$14.66M in GO Virginia funds redirected to COVID-19 recovery initiative
More than $14.66 million of Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) funding for economic development has been redirected to a new Economic Resilience and Recovery Program in response to COVID-19-related economic impacts, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on our economy, and we must use every asset we have to assist businesses and communities as we rebuild,” Northam said in a statement. “GO Virginia will be a key partner as we work to spearhead an economic recovery and drive new economic development. Through the Economic Resilience and Recovery program, GO Virginia has been able to pivot and help support these important initiatives throughout the commonwealth.”
Each GO Virginia regional council (which represent different regions of the state) may apply for up to $1 million of the funding to support COVID-19-related initiatives. Typically, the GO Virginia board approves projects that diversify job industries within a particular region and attract high-paying jobs. The funding restructuring was approved by the GO Virginia Board.
“Now more than ever, we need to think creatively about how to utilize GO Virginia resources to address the economic challenges we face today and in the near future,” GO Virginia’s board chair, Dominion Energy Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II, said in a statement. “The GO Virginia regions have demonstrated hard work over the last year with the myriad of projects, and now given the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing innovation and ingenuity with a robust project pipeline that will deliver impact and address their regional economies’ recovery.”
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