American Trails Funding
The Trail Fund - Legacy Trails Grant Program resulted from a partnership between American Trails and the U.S. Forest Service. It aims to create more resilient national forests and grasslands by protecting, restoring, and maintaining watersheds. It targets nonprofit organizations and non-federal agencies, applications open in the fall and are awarded in e arly spring. Grant funding for projects depends on size and can range from 5K up to 100K and must be spent in two years.
EPA Brownfield Grants
- Brownfield Assessment Grants: Provides funding for brownfield inventory, assessment, planning activities, preparation of site-specific cleanup plans, and community engagement. Includes community-wide assessment grants and site-specific assessment grants. State, local, and tribal government, general purpose units of local government, regional council or redevelopment agencies, and quasi-governmental agencies are eligible to apply.
- Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants: Provides funding to provide loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup of brownfield sites. They are used to provide no-interest or low-interest loans for eligible brownfield cleanups, sub-grants for cleanups, and other eligible programmatic costs. One can apply as an individual entity or as part of a RLF Coalition. State, local, and tribal government, general purpose units of local government, regional council or redevelopment agencies, and quasi-governmental agencies are eligible to apply.
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Cleanup Grants: Provide funding for cleanup activities at a single site or multiple sites. Includes program reporting, cleanup oversight, and environmental monitoring. States, local, and tribal governments, general purpose units of local government, regional council or redevelopment agencies, quasi-governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations are eligible to submit one cleanup grant each cycle. One must own the property at the time of application and have completed All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) at the time of transfer.
- Multipurpose (MP) Grants: Funding can be used for eligible assessment and cleanup activities with proposed target area: district, corridor, neighborhood, or shared planning area. Best for communities that have identified a discrete area with one or more brownfield sites. Grant applicants must demonstrate capacity to conduct a range of eligible activities, such as, preparing brownfield inventories, site assessments, community engagement activities, developing cleanup and reuse plans, and an overall plan for revitalization.
- Job Training (JT) Grants: Enables local governments, nonprofits, and organizations to recruit, train, and place under employed and unemployed residents within areas impacted by brownfield sites.
- States and Tribal Response Program Grants: This program empowers states, tribes, and communities in economic development to prevent, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites.
Other Federal Programs
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has a public works program that helps distressed communities revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure. Investments help facilitate the transition of communities from being distressed to becoming competitive. EDA invests in brownfields redevelopment as well as many other projects and facilities.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (DOA) Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program funds the development of essential community facilities in rural areas with less than 20,000 residents. These facilities must provide an essential service to the local community. The funding can be used to purchase, construct, and/or improve essential community facilities. Eligible borrowers include public bodies, community-based non-profit corporations, and federally recognized tribes.
The DOA's Rural Community Development Initiative Grants (RCDI) are awarded to help non-profit housing and community development organizations, low-income rural communities and federally recognized tribes support housing, community activities, and community and economic development projects in rural areas. Public bodies, non-profit organizations, and qualified private (for-profit) organizations may apply. These funds can be used to improve housing, community facilities, and community and economic development projects in rural areas.
Economic Impact Initiative Grants from the DOA provide funding to assist in the development of essential community facilities (hospitals, medical clinics, childcare centers, town halls, museums, etc.) in rural communities with extreme unemployment and severe economic depression. Public bodies, non-profits, and federally recognized tribes can apply for this program. Communities must have no more than 20,000 residents and cannot have an unemployment rate greater than 19.5%.