On December 21, 1994, President Clinton and Vice President Gore established an initiative that would dramatically improve the landscapes of many impoverished American communities. They designated 105 distressed communities across the Nation as Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZs and ECs) through the EZ/EC Initiative. In January 1999, the initiative was expanded through a second round of designations to include Cincinnati as one of 20 new urban and rural Empowerment Zones and 20 new rural Enterprise Communities. Since the inception of the program, the EZ/EC Initiative has been a catalyst for change, improving the lives of thousands of people in America's most distressed rural and urban areas.

The EZ/EC Initiative is an innovative approach to revitalization. It brings communities together through public and private partnerships designed to attract the investment necessary for sustainable economic and community development. The initiative recognizes that local communities, working together, can best identify and develop local solutions to the problems they face.

The EZ/EC Initiative is directed by Vice President Gore through the Community Empowerment Board. Through this cabinet-level, interagency task force, the Federal Government has been actively engaged in assisting the EZs and ECs in realizing their revitalization strategies. By providing tax incentives, technical assistance, and support, the initiative has helped spur private investment in communities that have experienced severe economic decline. The program also provides performance-oriented, flexible Federal grant funding so communities can design local solutions that empower residents to participate in the revitalization of their neighborhoods.

The EZs and ECs have used their Federal seed money to create partnerships that have leveraged more than $12 billion in public and private investment. Strategies resulting from these partnerships have generated jobs; provided business assistance and services; trained and educated youth and families; improved access to childcare, healthcare and transportation; and increased residents' safety and involvement in their neighborhoods.

Following a highly competitive process, President Clinton in 1994 designated 65 cities as Enterprise Communities (ECs) and 6 cities as Empowerment Zones (EZs). The first round of competition for EZ/EC designation occurred in 1994. Funds that were available to communities through Round I designation derived from the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. A second round of competition for EZ/EC designation was held in 1998. Round II winners received funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Appropriations Acts of 1999 and 2000. Please see below for amounts of funding through EZ/EC designation in both Rounds I and II.

Round I (Designations made December 21, 1994)

Nine Empowerment Zones - six urban and three rural zones (for list of EZ/ECs, please click on the "List of EZ/ECs" at the top of this page). Each urban zone received $100 million in flexible social service block grants and tax breaks for zone businesses; each rural zone received $40 million in grants and tax breaks. The President also announced the designation of two Supplemental Empowerment Zones -- Los Angeles, CA and Cleveland, OH - which received economic development grants through HUD. Los Angeles received $450 million in grants, and Cleveland received $174 million.

 

A total of 95 enterprise communities were named by the President through this round of funding. Each EC received $3 million in social service block grants and tax exempt bond financing for EC businesses. Additionally, four Enhanced Enterprise Communities (Boston, MA; Houston, TX; Kansas City, KS/MO; and Oakland, CA) were named. Oakland, Kansas City and Boston each received $22 million in Economic Development Initiative (EDI) funding and $22 million in Section 108 loan guarantee authority. They also received $3 million of SSBG funds. Houston received $175 million in HUD Section 108 loan guarantee authority, $22 million in EDI, and $3 million in SSBG grants.

Round II (Designations made December 31, 1998)

 

Empowerment Zone
Cincinnati is one of twenty new Empowerment Zones -15 urban and 5 rural were designated through Round II competition (for list of EZ/ECs, please click on the "List of EZ/ECs" at the top of this page). The Administration's fiscal year (FY) 2000 budget request to Congress asked for full funding for the EZs. If granted, each urban EZ would receive $100 million over ten years, and each rural EZ would receive $40 million over the same time period.
Enterprise Communities

 

In Round II, only rural areas received Enterprise Community designation. A total of 20 rural ECs were designated through Round II. The Administration's fiscal year (FY) 2000 budget request to Congress asked for full funding for the ECs. If granted, each rural Round II EC would receive $3 million over ten years.