Opportunities

This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program seeks to address and reduce homelessness by adding new units of permanent supportive housing through new construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation.  Eligible entities include state and local governments, tribal governments, non-profits, and public housing authorities.  Funding is between $1M and $10M per award.

This program invests in environmental and climate justice activities that benefit disadvantaged communities.  Projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges are all eligible for this funding opportunity.  Eligible entities include those with a partnership between two community-based non-profit organizations (CBOs) or a partnership between one CBO and one of the following: a federally recognized tribe, a local government, or an institution of higher education.

Grant guidelines are now available for the U.S. EPA’s Fiscal Year 2025 Assessment, Revolving Loan, and Cleanup Grants. These grants may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum). 

NPS Chesapeake Gateways recently announced two grants: Linking Tourism and Economic Development Grant and Event Support Grant.  These grants support: (1) community collaboration projects that link local nature, culture, history, and/or recreation-based tourism to economic impact of the community (2) the development and implementation of community events that celebrate the rich cultural, historical, natural, or recreational legacy and ongoing story of the Bay as a way of engaging with residents and visitors.

The Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) planning assistance program helps communities identify strategies to grow their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their Main Streets.  If selected, the process involves developing a local steering committee in each partner community and pairing them with a team of federal agency partners and consultants, who then work with the community over several months. The team supports the steering committee to identify the community's vision, goals, and actions they wish to take to boost outdoor recreation, revitalize their Main Streets and promote equitable access to the outdoors for residents and visitors alike. The selected communities develop a Community Action Plan, which identifies actionable next steps.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) Program is offering grants of up to $7 million to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Barriers include, but are not limited to, restrictive regulatory, zoning, or land use policies; outdated procedures or permitting processes; inadequate or deteriorating infrastructure; and, a lack of financial resources, capacity, or economic investment.

These grants through the U.S. Department of Transportation seek to fund projects that reconnect communities by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating highways and other transportation facilities that create barriers to community connectivity, including to mobility, access, or economic development through Capital Construction and Community Planning grants.  Projects may address removal of a dividing facility or planning studies to assess the feasibility of removing an eligible facility.  Applications that benefit economically disadvantaged communities, improve climate resilience, and integrate planning will be prioritized.

In collaboration with the EPA, GHHI will award $40 million in grants, flowing from the Inflation Reduction Act, to fund 171 eligible projects in historically disinvested communities throughout EPA’s Region 3 (includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and 7 federally recognized tribes). To further ensure equity and transparency, the Project includes a dedicated Advisory Board comprised of 11 organizations which will provide outreach support, applicant engagement, and ensure equitable, transparent project implementation. To ensure subrecipients’ technical assistance needs are met, the Project will also include a dedicated team of technical assistance partners with subject matter expertise congruous to the projects selected to receive TCGM subgrants.

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced a new tool to help identify relevant information about a project area that is requested in Department of Energy (DOE) grants, including 48C energy community status and whether the project is located in a disadvantaged community. The Energy Communities IWG new Site Review Tool is a resource for manufacturers and investors interested in developing or expanding clean energy supply chain projects in energy communities and nationwide. The interactive map provides access to publicly available information on brownfields, facilities, nearby infrastructure, and community attributes, including federal incentives. The site review tool will empower community leaders and developers to promote investment in communities and encourage users to learn and explore a diverse range of investment options.

On July 23, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced Energy Communities AmeriCorps, a new project that will engage 150 full-time AmeriCorps members serving with the VISTA program in advancing locally designed economic development, workforce readiness, and environmental remediation plans in energy communities as they gain skills and experience for good-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs.