TRANSFORM YOUR HOMETOWN: 2024-2025 COMMUNITY ECONOMIC RESILIENCY INITIATIVE (CERI)

ACOG has designated a portion of the awarded 2023-2025 EDA Planning Grant to provide valuable planning services to the municipalities within our region. As a result, ACOG has reserved $45,000 to fund two cities to take part in the 2024-2025 Community Economic Resiliency Initiative (CERI) Program.

The CERI Program offers municipal governments the opportunity to develop planning demonstration (demo) sites that will model strategic community and long-term economic investment with a focus on placemaking and cultural heritage tourism. CERI aims to engage local governments to develop the tools they need to become economically resilient and sustainable. Depending upon the scope of their application project, successful applicants will receive valuable planning consultant services, community research and public engagement guidance, proposed project implementation strategies, and best practices training.

Eligible entities include any city/town that is a member of the ACOG Board of Directors that has a population of 25,000 residents or less based on the 2020 U.S. Census Data and that is located within Logan, Oklahoma, Canadian, or Cleveland Counties. No exceptions will be made to the geographical or demographic requirements.

ACOG developed a budget of $22,500 designated per city/town to provide practical planning assistance through our partnership with the Institute for Quality Communities at the University of Oklahoma (IQC). Any municipality that wishes to take part in the CERI Program must contribute $2,500 in local funding for a total of $25,000 in valuable planning consultant services. ARPA or any other federal funds are not eligible for the contribution.