READI 2.0 Awards Announced

East Central Indiana Receives the Second-Largest Award in Funding from READI 2.0

Eight ECITC counties have worked together for months to improve on its READI 1.0 proposal and award in preparation for READI 2.0. The East Central Indiana Regional Partnership (ECIRP) has served as the lead and the applicant for these state funds in both iterations of the READI program.

In READI 1.0, ECI received $15 million to fund 19 projects across the region, with some reaching the finish line and many others ongoing.

ECI will receive $35 million in READI 2.0 funding to address many opportunities in the region. Learn more about the ECI READI 2.0 plan here.

Accelerate Rural Indiana's READI 2.0 Award Announced

Accelerate Rural Indiana (ARI), which includes Rushville and Rush County, will receive $30 million from the state in READI 2.0 funds. Learn more about the ARI READI 2.0 plan here.

Thank you to the thousands of ECI residents that have been part of these processes. All of this work will improve the quality of life in ECI and help the region meet its goal of stemming population loss. An additional thank you to all of the individuals directly involved in the development and vetting of the plans - community leaders, educational partners, the staff of the ECIRP, and the consultants at HWC. You're work and leadership will improve ECI for generations to come.

READI 1.0 Project Update

On Friday, April 12, in a standing-room-only event, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Union City's Vision Corner in downtown Union City. This project was included in ECI's READI 1.0 plan and has grown to be a truly regional project by incorporating partners outside of Randolph County. Both Ivy Tech's Richmond campus and Reid Health will be partners in providing training opportunities for students and the entire community.

Learn more

Regional Coalition Updates

Birth to Five Coalition: Serving as a support for the Regional Training, Resource, and Advocacy Connector (TRAC) team as it starts to ramp up its offerings. The group is working to distribute funding from its first round of Regional Activity Support and is working on finalizing a plan for trainings aimed at early care and learning providers in the region.
K-8 Coalition and High School Coalition: This month, both coalitions will tour the RIASEC rooms at the East Central Educational Service Center's new location in New Castle.

Worth Mentioning

ECI-SBDC is growing its team and is currently hiring for an ECI Small Business Ecosystem Navigator.

Entrepreneurship Indiana is looking for nominations for its 2024 yearbook. Help us highlight the entrepreneurs in ECI by nominating here by May 3.

Classroom Connections of ECI, which serves 7 of the 9 ECITC counties, is holding a teacher appreciation event, THANKS A MILLION! on May 4 for the first 500 qualifying teachers/ educators. More information is available here.

Lifetime Learning by Ball State has released its newest catalog for non-credit courses and credentials. Some of the programs are WIOA-approved.

Rush County's new community center has a name! The Love Community Center presented by Jay and Christie (Kile) Love is scheduled for completion in late 2024. This will be an all-in-one resource for the Rush County community.

Indiana's Office of Community and Rural Affairs has awarded grants to two ECITC communities. Grant County has been awarded a $60,000 comprehensive planning grant and the town of Mooreland in Henry County received $60,000 for a water infrastructure planning grant.

Delaware County will receive $2.5 million from a Regional Mental Health Facilities Grant to help incarcerated individuals access mental health treatment. This will serve surrounding communities for at least five years.

Volunteer fire departments in 9 ECITC communities received funding for firefighter training and equipment. Check out who is getting new equipment here.

ICYMI: In December, 3 ECI Colleges were awarded $90 million in College and Community Collaboration Grants from Lilly Endowment. Learn more here.