Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority

What Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority does

ECGRA is a public governmental authority established in February 2008 by Erie County Council under the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004. It serves as Erie County, Pennsylvania's impact investing organization and economic development authority, receiving the second half-percent of the 1% local share gaming revenue from Presque Isle Downs and Casino (approximately $5.7 million annually in earlier periods). The organization distributes these funds — supplemented by ARPA federal allocations and partner-administered loan capital — to Erie County nonprofits, small businesses, municipal governments, youth/education programs, and arts/culture organizations across five declared impact areas.

ECGRA operates with a lean staff of three (Executive Director Perry Wood, Grants Manager Tom Maggio, Executive Assistant Tammi Michali) plus a seven-member board, and runs a portfolio of more than a dozen programs including Ignite Erie (small business acceleration, launched 2014), Building a Better Future (ARPA-funded transformative grants, 2022), Mission Main Street, Renaissance Block, Anchor Building, Multi-Municipal Collaboration, Community Assets, Lead Assets, Special Events, the COVID-19 Response Fund (2020), and the Childcare Industry Stabilization Program (2025). The technology stack is minimal: Foundant's Grant Interface for application processing and BoardEffect for board management. Since inception, ECGRA has deployed over $77-88 million across 244 organizations and 990 investments, supporting 838 jobs and generating $128.4 million in stated economic impact.

The business model is statutory grant-making and impact investing rather than commercial revenue generation. ECGRA's "revenue" is its inflow of mandated gaming tax distributions plus episodic federal ARPA supplements, which it passes through as grants, loans, and mission-related investments. Distribution is direct via the website (ecgra.org), grant application portal, email newsletter, social media, storytelling series, and an extensive partner ecosystem including Bridgeway Capital, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, The Progress Fund, 1855 Capital, Blue Highway Capital, Penn State Behrend, Mercyhurst, Gannon, Edinboro, the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, and the Erie Community Foundation.

Name

Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority

Legal name

Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority

Website

https://ecgra.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ECGRA is a public governmental authority in Erie County, Pennsylvania, established in 2008 under the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. It receives mandated local share gaming revenue from Presque Isle Downs and Casino and deploys grants, loans, and impact investments to local nonprofits, small businesses, municipalities, and arts/culture organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Grant Administration

akta.pro primary industry

Racing Associations, Governance & Integrity Services (MPAEADAL)

Keywords

• Impact investing
• Government grant administration
• Community development funding
• Nonprofit grant programs
• Economic development grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Erie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Gaming Revenue Distribution: ECGRA receives local share gaming revenue from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania via the Horse Race Gaming Act (Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004). Erie County receives 1% of annual gross revenue from Presque Isle Downs and Casino, with the second half-percent entrusted to ECGRA.
2. ARPA Federal Funding: American Rescue Plan Act funds received from Erie County Council for COVID-19 relief and economic recovery programs including Building a Better Future Transformative Grant Program and childcare industry stabilization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ECGRA is a public governmental authority that administers Erie County's local share gaming revenue from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (½% of Presque Isle Downs and Casino's annual gross revenue, approximately $5.7 million per year) along with ARPA federal relief funds. The organization makes grants and impact investments to empower nonprofits, small businesses, and municipal governments across Erie County across five impact areas: Small Business, Youth & Education, Quality of Place, Neighborhoods & Local Communities, and Municipalities.

Product overview

ECGRA operates as an impact investing organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of grant programs and initiatives designed to revitalize Erie County, Pennsylvania through economic and community development. The organization administers multiple distinct programs including Ignite Erie (small business development), Building a Better Future (ARPA-funded transformative grants), various neighborhood development programs (Mission Main Street, Renaissance Block, Anchor Building), municipal collaboration initiatives, community asset investments (Lead Assets, Special Events, Community Assets), youth and education programs, and childcare industry stabilization efforts. These programs are funded by local share gaming revenue from Pennsylvania's Horse Race Gaming Act and ARPA federal relief funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ignite Erie: A $6 million initiative launched in 2014 to spur inner-city small business development, foster industry-university collaborations for business acceleration, and offer financing products for starting, growing, and reinventing small business.
• Lead Assets
• Building a Better Future

