We provide regular webinars free of charge and open to all. Our webinars cover a wide range of topics related to community economic development and include approaches to research, theory, and practice.
On this Clean Energy Funding Webinar you will learn from our expert panel about the various paths to obtain federal funding for your home energy improvements statewide and when they might be available, state funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy that can help fund and supplement federal rebates, and about electrification options, especially heat pumps.
Build a strong broadband team – learn tips and processes from Extension community building experts during this interactive workshop. This webinar provides tips, processes, and actionable steps you can take to move your community’s broadband efforts forward. You will learn and practice tools to: Develop and convene your core project team. Identify and engage community stakeholders. Draft a regional broadband vision and goals. Identify key barriers and opportunities related to “Internet for All”.
This webinar highlights several rural workforce challenges and the role that university extension can play in addressing these challenges. It also introduces the Future Opportunities for Rural Workforce and Rural Development (FORWARD) curriculum designed by the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) at Purdue University and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU)—a curriculum intended to support extension professionals in their efforts address some of these rural workforce challenges. The webinar gives particular focus on how labor market information (LMI) and other types of socio-economic data can be more effectively woven into rural workforce planning efforts.
In this webinar you will learn about the seven Justice40 investment areas, what is required to fulfill Justice40 requirements, how to prepare to address it, tools to use, and resources to assist you.
This webinar answers a handful of essential questions: What is downtown revitalization, and why does it matter? Why is it important to quantitatively evaluate revitalization efforts (such as the Main Street Program)? What are some of the challenges involved with the evaluation of downtown revitalization?
In this webinar, you will learn the types of clean transportation funding available to businesses, governments, schools, rural areas and tribes, organizations, and individuals and what you need to do in advance to be ready to apply. You will learn about business funding for EV charging, Drive Clean rural assessments, as well as strategies to apply for electric school buses and electric city buses in Wisconsin. Clean transportation funding can be in your future, we’ll introduce you to resources to assist you.
This is the third session on broadband planning and funding for counties, Tribes, and REDOs. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Broadband Office provided an update the BEAD Local Planning Grant Program, including funding allocations, grant instructions, budgeting and financial reporting details, eligible categories, allowable activities, and deliverables. The Technical Assistance Team from UW-Madison, Division of Extension and WEDC’s Office of Rural Prosperity provided planning updates and resources, including the GEO partners mapping tool available through BEAD Funding and an update of a statewide survey aiding in the development of Wisconsin’s BEAD and Digital Equity Plans.
In this webinar, our expert panel discusses clean energy funding available to businesses at both the Federal and state level, how to optimize your access to funding & financing, strategies to lower your tax liability, and programs to increase the clean energy workforce in Wisconsin.
This webinar describes work from the University of Minnesota-Extension to support business retention and expansion efforts in rural areas. With over 20 years of experience working with rural communities, MN-Extension has developed several resources that support economic development leaders to create a supportive ecosystem for rural business retention and expansion. Three guest presenters, Michael Darger, Marty Walsh, and Amy Schaefer, discuss the importance of business retention and expansion in rural communities.
The second webinar in the Clean Energy Funding Series explores how recent Federal funding will help support the clean energy and climate work of local government, Tribes, schools, and nonprofits. Webinar panelists provide information on current grants, payments, and financing opportunities and what you can do to prepare to apply for them.
This is the second in a series of webinars on broadband planning and funding for local counties and tribes. We discuss Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment technical assistance being offered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Regional Economic Development Organizations, University of Wisconsin Madison-Division of Extension and Wisconsin Public Service Commission-Wisconsin Broadband Office. Participants will receive the next steps for accessing planning funds from the WI Broadband Offices along with expected deliverables.
This first webinar in the Clean Energy Funding Series focuses on agricultural producers and rural small businesses because Rural Energy for America (REAP) guaranteed grants and loans of $2 billion over the next decade is available to the ag sector now. Round 1 grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects are due March 31, 2023. On this webinar, you will learn about funding available at the federal and state levels through United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Focus on Energy, and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing and what you need to do to put together successful applications.
