CHENANGO COUNTY – Chenango County may profit from a new round of federal grant funds awarded this week to help trigger economic growth in the region.

U.S. Representative Richard Hanna announced Monday that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) will allocate $210,000 in federal grant funding to agencies across upstate New York in order to promote economic development and job creation.

Three regions in the 22nd Congressional District, including the Southern Tier, Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, were each awarded $70,000 to create a framework for economic development and help design a strategy that supports private capital investment and job creation in the region.

“It is my hope that this grant funding will be instrumental in helping to strengthen public-private partnerships to create more jobs for upstate New Yorkers,” said Congressman Hanna. “It can grow our local economies and create a strategy for keeping our neighbors working and our communities strong for years to come.”

In the Souther Tier, grant funds will be administered to Souther Tier East Regional Planning and Development Board, a regional planning and economic development organization whose mission is to partner with counties in the Southern Tier to address issues that might improve the quality of life throughout the region. The organization provides services in Chenango, Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga and Tompkins counties.

While the most recent round of EDA funding is something given annually, these funds play a decisive role in bringing project ideas to fruition, explained Eric Miller, Director of Southern Tier East.