2006 Annual Report Executive Summary
Mid-Delta Empowerment Zone Alliance
During 2006, the Mid-Delta Empowerment Alliance Staff has become more involved in the aspect of serving the community by attending and participating in different conferences catered towards the needs of community capacity building and economic growth. By networking with different organizations which already have the skills and capability of providing training, staff is able to come back to the organization equipped to teach other staff members, Board of Commissioners, and empowerment zone residents how to build a successful organization as well as how to increase institutional capacity and obtain additional funding for sustainability.
MDEZA’s Housing Development Division paved the way for the organization in becoming a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). By doing so, staffs are now responsible for housing counseling and are able to coordinate the building of low and moderate income housing for EZ residents. The MDEZA Economic Development Division will set up an advisory committee to act as a liaison for the zone alliance and other organizational economic development.
The EZ has been successful in acquiring outside funding to assist with projects including: 1) a $300,000 HUD Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant, 2) CDFI designation from the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Community Entity; 3) applied for $40,000,000 of HUD New Market Tax Credits and is now able to utilize EZ bonding authority; and; 4) has provided employment and training opportunities for EZ residents through partnership with “Visteon.” The Visteon Corporation manufactures auto supplies for Nissan and has nearly 400 employees. Business continues to thrive with the Dollar General Store which was the first major business to locate in the EZ during 1999. The shovels from the ground-breaking were presented to the USDA and are located in the national office of Cooperative Programs in Washington, DC.
The MDEZA developed a brochure to highlight the EZ Tax credits available to businesses wishing to locate within the EZ. The brochure discusses the benefits for new businesses or existing businesses to hire empowerment zone residents, improve their services through upgrade or purchase of equipment, and claim the tax credit on their business tax returns. The overall goal was to educate businesses so that they would be knowledgeable and willing to operate businesses within the EZ. The expected outcome is that there will be more income for low to moderate individuals residing in the six county region. As evidenced by the move of Dollar General into the EZ, “if one industry located in the empowerment, it boasted that county’s economy by five times.”