Ford plant donates its jobs grant

Avon Lake announced in April its annual Jobs Growth Incentive Program awards, and Ford Motor Company received the maximum award of $50,000. The team at the Ohio Assembly Plant decided to make this donation to Second Harvest, according to a news release.

“The City of Avon Lake is very pleased that Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant has donated $25,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank,” said Mayor Greg Zilka in the release. “The plant’s very successful year in 2019 resulted in our grant to Ford, and we are pleased that they are giving back to the region in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once again, the Ohio Assembly Plant has demonstrated a commitment to our community. We are all in this together.”

“Our Jobs Growth Incentive Program is unique,” said Economic Development Director Ted Esborn also in the release. “It is designed simply to provide a token of appreciation to those companies whose growth has benefited the city. It is inspiring when a company chooses to re-invest their award in the community, which the Ohio Assembly Plant is doing here in a huge way.”

Avon Lake’s Jobs Growth Incentive Program was created in 2012 and reauthorized in 2017, the release explained. Each spring, the city looks at the business income tax for every business in Avon Lake. Every business that has a year-over-year increase in income tax receives a grant award from the city in the amount of 25% of the increase, with a maximum award of $50,000 and a minimum award of $25. Eligible organizations are for-profit entities that have a substantial part of their operation occurring at a commercial property in Avon Lake; home-based businesses do not qualify.