READI: Frequently Asked Questions

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) announced the second round of the Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative (READI) funding on April 11. All fifteen of Indiana’s regions received an allocation of funding. The Indiana Uplands region received $30 million.

Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) serves as the intermediary responsible for representing the Uplands region and managing the READI process on behalf of the 10 Uplands counties participating in READI 2.0. A regional steering committee provides guidance and oversight for READI to ROI and helps evaluate potential projects.

ROI is using a two-step process for identifying potential projects. ROI solicited and received project inquiry forms about potential projects from regional stakeholders to inform conversations with IEDC about funding priorities in the region. After ROI and the READI Steering Committee receive final guidance from IEDC, ROI will announce next steps for READI 2.0 projects. This may include an application or RFP process. It is anticipated that ROI will use the project inquiry forms as the basis for inviting more information on some projects through an application or RFP process.

Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, and Owen.

In addition to the $500 million that the IEDC committed to READI 2.0, Lilly Endowment Inc. (LEI) has contributed an additional $250 million for blight remediation and arts and culture projects. A different process will be used by the state to select the projects for the Lilly-funded initiatives. ROI provided two types of project inquiry forms depending on the project type, including one general inquiry form for READI 2.0 and one for arts and culture projects.

READI 2.0 funds can only be used for capital expenses and infrastructure costs. While programmatic costs are not eligible, programmatic expenses may qualify as match for a capital project. However, arts and culture projects funded through the Lilly Endowment funds can include programmatic expenses. If you have questions, contact ROI’s READI project manager at readi@regionalopportunityinc.org.

Our understanding is that Redevelopment/Blight Elimination and Arts & Culture projects may access both READI 2.0 and Lilly Endowment funding.

READI 2.0 requires a 1:1 public match and a 3:1 private match. For every READI dollar requested, you need one dollar of public funding and three dollars of private investment.

If you are selected to receive READI 2.0 funding, match funds, in general, must be secured before project initiation. However, in some situations, the timeline for meeting the match requirements may extend beyond the project’s completion. For example, you may count a tax abatement as a public match that continues post-project construction.

READI investments may take the form of either a grant or a loan. If you have questions about a specific match type, please contact ROI.

View Table of Possible Sources of Match.

Investments made on or after February 16, 2024 (the date that the region turned in the READI 2.0 proposal) may be counted as match.

While the IEDC will consider match across a region’s entire READI portfolio, ideal READI 2.0 projects will aim to meet the stated match requirements. At this point, we do not know if there will be a significant amount of funding generated by other projects that would make it possible to reduce the match requirement for other READI projects.

ROI will know more about next steps after its meeting with IEDC and receipt of a fully executed Agreement with IEDC. Sign up for ROI’s monthly newsletter and follow us on social media to stay updated.

At this time, ROI does not have exact details regarding the availability of funds. We anticipate knowing more in June.

The Indiana Uplands was awarded $30 million from READI 1.0, which funded 27 regional projects. To learn more about the Uplands READI 1.0 projects, please visit https://regionalopportunityinc.org/readi-1-0-projects/.