Southwest Florida Promise Zone Designation

 The Southwest Florida Promise Zone (SFPZ) was one of two rural areas designated by President Obama on June 6, 2016. The SFPZ, which is the only Promise Zone in Florida, covers all of Glades and Hendry Counties as well as the Immokalee portion of Collier County. The Promise Zone is a partnership led by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council with goals of creating jobs, enhancing economic activity, improving educational opportunities, reducing crime and improving community infrastructure. 

The Promise Zone designation partners the Federal government with local leaders who are addressing multiple community revitalization challenges in a collaborative way. Promise Zone Designees will receive:

• Preferences for certain competitive federal grant programs and technical assistance from participating in federal agencies;
• A federal liaison assigned to help designees navigate federal programs;
• An opportunity to engage AmeriCorps VISTA members in the Promise Zone’s work;
• Promise Zone tax Incentives, if enacted by Congress.

Altogether, this will last for a term of 10 years. During this term, the specific benefits made available to Promise Zones will vary from year to year, and sometimes more often than annually, due to changes in package of assistance will accelerate local efforts. The Promise Zone designation the agency policies and changes in appropriations and authorizations for relevant programs.

The 10-year designation provides preferences for certain competitive federal grant programs and a federal liaison is assigned to help designees navigate federal programs. The SFPZ is a partnership led by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (Immokalee, Glades and Hendry Counties), with the goals of creating jobs, enhancing economic activity, improving educational opportunities, reducing crime and improving community infrastructure. A Vista position for Immokalee is funded. The open position will focus on assisting with Economic Development. Contact the CRA office if you are interested in applying for the position.

The United States Department of Agriculture and Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council hosted a community outreach meeting May 31, 2017, at the CareerSource Center to provide information on home repair grant and loans available to senior citizens and low-income homeowners through the USDA Section 504 Home Repair Program. The meeting was very well received by the community of Immokalee.