Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA)

Founded in February 2008, ECGRA was established by Erie County government to administer Erie County’s share of gaming funds from the Commonwealth’s Department of Revenue.

A grant-making organization, ECGRA’s mission is to catalyze the nonprofit sector toward economic and community development. Grants are made in four key areas:
  • Economic Development
  • Lead Assets
  • Municipalities
  • Regional Assets
Highlights of Community Impact:
  • Historic investments in small businesses to two revolving loan funds, the Erie Innovation Fund and the Start, Grow & Prosper Initiative, totaling over $2.2M
  • Investment in the region’s special events and community & lead assets of more than $1M
  • Municipal investment for public safety, infrastructure, and facilities over $5M
  • Collaboration with the Erie Community Foundation to support social service agencies with $250,000
  • Total money at work in Erie County: Just under $20M
For more information, please visit www.ECGRA.org or contact the ECGRA office directly:

Perry N. Wood
Executive Director
814-897-2693
pwood@ecgra.org

Diane K. Kuvshinikov
Executive Assistant
814-897-2690
dianek@ECGRA.org

Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority
5240 Knowledge Parkway, Suite A
Erie, PA 16510

Start, Grow, Prosper Initiative

The Start, Grow, Prosper Initiative is a collaboration of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA), Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA, the Economic Development Corporation of Erie County and the Gannon University Small Business Development Center (www.sbdcgannon.org).

The Initiative was seeded with a $1.65 million dollar grant from ECGRA in October of 2010. The purpose is to provide assistance and financing to small businesses starting up and expanding through a suite of options designed to target job creation in Erie County. Financing options include:
  • Micro-loans up to $25,000
  • Working capital, machinery & equipment, real estate acquisition up to $250,000
To learn how your business can benefit, contact:

Barbara Ward, Business Consultant
Gannon University SBDC, Ward018@gannon.edu
Ph (814) 871-7204  
Cell (814) 882-7343
Fx (814) 871-7383

Erie Innovation Fund

The Erie Innovation Fund is a partnership between the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA. The purpose of the fund is to increase business growth in Erie County by making additional investment capital available to local technology entrepreneurs as well as established companies/manufacturers looking for new market opportunities. The Erie Innovation Fund invests up to $250,000 in two types of companies:
  • Erie County-based, early stage, tech-based companies (typically pre-revenue) that can provide a concrete plan for the development and commercialization of a technology that will likely result in increased competitiveness along with the creation and retention of jobs.
  • Erie County-based, established companies/manufacturers, with less than 500 employees, that have a concrete plan to develop a new product or process that will likely result in increased competitiveness along with the creation and retention of jobs.
Companies that receive funding will also have the opportunity to get business mentoring and support from the Ben Franklin Transformation Business Services Network. By combining business and technical assistance with financing, companies engaged in tech-based product and market development become better equipped to meet the challenges associated with growth.

To learn how your business can benefit, contact:

Liz Wilson, Director of Marketing
Ben Franklin Technology Partners CNP

Ph (814) 898-6541
lizwilson@psu.edu
http://cnp.benfranklin.org