Grants from Governor's Jobs Plan will support efforts to attract, support and integrate remote workers into Maine communities, and stabilize and expand local co-working spaces
The Mills Administration today announced the availability of $500,000 in grant funds to support local co-working spaces, remote workers, and Maine communities through the Remote Worker Welcome Program, a workforce development initiative of the Governor's Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan.
Administered by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the Remote Worker Welcome Program offers funding to attract potential remote workers and their employers to Maine, help communities attract and integrate remote workers and their families, and stabilize and expand coworking spaces to help remote workers to build local networks and successfully contribute to Maine.
"Supporting opportunities for remote work in Maine can also bolster our efforts to attract new talent to our state as part of the 10-Year Economic Development Plan," said Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development.
The online application portal for the program is open now and applications will be accepted through February 16, 2024. Interested and eligible businesses may learn more and apply through the Department's website.
The program also builds on other Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan programs to support remote workers, including financial support to Maine's libraries which also serve as much-needed remote work locations in many Maine communities.
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is the Governor's plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity. Through the Jobs Plan, Maine put federal recovery funds from the Biden Administration and Congress to work faster than any other state in New England.
Since the Jobs Plan went into law on October 18, 2021, its initiatives have delivered $175 million to thousands of Maine businesses, created workforce opportunities for 25,000 people, and invested in more than 400 infrastructure projects statewide to bolster childcare, broadband, energy efficiency and weatherization, housing, and more. For more about Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, visit maine.gov/jobsplan.
New federal data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Maine's Gross Domestic Product has increased by 9.2 percent since Governor Mills took office, the highest rate of growth in New England and among the highest in the nation, including over larger states like New York and California.
About the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development
The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), consists of more than two dozen experts who work to help communities and businesses prosper through a variety of programs providing everything from targeted tax relief to community block grants to tourism marketing. Whether your business wants to make a film here, bring a Maine-made product to market, expand an aquaculture project, or explore financing when moving a business to our state, DECD's experienced staff can help.