Southwest Border Regional Commission - Economic and Infrastructure Development Grants

Authorized in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 ("The Farm Bill"), SBRC focuses on addressing economic development and poverty issues in its 93 counties across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The Southwest Border Regional Commissions funds enable state and local governments and non-profits to invest in the region's economic development. In considering programs and projects to receive assistance,  SBRC follows procedures insuring consideration of the following factors: (1) relationship of the activity, project or class of projects to overall regional development; (2) per capita income, poverty, unemployment, and outmigration rates in an area; (3) other financial resources available to carry out the project(s) or activities, with emphasis on ensuring that projects are adequately financed to maximize the probability of successful economic development; (4) importance of the activity, project or class of projects in relation to the other projects or classes of projects; (5) projections that the project for which assistance is sought will improve, on a continuing rather than a temporary basis, the opportunities for employment, the average level of income, or the economic development of the area to be served by the project; and (6) extent to which the project design provides for detailed outcome measurements by which expenditures and the results of the expenditures may be evaluated. No financial assistance can be used to assist an entity in relocating from one area to another. SBRC will allocate at least 50 percent of funds to economically distressed and persistent poverty counties to ensure the economic development and sustainable growth of communities across its region. All proposed projects or activities must align with the SBRC Five-Year Strategic Plan and the State Economic and Infrastructure Development Plan and Strategy Statement where the project is located.