Current Grant Opportunities
· Entertainment Industry Grant Program – Missouri’s Department of Economic Development (DED): The Entertainment Industry Grant Program (Program) is intended to further the statewide recovery of the entertainment industry from the negative economic impact of COVID-19. This grant program will help existing venues that plan to expand, upgrade, or improve operations. Eligible applicants are nonprofit and for-profit organizations that are entertainment venue operators like live venue operators, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators and motion picture theater operators to help them expand, upgrade, or improve operations and a for-profit business that is not an entertainment venue, but receives at least 51% of its revenue directly from an entertainment venue. Of the total available funds of $5 million, $1 million is reserved for entertainment venues in rural areas. The grant award will be calculated based on the demonstrated negative financial impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The minimum grant award is $10,000 and the maximum grant award is $100,000. Deadline: The application period will close once the funds have been awarded and any additional requests will be added to a waiting list. · Asphalt Art Initiative – Bloomberg Philanthropies: The Asphalt Art Initiative grant program is designed to fund visual art on roadways, pedestrian spaces, and public infrastructure in cities. Typically, the projects are painted murals, organized in collaboration between city governments and local communities, with the following primary goals: The program will award up to 20 cities grants of up to $25,000 each, as well as on-call technical assistance from the tactical urbanism firm Street Plans. Winning cities are expected to be announced in fall 2023 for projects installing during calendar year 2024. The Project Team may include various collaborative partners, such as city government agencies, nonprofit community or arts organizations, and/or individual artists or consultants. The Project Team must include a Lead City Agency, which is the primary government agency with oversight of the project (e.g., Department of Transportation, Cultural Affairs, or other appropriate agency). If the Lead City Agency is not the government agency with jurisdiction over city streets, then that agency must be a part of the Project Team. If selected, the Lead City Agency will be required to select a fiscal sponsor to receive the funds directly. The fiscal sponsor should be a charitable organization that is a 501(c)3 public charity. In addition, each application must identify which entity or individual is responsible for project management (day-to-day coordination and implementation) and which is responsible for artistic direction (selection of artist/design, etc.). We understand that each Project Team is unique, so please do your best to represent the makeup of your team. Deadline: June 12, 2023. · Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI) – USDOT: Counties are directly eligible to apply for $700 million through USDOT for discretionary EV grants. Grants can be used to deploy EV chargers and hydrogen, propane and natural gas fueling infrastructure. The CFI will mainly provide funding for Level II chargers in publicly accessible areas in and around local communities through two components: 1) $350 million for Community Charging and Fueling Grants to fund projects on any public road or publicly accessible location that must also be accessible to individuals with disabilities; allows contracting with a private entity; must address environmental justice and is encouraged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the minimum award of $500,000 and a maximum award of $15 million. 2) $350 million for Corridor Grants which must be publicly accessible and located along a designated Alternative Fuel Corridor, must be used to contract with a private entity and address environmental justice with a minimum award of $1 million with no maximum award amount. The match amount is 20%. Deadline: May 30, 2023 Updated: June 13, 2023. · Economic Mobility Focused on Needs of Community - Bank of America Charitable Foundation: One focus they have is on Neighborhood Revitalization - Vibrant communities are places where individuals can thrive and succeed and have the opportunity to live and work with safe, decent housing, transportation to jobs, strong business corridors and thriving arts and culture districts. We support local and regional revitalization efforts, taking a holistic approach to building inclusive communities, creating economic opportunity and livable neighborhoods. Deadline: June 23, 2023. · 2023 Rural Cooperative Development Grant – USDA: The primary objective of the RCDG program is to improve the economic condition of rural areas by helping individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually owned businesses through Cooperative Development Centers. The Agency encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities: Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure; Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to RD programs and benefits from RD funded projects; and Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities. Eligible applicants include nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. Grant awards up to $200,000 and the grant performance period should begin no earlier than October 1, 2023, and no later than January 1, 2024 and must include no more than a one-year performance period. Deadline: June 26, 2023. · Rural Community Development Initiative Grants - USDA: RCDI grants are awarded to help non-profit housing and community development organizations, low-income rural communities and federally recognized tribes to support housing, community facilities and community and economic development projects in rural areas. Public bodies, nonprofit organizations and qualified private (for profit) organizations are eligible to apply if they are from a city of town with less than 50,000 inhabitants and are not an urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city of town with a population greater than 50,000. Funds may be used to improve housing, community facilities and economic development projects in rural areas. Some examples of the projects are training sub-grantees to conduct minority business entrepreneur education or providing technical assistance to sub-grantees on strategic plan development, accessing alternative funding sources, board training, creating training tools, such as videos, workbooks and reference guides and effective fund raising techniques. The minimum grant award is $50,000 and the maximum is $500,000 and the grant requires a 1:1 match. Deadline: Electronic submission vis Grants.gov June 28, 2023. Paper applications must be received by the MO Rural Development State Office by 4:00 p.m. on July 3, 2023. · Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program – USDA: USDA Rural Development program which provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations to help microenterprises startup/grow through a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund and provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs. Eligible