Products and services

• Ignite Erie A $6 million initiative to spur inner-city small business development, foster industry-university collaborations for business acceleration, and provide financing products for starting, growing, and reinventing small business in Erie County. Partners include Bridgeway Capital, The Progress Fund, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, PennVenture Partners, 1855 Capital, Blue Highway Capital, Urban Erie CDC, and regional universities.
• Building a Better Future A transformative grant program funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal relief funds ($4 million initially, plus $2.5 million for childcare stabilization in 2025), providing funding for entrepreneurship, quality of place, and community facilities projects to aid COVID-19 recovery and economic revitalization.
• Mission Main Street Grants Grants for organizations dedicated to revitalization of main street or commercial corridors. Planning grants up to $10,000; implementation grants up to $250,000, with a 1:1 cash match required. Max $2,500,000 in 2018-2021 funding cycle.
• Renaissance Block Program A financial incentive-based program established in 2018 to address and reverse housing blight in Erie County. Awards up to $100,000 per application with a 1:1 cash match requirement.
• Anchor Building Program An adaptive re-use funding program established in 2018 to strengthen communities by redeveloping underutilized or vacant buildings. Minimum request $25,000, awards up to $100,000 per application.
• Multi-Municipal Collaboration Grants Grants to catalyze functional cooperation among Erie County's 38 municipalities and support economic growth. Awards up to $100,000 per application on a rolling submission basis.
• Erie County COVID-19 Response Fund A three-pronged COVID-19 relief program including Immediate Human Relief Fund ($876,794 total awarded), Nonprofit Loan Fund ($1.6 million), and Small Business Loan Fund ($1.6 million), administered in partnership with Bridgeway Capital.
• Childcare Industry Stabilization Program A three-pronged ARPA-funded initiative ($2.5 million) launched in 2025 to stabilize and improve the early childhood learning and daycare industry through workforce stabilization ($1.5 million in educator retention awards), incentivizing facility expansions ($995,538), and new facility construction.
• Lead Assets Program Sustained support for nine designated place-shaping culture, heritage, and recreation-based nonprofit organizations including Erie Art Museum, Erie Philharmonic, Erie Playhouse, Erie Zoo, and others. Includes grants and endowment funds at The Erie Community Foundation (grown to more than $11 million).
• Special Events Grants Grants funding up to 5% of events within Erie County that are open to the general public and promote regional economic and cultural growth. Applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations, municipalities, or authorities headquartered in Erie County.
• Community Assets Grants Capital and program funding for arts, culture, and heritage organizations (up to $15,000 per application, $200,000 per cycle), community centers, and parks/fields/trails projects throughout Erie County.
• Venture Investment Impact investing program providing venture capital and mission-related investments for small business growth within Erie County, working with partners like 1855 Capital and Blue Highway Capital.
• Summer Jobs and More Youth employment and education initiative providing job training and workforce development opportunities for Erie County youth and displaced workers, connecting them with local employers.
• Beehive Innovation Spaces Physical innovation spaces on university campuses providing equipment, talent, and collaboration opportunities between institutions and entrepreneurs for prototype development, branding, business intelligence, and technology services.
• Local Government Development Quarterly gaming revenue distributions to six municipalities contiguous to Presque Isle Downs and Casino (Greene, McKean, Millcreek, Summit, Waterford townships, and Erie County) for human services, infrastructure, facilities, and emergency services. Over $20 million provided since 2010.
• School District Endowment Foundation Challenge Initiative within the Impacting Youth & Education portfolio that supports school district endowment foundations by encouraging endowed funds through matching and challenge grant mechanics.
• Human Services Grants Human services grant funding administered under the Impacting Place portfolio for Erie County-based human services organizations serving community needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• $128.4 million economic impact generated through 990 strategic investments
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Erie County Redevelopment AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Partnership to administer Main Street Impact Fund providing $95,000 loans to EFI Connection backed by $1 million ECGRA investment. Both authorities indicated plans to continue distributing loans to other local businesses.
• Bridgeway CapitalcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunity Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that administers ECGRA's loan programs including COVID-19 Nonprofit and Small Business Loan Fund, Ignite Erie financing, and Erie Inclusive Fund. ECGRA has multiple loan agreements with Bridgeway Capital (2016, 2018).
• Ben Franklin Technology PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie partner providing technology business acceleration services and TechCelerator program for entrepreneurs in Erie County.
• The Progress FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie partner providing financing products for starting, growing, and reinventing small business in the region.
• Urban Erie Community Development CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie partner supporting inner-city small business development and neighborhood economic growth.
• Penn State The Behrend CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie university partner hosting QuickStarter program and Beehive innovation space for student-entrepreneur collaboration on business concepts.
• Mercyhurst UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie university partner providing student talent and business acceleration resources through Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture and other programs.
• Gannon UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie university partner hosting Erie Technology Incubator for business acceleration and startup support.
• Edinboro UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Erie university partner supporting regional workforce development and entrepreneurship programs.
• Erie County Land BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECGRA contributed $1 million of gaming funds to start operation of Erie County Land Bank in 2018 to help prevent property blight.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bridgeway Capital: Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) administering ECGRA's loan funds (COVID-19, Ignite Erie, Erie Inclusive). Directly comparable as a CDFI deploying impact capital in the same region with overlapping mission.
• The Progress Fund: Ignite Erie CDFI partner providing financing products for small business start/growth/reinvention in northwest PA. Directly comparable as a regional small-business impact lender operating with similar mandate.
• Erie County Redevelopment Authority: County-level public authority in the same geography administering redevelopment financing, partnering with ECGRA on the Main Street Impact Fund. Directly comparable as a fellow Erie County public development authority deploying catalytic capital.
• Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board: State regulatory body governing all PA gaming activity including Presque Isle Downs. Directly comparable as the regulatory counterpart to ECGRA's distribution authority within the same Pennsylvania Gaming Act framework.
• The Erie Community Foundation: Holds the ECGRA-funded Lead Assets Endowment ($11M+) in trust and deploys philanthropic capital across Erie County. Comparable as a regional grant-making/impact-investing institution with similar mission and geography.
• 1855 Capital: Ignite Erie financial partner providing capital investments for small business development in Erie. Directly comparable as a CDFI partner operating in the same ecosystem with overlapping investment thesis.
• Blue Highway Capital: Ignite Erie financial partner providing financing for business growth in PA. Directly comparable as a regional growth-capital partner working alongside ECGRA through loan agreements (2019, 2024).
• Urban Erie Community Development Corporation: Ignite Erie partner supporting inner-city small business development and neighborhood economic growth in Erie. Directly comparable as a local community/economic-development nonprofit receiving ECGRA partnership support.
• Ben Franklin Technology Partners: Core Ignite Erie partner providing TechCelerator business acceleration for tech-based entrepreneurs. Directly comparable as a Pennsylvania impact-investing/technology-business-acceleration partner working alongside ECGRA.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development financial institution deploying catalytic capital into underserved communities. Comparable as a larger, established peer operating with similar impact-investing framework at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ecgra814
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCd_4SB1cR-tDMrMck-D9Ftw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ECGRA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erie-county-gaming-revenue-authority

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority