Federal Grant Opportunities

BUILD Grants
BUILD Transportation grants replace the pre-existing Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. These federal funds leverage money from private sector partners, states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, ports, and transit agencies. Projects for BUILD will be evaluated based on merit criteria that include safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental protection, state of good repair, innovation, partnership, and additional non-Federal revenue for future transportation infrastructure investments. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Revolving Funds for Financing Water and Wastewater Projects Program
This USDA Rural Development program supports predevelopment costs for water or wastewater projects to finance short-term and small capital projects that are not part of regular operation and maintenance costs for water and wastewater systems. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Grant Presentation from USDA

ReConnect Loan and Grant Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering up to $550 million in loans and grants to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. Telecommunications companies, rural electric cooperatives and utilities, internet service providers, and municipalities may apply for funding through the USDA’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program. For more information, click here.  The application period is closed.

USDA Community Connect Grant Program
The Community Connect program serves rural communities where broadband service is least likely to be available, but where it can make a tremendous difference in the quality of life for citizens. The projects funded by these grants will help rural residents tap into the enormous potential of the Internet. Click here for more information. 

Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD)
Applications for projects that prioritize strategic investments to grow the economy and build prosperity in rural communities are being accepted.Funding may be used to develop and implement multi-jurisdictional or multi-sectoral strategic community investment plans.

Priority may be given to applications submitted through the following programs: 

• Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program;
• Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program; 
• Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program;
• Water and Waste Disposal Loan Guarantees; 
• Business & Industry Loan Guarantees; 
• Rural Business Development Grants

For more information visit USDA or contact Kristen.Grifka@usda.gov or gregory.batson@usda.gov.

Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program
The purpose of this program is to provide financial assistance to improve the economic condition of rural areas through cooperative development. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations or institutions of higher learning. Local governments aren't eligible, but are encouraged to share the information with appropriate entities. For more information, click here. Applications are being accepted.

Rural Business Development Grants
This program is a competitive grant designed to support targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas which will employ 50 or fewer new employees and has less than $1 million in gross revenue. Programmatic activities are separated into enterprise or opportunity type grant activities. For more information, click here. Application period is open.

Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program
Grants are being provided through the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program. Applications are accepted to assist communities in identifying and planning for community facility needs; identify resources to finance community facility needs from public and private sources; and prepare reports and surveys necessary to request financial assistance to develop community facilities. For more information, click here.  The application period is closed.

Section 504 Home Repair Program
Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants, also known as the Section 504 Home Repair Program, aims to provide loans for very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their homes. A 504 loan can reach a maximum of $20,000 at a fixed interest rate of 1 percent. The 504 Program also provides grants, which can be worth a maximum of $7,500 and may only be issued to eligible seniors aged 62 and older, and may only be used for the removal of health and safety hazards. In order to qualify for a 504 loan, an applicant must be the homeowner and occupy the house, be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere, and have a family income below 50 percent of the area’s median income. For grants, the only qualification is that an applicant must be 62 years of age or older and must be unable to repay a repair loan. For more information, call 717-237-2266. Applications for this program are taken year-round.

Local Foods, Local Places Federal Assistance for Sustainable Communities
This program aims to help rural communities integrate strategies for local food efforts into their economic action plans. Eligible rural projects should help revitalize downtowns, main street districts, and traditional neighborhoods by supporting farmers' markets, food hubs, community gardens, community kitchens, and local food enterprises. The application period is closed.

Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant
This program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas. This program is open to communities of 10,000 or less. To learn more, click here. Applications are being accepted on an ongoing basis.

Farmers Market Promotion Program
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service program to help develop, coordinate and expand direct producer to consumer markets to help increase access to and availability and regionally produced agricultural products supporting both capacity building and community development, training and technical assistance projects. The application period is closed.

USDA Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants in PA
This program This program helps eligible communities prepare for, or recover from, an emergency that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water for households and businesses. For more information, click here. Applications for this program are accepted through your local Rural Development Office year round.

USDA Housing Preservation Grants
This program provides grants to sponsoring organizations for the repair or rehabilitation of housing occupied by low and very low income people. Eligible expenses include repairing or replacing electrical wiring, foundations, roofs, insulation, heating systems and water/waste disposal systems; handicap accessibility features; and labor and materials. The program is open to towns with less than 20,000 people. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Support for Land Acquisition to Conserve Habitats
Acres for America is the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's premier land conservation program, and was established to provide urgently needed funding for projects that conserve important large-scale habitats for fish, wildlife, and plants through land acquisitions and perpetual conservation easements. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Solid Waste Management Grant Program
The USDA grant program finances free technical assistance and/or training provided by the grant recipient to reduce or eliminate pollution of water resources and improve planning and management of solid waste sites in rural areas. The application period is closed.

Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, is soliciting pre-proposals under the Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants program to restore water quality and habitats of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams. For more information, click here. The application period is closd.

Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program
The USDA Technical Assistance Training grant program assists communities with water or wastewater systems through free technical assistance and/or training provided by the grant recipients. The application period is closed.

Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns
The Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns Grant Program was created to support design projects, financing strategies, and/or implementation of green street projects. The goal is stormwater management retrofits such as green streets, greening of urban vacant lots, and urban tree canopy projects that enhance livability in cities and communities that can be replicated elsewhere Click here for more information. The application period is closed.

Clean Diesel Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funds projects to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing emissions from the nation's existing fleet of diesel engines, including for projects that significantly reduce diesel emissions and exposure, especially from fleets operating in areas designated as having poor air quality. Priority for funding will be given to projects that engage and benefit local communities and applicants that demonstrate their ability to promote and continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. Eligible applicants include regional, state, local or tribal agencies, or port authorities with jurisdiction over transportation or air quality. The application period is closed.

Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup Grant Guidelines
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requests proposals for three types of brownfields grants: (1) Brownfields Assessment Grants to provide funds to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning (including cleanup planning), and community involvement related to brownfield sites; (2) Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants to provide funding for a grant recipient to capitalize a revolving fund and to make loans and provide subgrants to conduct cleanup activities at brownfield sites; and (3) Brownfields Cleanup Grants to provides funds to conduct cleanup activities at a specific brownfield site owned by the applicant. The maximum grant award will be $600,000. The application period is closed.

Flood Mitigation Assistance & Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
FEMA announced funding for two grant programs, the Flood Mitigation Assistance grant and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, will provide funds to states, local communities, tribes and territories for eligible mitigation activates to strengthen our nation’s ability to build a culture of preparedness. These programs allow for funding to be used on projects that will reduce future disaster losses. For more information, click here. The application period opens on September 30, 2020. Eligible applicants must apply for funding using the new FEMA Grants Outcome (FEMA GO), which is now the management system for FMA and BRIC. Submit applications no later than 3 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2021.

Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant
EPA is authorized to fund research, technical assistance and/or training activities that facilitate the inventory of brownfields, site assessments, remediation of brownfields sites, community involvement, or site preparation. This request for proposals (RFP) solicits proposals from eligible entities to conduct research and/or technical assistance activities that culminate in an area-wide plan for brownfields assessment, cleanup and subsequent reuse. Grant-funded activities must be directed to one or more catalyst, high priority brownfield site(s) located within a specific project area, such as a neighborhood, downtown, business or arts district, a local commercial or industrial corridor, a community waterfront, one or more city blocks, etc. Click here for more information. The application period is closed.

Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, is soliciting pre-proposals under the Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants program to restore water quality and habitats of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams. Click here for more information. The application period is closed.

Brownfields Training, Research, and Technical Assistance
Contact your regional office to see what technical assistance and partnerships are available. Click here for more information.

COPS Hiring Program
The COPS Hiring Program, funded through the U.S. Dept. of Justice, provides funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Click here for more information. This program is on hold due to legal action.

Community Policing Development Program
The Community Policing Development Program, through the U.S. Department of Justice, advances community policing through training and technical assistance, the development of innovative community policing strategies, applied research, guidebooks, and best practices that are national in scope and responsive to the solicitation topics. Click here for more information. The application period is closed.

COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program
Advances public safety by providing funds to investigate illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or unlawful distribution of prescription opioids, or unlawful heroin and prescription opioid traffickers through statewide collaboration. Open only to state law enforcement agencies with multijurisdictional reach and interdisciplinary team structures. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Federal Fire Protection and Safety Grants Available
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is now accepting applications for the FY 2020 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grant Program. FP&S grants are offered to support projects in two activities: fire prevention and safety and firefighter safety research and development. For more information, visit FEMA. The application deadline is closed.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
The goal of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, offered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grants
The purpose of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Program is to reimburse states, counties, federally recognized tribes, cities, and local jurisdictions up to 50 percent of the cost of body armor vests purchased for law enforcement officers. Click here for more information. This is a reimbursement program.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance Firefighters Grant Program is accepting applications for $100 million in funding to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies.This funding is authorized by the federal CARES Act. Both fire department and certain EMS entities not affiliated with a hospital may apply. These grants are competitive and are limited to the purchase of PPE and supplies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. This includes reimbursement for expenditures made since Jan. 2, 2020. Click here for more information. Click here to access the online application portal. Application deadline is closed.

FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety Grants
The purpose of the FP&S Program is to reach high-risk target groups and reduce deaths and injuries caused by fire and fire-related hazards. Funding under FP&S also supports Firefighter safety as well as Research and Development (R&D) activities. The allocation of FP&S awards is a highly competitive process; awards are determined based on an applicant’s ability to both address FP&S program priorities and provide the most compelling justification for their need. The NOFO and technical assistance documents for this program are available at www.grants.gov and on the FEMA website. The application period is closed.

STOP Violence Against Women Grant
The Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program provides support to encourage governments and courts to treat sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system and community-based victim service organizations. This is a formulary grant program. Click here for more information.
 

HOPE VI Main Street Program
HUD will provide grants to small communities to assist in the renovation of an historic or traditional central business district or "Main Street" area by replacing unused commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units. The objectives of the program are to (1) redevelop Main Street areas; (2) preserve historic or traditional central business district or Main Street area properties by replacing unused commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units; (3) enhance economic development efforts in Main Street areas; and (4) provide affordable housing in Main Street areas. This program is contingent on Congressional funding. The application period is closed.

Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced funding to leverage investments in public schools and education programs, early learning programs and services, crime prevention strategies, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs. Eligible projects should incorporate sustainable development into their proposals, such as energy efficiency, green building, renewable energy, and public transportation. The application period is closed.

Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program
This program provides grants to eliminate lead in public and low income housing. For more information, click here.  The application deadline is July 12, 2021.

Rural Housing Preservation Grant
This program provices grants to to assist very low- and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in rural areas.For more information, click here.  The application deadline is July 19, 2021.

Preservation Technology and Training Grants
This program provides support to create better tools, materials, and approaches to conserving buildings, landscapes, sites, and collections. For more information, click here. The application period is closed.

Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grants
The DLT Program provides financial assistance to enable and improve distance learning and telemedicine services in rural areas. DLT grant funds support the use of telecommunications-enabled information, audio and video equipment, and related advanced technologies by students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents. These grants are intended to increase rural access to education, training, and health care resources that are otherwise unavailable or limited in scope. For more information, click here. Application period is closed.