Federal funding opportunities on community and economic development, housing, public safety, transportation, water and storm sewer, and other infrastructure.
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Click on the section below to find current grant opportunities:
Broadband | Community, Economic Development and Housing | Public Safety | Transportation |
Water, Sewer, Storm Sewer, Electrical Infrastructure and Water Resources | Other Opportunities | Grant Resources
Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program
This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.
Deadline: Applications Accepted Year-Round
Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizations
Small and mid-sized cultural organizations are keepers of history and culture, sources of lifelong learning, and community place makers. Public Impact Projects grants seek to assist you in meeting your community’s needs by expanding the scope, reach, and excellence of your public programs. These awards support a variety of activities that focus on enriching interpretive strategies, strengthening interpretive skill sets or enhancing community engagement with public-facing programs. This program aims to meet small and mid-sized organizations where you are by supporting projects that are appropriate in scope and content to each organization’s resources and community needs.
Deadline: June 12, 2024
NEA Our Town, FY 2025
Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts’ creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, we support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities over the long term. Successful Our Town projects demonstrate a specific role for arts, culture, and design as part of strategies for strengthening local communities, ultimately centering equity and laying the groundwork for long-term systems change tailored to community needs and opportunities. All applications are submitted by one organization and require one partner organization. The applicant/partner pair must include 1) a nonprofit organization and 2) a local government or quasi-government entity. Cost share/matching grants range from $25,000 to $150,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount. The Arts Endowment’s support of a project may start on July 1, 2025, or any time thereafter. A grant period of up to two years is allowed.
Deadline: August 1, 2024
US DOJ Cops Hiring Program (CHP)
Fiscal Year 2024 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) is a competitive award program designed to provide funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.
Anticipated outcomes of the CHP program awards include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities.
Deadline: June 6, 2024
Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership
The Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) reimburses states, units of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribes, for up to 50 percent of the cost of body armor vests purchased for law enforcement officers.
Match
The federal portion of the costs for body armor vests purchased under the BVP Program may not exceed 50 percent.
Deadline: June 10, 2024
COPS Safer Outcomes Program
The Safer Outcomes: Enhancing De-Escalation and Crisis Response Training for Law Enforcement program seeks to promote safe outcomes during police encounters with persons in crisis through relevant training. Supported training programs must address one or more of the following areas of focus.
- De-escalation tactics and alternatives to use of force
- Safely responding to an individual experiencing a mental or behavioral health or suicidal crisis
- Safe encounters with individuals with disabilities
- Successfully participating on a crisis intervention team
- Making referrals to community-based services and support
Awards under this solicitation will be made to law enforcement agencies seeking to implement training and related supports on this topic. Training is supported for law enforcement officers, support personnel employed by law enforcement agencies, and mental health professionals working on crisis intervention teams as employees of a law enforcement agency or under a legal agreement with a law enforcement agency.
Deadline: July 23, 2024
Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program
The SS4A program supports the development of a comprehensive safety action plan (referred to as an “Action Plan”) that identifies the most significant roadway safety concerns in a community and the implementation of projects and strategies to address roadway safety issues. Action Plans are the foundation of the SS4A grant program.
SS4A requires an eligible Action Plan be in place before applying to implement projects and strategies.
The SS4A program provides funding for two types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants.
Planning and Demonstration Grants
Provide Federal funds to develop, complete, or supplement an Action Plan. The goal of an Action Plan is to develop a holistic, well-defined strategy to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries in a locality, Tribal area, or region.
Implementation Grants
Provide Federal funds to implement projects and strategies identified in an Action Plan to address a roadway safety problem. Eligible projects and strategies can be infrastructural, behavioral, and/or operational activities.
The program has 3 deadlines defined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, which is dependent on the grant type, they are:
- Planning and Demonstration Grants (first deadline): April 4, 2024
- Implementation Grants: May 16, 2024
- Planning and Demonstration Grants (second deadline): August 29, 2024
Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program
The ATIIP grants will allow communities to identify, prioritize, and implement improvements to the largest barriers to safe, accessible, and equitable pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity through the development of infrastructure that will provide substantial additional opportunities for walking and bicycling.
Eligible organizations will be able to create plans or implement active transportation networks that connect destinations within or between communities or create plans or implement an active transportation spine connecting two or more communities, metropolitan regions, or States. There are two different categories of grants: (1) Planning and Design Grants and (2) Construction Grants. Review program guidelines and requirements in full here. (Grants.gov will have the latest NOFO.)
Deadline: June 17, 2024
Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program
The SMART program was established to provide grants to eligible public sector agencies to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems in order to improve transportation efficiency and safety.
SMART is a two-stage program. Stage 1 (up to $2,000,000 dollars and 18 months) grants are open for any eligible entity to apply. Recipients of Stage 1 grants will be eligible to expand their projects through Stage 2 grants (up to $15,000,000 and 36 months). Applicants must have received a Stage 1 grant to apply to Stage 2.
A SMART grant may be used to carry out a project that demonstrates at least one of the following:
- Coordinated Automation
- Connected Vehicles
- Intelligent, Sensor-Based Infrastructure
- Systems Integration
- Commerce Delivery and Logistics
- Leveraging Use of Innovative Aviation Technology
- Smart Grid
- Smart Technology
- Traffic Signals
Match
Cost sharing or matching is not required for Stage I: Planning and Prototyping.
Deadline: July 12, 2024
US DOT Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program
The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI Program) is a competitive grant program to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in the places people live and work – urban and rural areas alike – in addition to along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs).