areas include rural areas outside a city or town with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents. Urbanized areas near a city of 50,000 or more may not be eligible. The borrower’s headquarters may be based within a larger city so long as the project service area is located in an eligible rural area. The lender may be located anywhere. Deadline: Quarterly, next deadline June 30, 2023. · Hometown Grants – T-Mobile partnering with Main Street America and Smart Growth America: T-Mobile is investing big in small towns by awarding up to 100 towns a year with project funding—up to $50,000 each. The program will focus on revitalizing community spaces in towns with 50,000 people or less, and Main Street programs are encouraged to apply. Submit a proposal for a town project of your choice, and if selected, use the funds to get started. For example, you could implement tech upgrades at your library, refresh a local park, or break ground on a new place where neighbors can connect. Deadline: Applications accepted quarterly; next deadline is June 30, 2023. · Main Street Chillicothe was awarded the T-Mobile grant in December. They have shared their application below as a guide for others to apply: Main Street Chillicothe – T-Mobile Hometown Grant · NEW! Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants – USDA: The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing. Agricultural producers with at least 50 percent of their gross income coming from agricultural operations and small businesses in eligible rural areas are eligible to apply for this program. Deadline: Applications for grants for $20,000 or less and loan/grant of $20,000 or less combo applications due by June 30, 2023. · History of Equal Rights Grant (HER) – National Park Service: The State, Tribal, Local, Plans & Grants Division of the National Park Service is accepting applications for the History of Equal Rights (HER) grant program. Funded through the Historic Preservation Fund, the History of Equal Rights grant program preserves sites related to the struggle for any or all people to achieve equal rights in America. The History of Equal Rights grants are not limited to any specific group and are intended to include the broadest possible interpretation of sites associated with efforts to achieve equal rights. Preservation projects must range from $75,000 to $750,000 in federal share, of which 20% may go toward pre-preservation costs such as architectural or engineering services. Grant applications that solely involve pre-preservation work must range from $15,000 to $75,000. Project eligible include pre-preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications, historic structure reports, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Archeology and Historic Preservation. Preservation projects fund physical preservation of a historic site to include historic districts, buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Projects must comply with relevant laws, such as Section 106 and NEPA, and execute a preservation covenant/easement. Properties must be listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or designated a National Historic Landmark either individually or as part of a district. Significance must be associated with equal rights. Projects that are not listed on the National Register or are not listed in association with equal rights must include a nomination or amendment to an existing nomination as part of their project. Deadline: July 11, 2023. · Underrepresented Communities Grant – National Park Service: National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Program (URC) works towards diversifying the nominations submitted to the National Register of Historic Places. URC grants are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and are administered by the NPS. Eligible applicants include SHPO’s, THPO’s, CLGs, Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages/Corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations and new for 2023 tax-exempt US Non-profit Organizations. Projects include surveys and inventories of historic properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register, as well as the development of nominations to the National Register for specific sites. Projects include surveys and inventories of historic properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register, as well as the development of nominations to the National Register for specific sites. All projects must result in the submission of a new nomination to the National Register of Historic Places or National Historic Landmark Program, or an amendment to an existing nomination to include underrepresented communities. The grant award amounts range from $15,000 to $75,000 Federal Share. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and do not require matching funds, but matching funds may be considered as part of the evaluation process. Deadline: July 18, 2023. · John W. Speas & Effie E. Speas Memorial Trust: The John W. Speas & Effie E. Speas Memorial Trust was established in 1943 to support and promote quality educational, cultural, human services and health care programming. The Speas Memorial Trust supports organizations that serve the residents of Greater Kansas City Metropolitan area. Applicants will be notified of grant decisions by the end of October. Grants from the Trust are 1 year in duration. Grant requests for general operating support and program support will be considered. Grant requests for capital support will not be considered. Deadline: July 31, 2023. · NEW! AmeriCorps Missouri Planning Grants – Missouri Community Service Commission: The Missouri Community Service Commission (MCSC) is pleased to announce the availability of AmeriCorps Missouri Planning Grants to enable organizations to plan a proposed AmeriCorps program in Missouri. From January to December 2024, selected organizations will use planning grants to better prepare to compete for an AmeriCorps program grant in the subsequent grant cycle (2025 to 2026). Awards for planning grants may not exceed $100,000. Deadline: August 1, 2023. · NEW! Our Town Grant – National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): Our Town is the NEA’s creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, the program supports activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities. Our Town projects advance local economic, physical, or social outcomes in communities, ultimately laying the groundwork for systems change and centering equity. These projects require a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a local government entity, with one of the partners being a cultural organization. Grants range from $25,000 to $150,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount. Deadline: Part 1 – Submit to Grants.gov: August 3, 2023; Part 2 – Submit to Applicant Portal: August 10 - 17, 2023. · NEW! Battlefield Interpretation Grant – NPS: Battlefields and sites of armed conflict are powerful reminders of the shared heritage of all Americans. NPS ABPP administers Battlefield Interpretation Grants to provide assistance for projects that deploy technology to modernize and enhance battlefield interpretation and education at Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefield sites eligible for assistance. Two categories of grants are available for battlefield interpretation projects in different stages: Scoping Grants: These are available to fund the early stages of project development, such as research and content creation, consultation with stakeholders, exploration of available technologies, audience research, and development of technical proposals. The federal share for these grants should range from $20,000-$50,000 and have a period of performance of 1-2 years. Implementation Grants: These are available to applicants who have completed interdisciplinary scoping prior to the application and can provide draft content and design plans. The federal share for these grants should range from $50,000-$200,000 and have a period of performance of 2-3 years. These grants require a non-Federal cost share of at least 50% of the total project costs, or a ratio of 1:1 with the total Federal funds. State, local, and tribal governments, as well as nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Deadline: August 9, 2023. · Clifford Willard Gaylord Foundation: The Clifford Willard Gaylord Foundation supports organizations in the fields of education, health, social services, scientific research, performing arts, museums, scholarly publications and historic preservation. Grants are made to non-profit organizations within Missouri. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
Ongoing Grant Opportunities
· Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program – USDA: 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: ongoing. · Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program – USDA: This program provides loan guarantees to eligible private lenders to help build 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: ongoing. · Community Conservation Grant – Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC): MDC’s Community Conservation Grant Program promotes urban wildlife habitat improvement, encourages organizational partnerships for land stewardship, and supports the training of partner staff to manage natural landscapes. The Community Conservation Grant opportunity is available for communities meeting practice requirements and approval by their local MDC Community Conservation Team. Practices eligible for funding must promote urban habitat and include land management activities necessary for habitat restoration, native plant establishment, terrestrial and aquatic habitat enhancement, exotic species control, and staff training for natural landscape management. Deadline: Applications available beginning in July annually, evaluated on a quarterly basis. · NEW! The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation: The Foundation will consider grants for IRS-qualified non-profit organizations located within the United States. The Foundation aims to support organizations and programs for which a relatively small amount of funding might make a large difference. The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs. Awards typically range from $1,000 to $20,000. The Foundation cannot make grants to individuals. Deadline: ongoing.
Other Opportunities
· Hosting the National Folk Festival – National Council for the Traditional Arts: The National Folk Festival is a free, large-scale, three-day outdoor event that celebrates the roots, richness, and variety of American culture that can bring 100,000 attendees and generate tens of millions in economic impact. This is a unique opportunity for a motivated community to secure a transformative celebration. Serious proposals to host the National include at least one third of the $1.5M festival budget to be known to the host community at the time of the application. In recent years, we have seen this source of income be pledged by local governments, state agencies, private foundations, corporations, philanthropic leaders, and more recently, use of committed American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Housing of Urban Development (HUD) funds. The local partnering organizations involved may vary but must include the government of the city represented by its chief administrator (mayor or city manager) and a 501(c)(3) with a solid track record. Information sessions about the festival and the RFP process will be held throughout the spring and summer. Please email festivals@ncta-usa.org to be included in registration invitations to these information sessions. If you need immediate assistance, please contact 301-565-0654 x 19 or x 15. Deadline: June 30, 2023. · Economic Recovery Corps – U.S. Economic Development Administration: The Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) new Economic Recovery Corps will create a connected network addressing the resource gap between planning and implementation, boosting the capacity of communities to implement locally driven economic development strategies. Through a $30 million cooperative agreement, the ERC will recruit and place more than 65 trained Fellows in economic development organizations throughout the nation. Serving two-and-a-half year terms, Fellows will help organizations (known as Host Entities) develop and execute regional economic development plans and projects in the communities they serve. The Economic Recovery Corps program will be run by a coalition of organizations known as the Network Operator, who will develop and grow a strong network among the Fellows, producing real-time insights and benefit to extend across the larger economic development landscape. Through a combination of strategic, operational, and funding support, Fellows will enhance the capacity of their host organizations and help improve economic development outcomes in their host regions. There is no cost to an organization or community to host a fellow. Deadline: June 30, 2023 to submit your expression of interest and initiate the application process. · Community Connectors – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Smart Growth America, America Walks, Equitable Cities and New Urban Mobility: New grants to help small and mid-sized communities repair the damage of divisive infrastructure. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Smart Growth America in collaboration with Equitable Cities, the New Urban Mobility Alliance, and America Walks have created the Community Connectors program to help advance locally driven projects that will reconnect communities separated or harmed by transportation infrastructure and tap available federal and state funds to support them. 15 teams from small to mid-sized cities (between approximately 50,000 and 500,000 in population) will be selected to receive a capacity-building grant to advance these projects. Public entities and nonprofit organizations may apply together as small teams to receive grants of up to $130,000 each for capacity building to advance these projects. In addition to the grant, the selected teams will also receive customized technical assistance and participate in a learning exchange program over the subsequent 18-24 months, which includes a required convening in Atlanta, GA in November 2023. Deadline: July 15, 2023.
