Funding Wizard

AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving. Upon successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from the National Service Trust that members can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. AMS will competitively award grants to eligible applicants for projects that support partnerships to plan and develop local or regional food systems.It is anticipated that approximately $10 million, less USDA administrative costs, will be available to fund applications under this solicitation. The final amount available is subject to Congressional action.RFSP is implemented through two project types: Planning and Design, the awards for which range from $100,000 to $250,000, and Implementation and Expansion, the awards for which range from $250,000 to $1,000,000. A 25 percent cash match of total Federal funds is required.Partnerships are eligible to apply to RFSP. A partnership is an agreement between one or more eligible entities and one or more eligible partners. See the RFA section 3.0 for more information. An application may be submitted by an eligible entity or an eligible partner on behalf of the partnership. The partnership must specify in its application which organization(s) in the partnership are responsible for receiving and managing the award.All applicants must be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Tribal Governments.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) requests applications for the Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) Competitive Grants Program for fiscal year (FY) 2020. The anticipated amount available for UAIP in FY 2020 is approximately $3,000,000. This announcement provides information regarding the eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and the application forms and instructions needed to apply for a UAIP grant. Applications will be accepted from eligible entities in any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Key Dates Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 06, 2020 through Grants.gov. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered for funding. A webinar will be held to provide an overview of the UAIP program purpose, project types, eligibility, and basic requirements for the submission of an application. Registration information is as follows: Event: Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production Competitive Grants Program Webinar When: Wednesday 3 June 2020, 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM Time Zone: (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada) (Please note that Daylight Saving Time (+01:00 hr) is in effect during this time) To register now, please visit the following link: https://usdanrcs.adobeconnect.com/egfiru3twn9f/event/registration.html To know more about the event, please visit: https://usdanrcs.adobeconnect.com/egfiru3twn9f/event/event_info.html Frequently Asked Questions are posted online at https://www.farmers.gov/manage/urban/opportunities/grants-faq Purpose and Priorities UAIP supports the development of urban agriculture and innovative production activities by funding Planning Projects (PP) and Implementation Projects (IP) led by nonprofit organizations, local or Tribal governments, and schools that serve any of the grades K-12 in areas of the United States. PPs and IPs should target a single or multiple urban areas, suburbs, or urban clusters in the United States where access to fresh foods is limited or unavailable and should include one or more partner organizations to achieve project goals within the target area(s). Planning Projects (PP) The purpose of PP is to support the development of projects that will either initiate, build upon, or expand the efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools, and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. No single PP award will exceed $200,000 in any single year or $500,000 over three years. PPs may be designed to: Develop recommendations for implementing community gardens and farms that respond to community needs as it relates to how food is grown, distributed, and marketed in target area(s); Facilitate urban agriculture assessments and identify opportunities that connect community needs with the benefits of urban agriculture such as food access, nutrition education, conservation, innovation, and economic development; Support the development of business plans, feasibility studies, and strategies to help offset start-up costs for new and beginning farmers in urban and suburban areas; Provide support for municipal planning that consider policies to meet the growing needs of and zoning for community gardens and farms, rooftop farms, outdoor vertical production, green walls, indoor farms, greenhouses, high-tech vertical technology farms, and hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic farm facilities; or Assist schools that seek to increase knowledge of food and agricultural disciplines such as nutrition, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to develop and implement programs that create future leaders, farmers, gardeners, and entrepreneurs in agriculture and innovative production. Implementation Projects (IP) The purpose of IP is to accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor, and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers or gardeners. IPs should improve access to local food in the target area(s). No single IP award will exceed $100,000 in any single year or $300,000 over three years. IPs may be designed to: Facilitate the development of entrepreneurial projects by offering needed resources, such as job training, land, equipment, mentoring, and other business development assistance to new and beginning farmers; Increase food production in small urban and indoor spaces with emerging technologies such as vertical farming, hydroponics, aquaponics, rooftop farms, etc.; Operate community gardens or nonprofit farms to educate a community on food systems, nutrition, environmental impacts, and agricultural production and/or to offer hands-on training in farming or gardening; Meet specific state, local, or community food and agricultural needs by assisting municipalities, food producers, community organizations, and schools with policies for community gardens and farms that address food access, soil health, emerging technologies, and agricultural business; Provide schools with resources to incorporate and emphasize the importance of growing and consuming nutritious food as well as training students for careers in agriculture.

