
The Rural Innovation program, along with the Rural Housing Assessment program, were developed in 2019 by Gov Kim Reynolds’ Empower Rural Iowa initiative. Seventeen projects shared a total of $300,000 in funding, with $20,000 being the largest amount any one project received. Twenty-two applications were submitted.
The Rural Innovation program supports creative, non-traditional ideas that focus on current issues and challenges faced by rural communities associated with the themes of community investment, growth and connection.
The Rural Housing Assessment grant program supports the use of publicly available online information through the “Profile of Iowa” tool and rural community efforts to interpret the hard data. It also helps implement changes to development codes, local ordinances, and housing incentives specific to a community’s needs in partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
“We do big things in rural Iowa, and public-private partnerships continue to open new doors to the creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit that exists in all corners of the state,” Reynolds stated in a press release. “The investments announced today support everyday Iowans who are thinking outside the box to address the challenges that exist in their communities. I believe these unique projects will serve as a growth model for even greater prosperity in our small towns and rural communities.”
