Current Funding Notices

Community Facilities Grants for Farm to School Community Facilities Grants: Rural Communities Only
Need funding for Farm to School and live in a rural community of fewer than 20,000 people? Need kitchen equipment? Or land for the school garden? The USDA Rural Development's Community Facilities Program received $44 million in federal funding and an additional $31 million in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (stimulus) funds that must be awarded by August 2010. Needless to say, there is money available! Grants range from $20,000 to $60,000. And they need proposals NOW. FPlease note that the project must not be a commercial endeavor and must serve the community as a whole. Grants and loans are made to towns, counties, tribes, and NGOs for all types of community facilities. And a friendly tip: mention Know Your Farmer Know Your Food in your project description! or more info click on the link above. Rolling deadline, sooner the better and before August!

2010 Beach Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making almost $10 million in grants available to 37 eligible coastal and Great Lakes states, territories and tribes to monitor beach water quality and notify the public of conditions that may be unsafe for swimming. The 2010 grants continue to build upon efforts by EPA and the states to provide consistent public health protection and up-to-date public information about local beach conditions. The beach grants have also enabled states and territories to more than double the number of beaches at which they monitor water quality since 2003. Increased pubic information about beach water quality also serves as a motivator for beach communities to identify sources of contamination and to take corrective action. For more info click on the link above.

Xcel Energy Launches PV Rebate Program
Xcel Energy, which has operated a PV rebate program in Colorado for several years, opened the Solar*Rewards program to Minnesota customers. This program offers an up-front incentive of $2.25 per watt to both residential and non-residential customers for PV systems up to 40 kilowatts. The customer is required to enter into a 20-year agreement that grants the utility ownership of the renewable energy credits produced by the system. For more info click on the link above.

Weatherization Assistance Program
The U.S. Department of Energy requests proposals for Weatherization Formula Grants. WAP funds are used to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings owned or occupied by low-income persons, reduce their total residential expenditures, and improve their health and safety. WAP assists persons who are particularly vulnerable such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, families with children, high residential energy users, and households with high-energy burden. Prime applicant eligibility is restricted to agencies responsible for administering the annual Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) formula allocation. 58 awards are anticipated. For more info click the link above. Response due date dependant on fiscal year end of prime applicant, with range of 2/15/10 - 8/1/10.

Request for Proposals: Facilitating Tribal Climate Change Adaptation Planning and Communicating Climate Change Impacts
EPA announces the availability of up to $550,000 to facilitate, communicate, and put in motion tribal climate change adaptation planning to respond to the projected impacts of climate change. The Agency expects to award approximately one to three cooperative agreements ranging from approximately $50,000 to $150,000 per year up to five years. EPA requests proposals to provide direct training, technical assistance, and outreach aimed at increasing and enhancing tribal expertise in adaptation planning and climate change risk communication. Federally recognized Indian tribal governments and inter-tribal consortia, among others, are eligible. For more info, click the link above. Applications due July 30, 2010.

Hunger-Free Communities Grants
On June 8th, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will invest in research, planning, and various hunger relief activities through $5 million in funding for the new Hunger-Free Communities grants that was authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill. Through the grants, FNS seeks strategies that support the creation of Hunger-Free Communities by funding activities including food distribution, community outreach, resource development and other methods to make food more accessible to those most in need. Two models of grants will be funded: 1) One million will fund Planning and Assessment Grants to evaluate food insecurity in communities and develop strategies to become hunger-free. 2) The remaining $4 million will support Implementation Grants for communities that already have a plan to end hunger and need resources for program implementation. These are collaborative grants, and applicants are required to partner with one or more organizations in their communities. Applicants are also required to partner with Food Policy Councils or their functional equivalent at the local level or include the creation of a Food Policy Council as part of their application should one not serve their community. For more info, click the link above. Applications due September 1, 2010.

Recovery Act Opportunities
The National Congress for American Indians (NCAI) has posted a list of opportunities for Tribes resulting from the Recovery Act.

Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program (Section 184)
The Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program is a mortgage product specifically for American Indian and Alaska Native families, tribes, Alaska Villages or tribally designated housing entities. Congress established this program in 1992 to facilitate homeownership in Native American communities.