Notice of Funding Opportunity for Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and Rolling Stock Condition Assessment Demonstration Program. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of $1.25 Million Public Transportation Innovation funds to projects that demonstrate innovative, effective approaches, practices, partnerships, and technologies that enhance public transportation effectiveness, increase efficiency, expand quality, promote safety, and improve the traveler’s experience. FTA is seeking applications for demonstration projects that deploy cutting edge technologies to provide real-time assessment of transit infrastructure and rolling stock conditions. The major goals of this program are to enhance asset management of infrastructure and safety through innovative technologies and allow a more effective way for transit agencies to assess, detect, monitor and track deficiencies and defects related to transit infrastructure.

ORWA Fuels Management & Community Fire Assistance Program Activities

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to provide technical assistance to communities on the integration of environmental justice and equitable development when developing solutions to brownfields cleanup and revitalization challenges.

The EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) is soliciting applications for funding under Section 104(k)(7) of CERCLA, which authorizes funding to eligible entities to provide training, research, and technical assistance to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, or site preparation.

Grants awarded under this solicitation will help communities, organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, and individuals tackle the challenge of cleaning up and revitalizing brownfield properties. For purposes of this grant, the general definition of technical assistance is provided below. This definition provides guidance for the types of activities the EPA is interested in supporting.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $10 million as part of a new COVID-19 Recovery Research Demonstration Program to provide research funding for innovative solutions that support the phased reopening of local economies through access to safe public transportation. The COVID-19 Recovery Research Demonstration Program will fund research grants that explore and later will disseminate ways to improve the safety of transit frontline workers and riders in areas such as sanitation/decontamination; exposure mitigation; customer confidence; and contactless payment.

The Community Connect Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide service at or above the Broadband Grant Speed to all premises in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service does not exist. The deployment of broadband services on a “community-oriented connectivity” basis stimulates economic development and provides enhanced educational and health care opportunities in rural areas. RUS will give priority to rural areas that demonstrate the greatest need for broadband services, based on the criteria contained herein. The regulation for the Community Connect Grant Program can be found at 7 CFR part 1739. All applicants should carefully review and prepare their applications according to instructions in the FY 2021 Community Connect Grant Program Application Guide (Application Guide) and program resources. This Application Guide can be found at https://www.rd.usda.gov/community-connect. Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant’s own risk. Applications will be submitted through the Community Connect Portal application system available on the program web site. The Agency encourages applications that will help improve life in rural America. See information on the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity found at www.usda.gov/ruralprosperity. Applicants are encouraged to consider projects that provide measurable results in helping rural communities build robust and sustainable economies through strategic investments in infrastructure, partnerships and innovation. Key strategies include: Achieving e-Connectivity for Rural America Developing the Rural Economy Harnessing Technological Innovation Supporting a Rural Workforce Improving Quality of Life

REAP Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance Program.Refer to Application Package AND Application Instruction links to obtain all necessary forms for a complete application. Contact State Energy Coordinator with questions: http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RBS_StateEnergyCoordinators.pdf

The Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) program provides Federal financial assistance to highway and freight projects of national or regional significance. This discretionary grant program was established in the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. This program, previously known as FASTLANE, was renamed the Infrastructure For Rebuilding America (INFRA) program in 2017.

DOT receives hundreds of INFRA applications each year to build and repair critical pieces of our freight and highway transportation networks. Project applications are selected based on established criteria to align them with national and regional economic vitality goals.

INFRA increases the impact of projects by leveraging non-Federal funding contributions and incentivizing project sponsors to pursue innovative delivery and financing strategies, including public-private partnerships. Additionally, the program promotes the incorporation of innovative technology that will improve our transportation system. The Department also holds INFRA grant recipients accountable for their performance in project delivery and operations.

Eligible projects for INFRA grants are: highway freight projects carried out on the National Highway Freight Network (23 U.S.C. 167); highway or bridge projects carried out on the National Highway System (NHS), including projects that add capacity on the Interstate System to improve mobility or projects in a national scenic area; railway-highway grade crossing or grade separation projects; or a freight project that is 1) an intermodal or rail project, or 2) within the boundaries of a public or private freight rail, water (including ports), or intermodal facility. A project within the boundaries of a freight rail, water (including ports), or intermodal facility must be a surface transportation infrastructure project necessary to facilitate direct intermodal interchange, transfer, or access into or out of the facility and must significantly improve freight movement on the National Highway Freight Network. Improving freight movement on the National Highway Freight Network may include shifting freight transportation to other modes, thereby reducing congestion and bottlenecks on the National Highway Freight Network. For a freight project within the boundaries of a freight rail, water (including ports), or intermodal facility, Federal funds can only support project elements that provide public benefits.