CFI Program investments will make modern and sustainable infrastructure accessible to all drivers of electric, hydrogen, propane, and natural gas vehicles. This program provides two funding categories of grants: (1) Community Charging and Alternative Fueling Grants (Community Program); and (2) Charging and Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants (Corridor Program).
Match
Awardees must provide at least 20 percent of the total project cost (not 20 percent of the Federal share) as a matching share.
Deadline: August 28, 2024
Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants
This program helps prevent damage or restore households and businesses’ access to clean, reliable drinking water in eligible rural areas and towns following natural disasters. Funding can improve the natural environment and encourage manufacturers and other businesses to locate or expand operations.
Deadline: Applications Accepted Year-Round
US Army Corps of Engineers Water Resources Programs
Programs range from studies only that are 100% federally funded to construction projects with a project limit of up to $10M of federal funding on a 65/35 cost share. Programs include:
- Commercial Navigation
- Flood Risk Management
- Ecosystem Restoration
- Emergency Response
- Recreation
- Federal Real Estate Management
- Regulatory Program and Permit
Deadline: Applications Accepted Year-Round
Defense Community Infrastructure Program
The program is designed to address deficiencies in community infrastructure, supportive of a military installation, to enhance military value, support the training of cadets at “covered educational institutions,” installation resilience, and/or military family quality of life.
For purposes of the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, “Community Infrastructure” includes projects related to transportation; schools; hospitals; police, fire, or emergency response, or other community support facilities; and utility projects (e.g., water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric and natural gas facilities). The facility or project itself must be owned by a state or local government, or a not-for-profit, member-owned utility.
Match
Except as provided below for projects in rural areas or projects determined to be advantageous for national security reasons, state or local government recipients must agree to contribute not less than thirty percent (30%) of the total funding required for the community infrastructure project.
State or local government funding contributions are not required for proposed community infrastructure projects located in rural areas, defined as a city, town, or unincorporated area that has a population of not more than 100,000 inhabitants.
Deadline: June 17, 2024
Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant
The grant funding is to be made available to a municipality or community owned utility (not including for-profit entities) to repair, rehabilitate, or replace its natural gas distribution pipeline systems or portions thereof or to acquire equipment to (1) reduce incidents and fatalities and (2) to avoid economic losses.
Deadline: June 20, 2024
Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-uses
The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this FOA will aid communities with resource and energy recovery strategies associated with their organic waste streams. Organic waste streams represent major sources of fugitive methane emissions, volatile organic compounds, and other pollutants. The White House set a goal of reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030. By developing strategies that can prevent the landfilling of these wastes, one of the major sources of fugitive methane can be mitigated. Holistic waste management strategies can also benefit communities by reducing other impacts associated with waste collection and processing infrastructure including reducing truck traffic, odors, litter, and other air, water, and health impacts.
Topic Area 1 is focused specifically on helping communities beyond a conceptualization phase by supporting more in-depth feasibility or scoping analysis. Oftentimes, staff and organizational capacity in communities (particularly in rural, remote, Tribal, or smaller communities) is limited. While technical assistance programs can accomplish some of these objectives, direct financial assistance can close this capacity gap.
Topic Area 2 is targeted towards communities that have previously completed feasibility analysis and are seeking funding to further refine their project concept. Municipal and non-profit staff capacity and availability of funding often makes detailed design work out of reach for many communities and this topic aims to close that gap. Projects selected under Topic Area 2 will have an opportunity to construct and operate their designed pilot facility based on the down-select process described in the FOA.
Deadline: August 14, 2024
Inflation Reduction Act Forest Landowner Support
The Inflation Reduction Act Forest Landowner Support programming provides financial assistance grants for projects that support underserved and small-acreage forest landowner participation in emerging private markets for climate mitigation and forest resilience. The Inflation Reduction Act provides the Forest Service $450 million for Forest Landowner Support opportunities to:
- Provide cost share payments to underserved forest landowners for implementing climate mitigation or forest resilience practices on their land.
- Support the participation of underserved forest landowners in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience.
- Support the participation of forest landowners who own less than 2,500 acres of forest land in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience.
- Provide payments to private forest landowners in priority landscapes for implementing key forestry practices that measurably increase carbon sequestration and storage.
There are three tracks based on proposed budgets for this program which are:
- Track A: Budgets greater than or equal to $2 million and less than $25 million
- Track B: Budgets less than $2 million
- Track C: Budgets greater than $5 million and less than $50 million
Deadline: August 21, 2024
Environment and Climate Justice Community Change Grants
The EPA’s new Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act funds to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges.
These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input.
Local governments are eligible to apply as part of a partnership with a community-based non-profit organization (CBO).
There will be two tracks of funding under this opportunity. Track I will fund approximately 150 large, transformational community-driven investment grants of $10 million – $20 million. Track II will fund approximately 20 meaningful engagement grants of $1 million – $3 million. Grants cannot exceed 3-years in duration.
Match
No cost-sharing or matching is required as a condition of eligibility under this NOFO.
Tips on How to Apply
View the recording of the December 7, 2023 webinar
Deadline: November 21, 2024
Local Infrastructure Hub
The Local Infrastructure Hub is a national program that was created to inform cities of federal infrastructure funding opportunities along with other resources to help cities successfully apply for funding.
GRANTS.GOV
Grants.gov is a centralized location for grant seekers to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. In addition, the website currently handles grant application submissions to many federal agencies.
GrantFinder
The Iowa League of Cities is excited to announce our partnership with Praetorian Digital’s EfficientGov, an information service that tracks innovative solutions to fiscal and operational challenges facing cities and towns across the country. EfficientGov provides local government leaders with unlimited access to information and tools that help reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of government.
