FOCUS FORWARD
The go-to resource to keep Wisconsin citizens, communities and businesses moving forward.
WORKING TOGETHER TO PREPARE WISCONSIN TO PROSPER
By working together, we can overcome the unprecedented challenges COVID-19 has put on us all. Focus Forward provides tools, information and inspiration related to business, community and personal resilience. It’s a place to communicate and connect regularly, where you’ll find information on financial and operational assistance programs from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and other state and federal partners that will prepare you for economic recovery. Most of all, it’s a destination to unite, roll up our sleeves and get to work helping each other and the entire state of Wisconsin move forward.
FOCUS FORWARD VIDEOS & LIVESTREAM EVENTS
Join WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes for videos and livestream events covering business-critical topics and peer-to-peer conversations featuring recovery tips. You’ll find the information and insights your business and community need to successfully move beyond the current crisis.
Stay tuned for Focus Forward livestreams, featuring information on reopening and recovery efforts. We’ll also take your questions live as we work together to get Wisconsin’s economy and your business back on track.
FOCUS FORWARD PODCAST
THE VOICE OF WISCONSIN BUSINESS
The Focus Forward podcast connects business and community leaders and other Wisconsin “doers” in conversations about how we can all help each other succeed. In each episode, WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes guides the discussion toward real and actionable advice you can incorporate in your business or community to help overcome the challenges you’re facing today and prepare for the new opportunities of tomorrow.
PROGRAMS & RESOURCES
Focus Forward is here to connect you to the programs and resources WEDC, other state partners and national organizations have created to help your business. It’s our commitment to make it easier for you to find the information you need for relief and recovery, including WEDC financial assistance for Wisconsin companies, SBA disaster assistance, COVID-19 federal relief programs and more. Subscribe to our Focus Forward updates to ensure you have access to the newest programs and resources as they become available.
Now available: Episode 2 of the Wisconsin Employer Vaccine Forum
In a series focused on how employers can help build public support for COVID-19 vaccines, the second episode contains insights from employment and disability law to make sure that employers’ communications and practices do not violate employee medical rights and protections. Read More
FOCUS FORWARD UPDATES
Stay in-the-know about important Wisconsin business and economic news, community announcements and new programs and resources available for your business.
New video explores how employers can support the vaccination effort—and why they should
Vaccines will help bring the pandemic to an end and aid economic recovery, and employers are a trusted source of information for their workers—so businesses play a key role in the vaccination effort. Read More
Apply for a grant from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
Pre-registration begins April 30 for the program, which will provide emergency assistance equal to a business’s pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and $5 million per physical location. Read More
Wisconsin Main Street Downtown Pitch Contest now open for applications
The contest is open to Wisconsin residents 18 and older with a for-profit business idea located (or planned to be located) in a community that is part of either the Wisconsin Main Street Program or the Connect Communities Program. Read More