Funding

Applications accepted year round. This program helps private lenders provide affordable financing to qualified borrowers to improve access to clean, reliable water and waste disposal systems for households and businesses in rural areas. Funds may be used to Construct or improve facilities for:

• Drinking water
• Sanitary sewers
• Solid waste disposal
• Storm water disposal facilities

Deadline Passed 09/30/2018. Deadline Unknown for 2019. The Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program (Broadband Program) furnishes loans and loan guarantees to provide funds for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide service at the broadband lending speed in eligible 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. Broadband loans provide funding on a technology-neutral basis for financing:

• The construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities required to provide service at the broadband lending speed including facilities required for providing other services through the same facilities
• The cost of leasing facilities required to provide service at the broadband Lending speed if such lease qualifies as a capital lease under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• An acquisition, under certain circumstances and with restrictions
• For additional detail see 7 CFR 1738

Deadline to Apply, April 15, 2019. Deadline for 2020 Unknown. This program helps fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not yet economically viable for private sector providers to deliver service. The Community Connect program helps rural communities extend access where broadband service is least likely to be commercially available, but where it can make a tremendous difference in the quality of life for people and businesses. The projects funded by these grants help rural residents tap into the enormous potential of the Internet for jobs, education, healthcare, public safety and community development

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

Past deadline: May 15, 2019. 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.

Past Deadline: May 16, 2019. Beginning farmer education for adult and young audiences in the United States can generally be traced back to the advent of the 1862 and 1890 Morrill Land-Grant Acts. But, for the first time, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234, Section 7410) appropriated $75 million for FY 2009 to FY 2012 to develop and offer education, training, outreach and mentoring programs to enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers. The Agriculture Act of 2014 provided an additional $20 million per year for 2014 through 2018. The reasons for the renewed interest in beginning farmer and rancher programs are as follows: the rising average age of U.S. farmers; the 8% projected decrease in the number of farmers and ranchers between 2008 and 2018; and the growing recognition that new programs are needed to address the needs of the next generation of beginning farmers and ranchers. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill) reauthorized the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and provides mandatory funds for which supports education, mentoring, and technical assistance initiatives for beginning farmers and ranchers.

On behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is soliciting proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects. Congress has appropriated limited funds to USACE for implementation of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Program. Eligible projects must provide ecosystem benefits, have scientific merit, be technically feasible, be able to adapt to the impacts associated with climate change, and be cost-effective.

Deadline Passed 11/27/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. Congress established the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) with Title IV of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (PDF, 40 KB) and reauthorized it in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Section 8629 (the Farm Bill). The purpose of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program is to encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes and:

• encourage ecological, economic, and social sustainability;
• leverage local resources with national and private resources;
• facilitate the reduction of wildfire management costs, including through re-establishing natural fire regimes and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire;
• demonstrate the degree to which various ecological restoration techniques achieve ecological and watershed health objectives; and,
• encourage utilization of forest restoration by-products to offset treatment costs, to benefit local rural economies, to and improve forest health.

DOT is making available funding to develop innovative programs and activities in public transportation that address the human resources needs of public transportation operators, as well as build pathways to long-term careers in the public transportation industry. DOT is giving additional consideration to proposals that advance training related to maintenance of alternative energy, energy efficiency, or zero emission vehicles and facilities used in public transportation, as well as submissions that are geographically diverse, target areas with high rates of unemployment, and address current or projected workforce shortages in areas that require technical expertise.

Deadline unknown for 2017. As a result of the Interstate Highway program that began in the 1950s, the U.S. had a well-developed network of routes —air, rail, and road— that linked every state and connected the country as never before. However, we see today that the infrastructure that brought massive expansion also divided neighborhoods. Residents were often cut off from newly formed social and economic centers and left with limited mobility and transportation options. The Ladders of Opportunity EVERY PLACE COUNTS DESIGN CHALLENGE seeks to raise awareness about bifurcated neighborhoods, identify innovative practices to reconnect communities, and inform the transportation life cycle. Community Teams led by local and tribal government officials will compete to receive on-site technical assistance in a 2-day design session with DOT and experts in the field . - See more at: https://www.transportation.gov/opportunity/challenge#sthash.KqzUUEEW.WIQ....

Deadline passed as of September 2, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. Programs support the litigation and negotiation of Indian water rights, studies to determine the quantity of surface and groundwater supplies, identify arable lands, determine historical water use, water requirements for resources such as fish and wildlife, and the amounts of water required for irrigates agriculture, and relates engineering and economic studies for water delivery.

Deadline passed as of June 9, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. By design, Collaborative Actions allow conversations to emerge that shape the community and social context, and catalyze positive dynamics. These actions may be permanent or temporary, tangible or intangible, and may include creative placemaking, mapping, art installations or community events. They are typically small-scale, low-cost, and short in duration, but often fit into a larger community effort.

Deadline: 2/03/2021. The U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) requests proposals for projects to install a thermally led community wood energy system or build an innovative wood product facility. The grants awarded under this announcement are authorized by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S. Code § 8113). The Forest Service solicits proposals for projects that will achieve the following: Expand thermally led community wood energy or innovative wood product opportunities Improve forest health; and Stimulate local economies.

Deadline: 2/01/2021. The Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 106 – Water Pollution Control Program assists federally-recognized Indian tribes with achieving environmental results by developing institutional capacity for administering water quality programs to protect, improve and enhance natural resources.