How is the plan being funded?

The Elevate Elwood 2035 Plan is being funded by Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) decides who receives this funding. Rural communities have pressing needs requiring outside financial assistance, so OCRA requests federal funds from HUD to help with various projects, including comprehensive plans, sewer systems, water utilities, community centers, and health/safety programs. Elwood received $50,000 to complete its comprehensive plan, which is the maximum amount the city could receive. Communities with populations less than 10,000 people can receive up to $50,000 in funding, and communities with populations greater than 10,000 people can receive up to $60,000 in funding.  

Since the Elevate Elwood 2035 Plan is funded by OCRA, the process and the plan itself must meet OCRA’s standards. The Elevate Elwood 2035 Plan will look different from typical comprehensive plans, because OCRA provides an outline of how the plan must be structured and what information must be included. OCRA-funded comprehensive plans must be completed within a 12-month window, including at least 90 days for OCRA to review the document, offer feedback, and reevaluate the plan after edits have been made. Therefore, the Elevate Elwood 2035 planning process will be completed faster than typical comprehensive plan processes to allow for the 90-day review period and to ensure that the plan is adopted by March 2022. Comprehensive planning processes typically last 12-14 months, but the Elevate Elwood 2035 planning process will last about 9 months excluding the OCRA review period to ensure the plan is completed and adopted by March 2022. The project officially started in March 2021, so it must be closed out--completed and adopted--by March 2022. To learn more about the Elevate Elwood 2035 planning process or how you can get involved, visit www.elevateelwood.com and connect with us on social media!