Funding

Applications accepted year round. This program provides financing for the construction, maintenance, improvement and expansion of telephone service and broadband in rural areas. For more information on other programs administered by RUS Telecommunications please visit : http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/telecom-programs

The purpose of FEMA’s Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program is to make grants to States, to assist State, local, tribal, and territorial governments in preparing for all hazards. The EMPG program supports efforts to build and sustain core capabilities across the nation. Past outcomes have included strengthening governance integration, approved emergency plans, trainings, and whole community approaches to emergency management. FEMA anticipates awarding approximately 58 grants with an available funding amount of $332 million. Periods of performance will last 24 months.

Grant deadline unknown for 2016. Communities are invited to apply for assistance from Local Foods, Local Places, a new program supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) to help create more livable places by promoting local foods. Priorities given to communities within Appalachia and surrounding regions, see application for more details.

Deadline Passed 12/05/2018. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The National Forest Foundation Community Capacity and Land Stewardship Program (CCLS) provides funding to increase the capacity of organizations implementing large scale restoration projects that benefit National Forests and Grasslands. As a whole, CCLS seeks to help community-based and collaborative organizations remove barriers to watershed and/or landscape scale restoration projects, and help facilitate job creation and retention and business development in their region. Each regional program offered has specific, unique desired outcomes.

To view the slides from the 2018 informational webinar, click here. 

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program (VPA-HIP) encourages private landowners to voluntarily make their land available to the public for wildlife-dependent recreation. States and tribes approved for funding of this Farm Service Agency (FSA) program use the funds as incentives to encourage private landowners of farms, ranches, and forests to make that land available to the public for wildlife-dependent recreation. This may include hunting or fishing. The overall goal of VPA-HIP is to enhance wildlife habitat and management and to boost local economies through activities that attract wildlife enthusiasts.

Deadline passed as of June 28, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The Agriculture and Natural Resources Science for Climate Variability and Change Challenge Area RFA focuses on the societal challenge to adapt agroecosystems and natural resource systems to climate variability and change and implement mitigation strategies in those systems. In the Agriculture and Natural Resources Science for Climate Variability and Change Challenge Area RFA, specific program areas are designed to achieve the long-term outcome of reducing the use of energy, nitrogen, reducing GHG emissions from practices, and water in the production of food, feed, fiber, and fuel; reduce GHG emissions from these agroecosystems; and increase carbon sequestration. Project types supported by AFRI within this RFA include multi-function integrated research, education, and/or extension projects and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants.

Applications Due: March 31, 2023. Under Section 40101(d) Formula Grant Program of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Department of Energy will provide grants to States (including U.S. Territories) and Indian Tribes to improve the resilience of their electric grids. States and Indian Tribes may further allocate funds to “eligible entities”, as defined by Section 40101(d). These grants offer a unique opportunity to advance the capabilities of States and Indian Tribes, and their communities, to address not only current, but future resilience needs.

Letter of Interest Deadline: February 28, 2023. The Resilience Collaborative seeks to fund justice-focused, environmental and climate projects that advance community-centered resilience priorities. The Collaborative is particularly interested in supporting frontline communities and tribes or nonprofits and community organizations that serve frontline communities and tribes. Project topics can include capacity building, developing a community-centered resilience plan, developing Indigenous climate knowledge, and more. Awardees must be based in Washington, Idaho or Oregon. Funding amount (provided by NOAA and University of Washington EarthLab) varies based on level or project ranging from $5,000 up to $50,000 for one year. Projects of varying levels will be funded as follows: Level 1: $5,000 to $10,000; Level 2: $15,000 to $30,000; Level 3: $35,000 to $50,000. Additional information and an opoprtunity to have questions answered will be available at an informational webinar on Friday, January 20, 2023 and during open office hours Tuesday, January 24, 3-4:30 p.m. and Thursday, February 16, noon-1:30 p.m. More information is available here.

Deadline Passed 01/31/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences hereby notifies Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) with R01, R21, R15, R35, R37, or P01 awards that funds are available for administrative supplements to support summer research experiences in environmental health science for high school students, college undergraduates, master’s degree candidates, medical students, secondary school science teachers, and science professors from R15/AREA grant eligible institutions. Administrative supplements must support work within the scope of the original project.

The Village Safe Water Program provides technical and financial support to communities to design and construct water and wastewater systems. It is meant to assist Alaska Native Villages and Alaska rural communities with the construction of new or improved drinking water and wastewater systems. This funding can also be used to provide training and technical assistance in the operations and maintenance of these systems.

Deadline: April 3, 2023. This program assists in the development, construction, and retrofitting of new and emerging technologies for the development of Advanced Biofuels, Renewable Chemicals, and Biobased Product Manufacturing by providing loan guarantees for up to $250 million. Letters of intent are due March 1, 2023.

REAP (formerly known as the "006" program) offers grants and/or loan guarantees for the purchase and installation of renewable energy generating systems. Assistance is limited to small businesses, farmers and ranchers. Projects must be located in a rural area. REAP grants and guarantees may be used individually or in combination. Together, they may finance up to 75 percent of a project's total cost. Grants can never finance more than 25 percent f a project or $500,000 -- whichever is less. While applications are accepted continuously, funding is not always available. Please see website for opportunity to sign up to be notified about funding availability.

Deadline passed as of August 4, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. This AFRI Challenge Area addresses critical water resources issues such as drought, excess soil moisture, flooding, quality and others in an agricultural context. Funding will be used to develop management practices, technologies, and tools for farmers, ranchers, forest owners and managers, public decision makers, public and private managers, and citizens to improve water resource quantity and quality. The long-term goal of the AFRI Water for Agriculture Challenge Area is to tackle critical water issues by developing both regional systems for the sustainable use and reuse, flow and management of water, and at the watershed and farm scales, water issues focused on production and environmental sustainability efforts. Project types supported within this Challenge area are multi-function Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension Projects and Food and Agricultural Enhancement (FASE) Grants.

Funding opportunities take three forms: Open on an ongoing basis, without deadlines. Open for a limited time, with specific deadlines. By invitation from a Kresge program officer.­­­
Communities that address climate change head-on will be better prepared for new circumstances and uncertainties. Decisions about infrastructure, building design, land use, transportation and other policy and funding issues can make communities stronger, more equitable and more resilient to the changing climate.