Latest News
All the news that is relevant for the WNDD Region
A Critical Investment in the Community Lending Ecosystem!
Nevada is the first state in the nation to launch a novel Microloan program under the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) featuring a newly developed refinancing mechanism to strengthen Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) lending to small businesses.
Battle Born Growth Microloan, overseen by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), will receive $5.3 million for the first three-year tranche and nearly $16 million in total. The program works to support small businesses from traditionally underserved communities. It partners with mission-driven lenders such as CDFIs.
Small Businesses seeking less than $250,000 in financing are encouraged to consult the dedicated website at NVSmallBiz/Microloans. The website contains a matching platform created in partnership with Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF). On this platform, small businesses will be matched with participating lenders.
At the launch, the following CDFIs and community lenders are participating: Rural Nevada Development Corporation (RNDC), MoFi, NDC, CRF, and Access Community Capital.
The Nevada Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will be providing free assistance with credit counseling, financial statements, business planning, general business guidance, and more. Lenders will be offering fixed-rate loans up to $250,000 with rates from (currently) 8.75%-11.75% depending on terms. Length of loans can range from between three and six years.
The Microloan Program was built by and for non-profit community lenders so they can increase their capacity to serve the state’s un-banked small businesses This is a critical investment in the community lending ecosystem that will drastically increase access to credit for businesses who are often left behind.
WNDD Summit Gives the Latest in Grant Information
An abundance of insight in to the world of grants was shared with attendees at the WNDD 2023 Summit. So much so, that we want to share a few more guest speaker presentations in case you missed something. They are perfect reference tools as you work towards getting that next grant for your community.
WEP and CF Programs: Gus Wegren, USDA RD
Business and Cooperatives Programs: Chandler Allen, USDA RD
USDA RD Rural Development Programs & NV Contacts
Representatives from entities all over the WNDD region were in attendance at the 2023 WNDD Summit held on January 30th and January 31st, 2023 at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno. Attendees learned the latest grant writing, management tools and techniques from a wide range of speakers representing state, federal and private organizations working in the grant sector.
Many thanks to the guest speakers and sponsors of this worthwhile event. The Summit could not have happened without your support.
Some guest speakers have provided access to their Summit presentations and are available here, and at WNDD.org.
WNDD Introduction: Chris Brandon, WNDD Executive Director
The Roadmap to Grant Success: Don Vetter, Vetter PR, Inc.
Grants 101: Nicole Kelleher and Mayita Sanchez, OFA
Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG): Jessica Sanders, CDBG Program Administrator
Curated by: The Western Nevada Development District…
This edition of Five for Friday focuses on opportunities for economic development around the region in the areas of rural services, business development, infrastructure and food security. Grant Opportunities & More From Fire Trucks to Telemedicine: USDA Program Bolsters Rural Community Services The USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant 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. Examples of essential community facilities include: • Health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics, nursing homes or assisted living facilities Application Deadline: Open Rural Business Development Grants USDA Rural Development program designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses that have fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue. Uses include project planning/feasibility study, business incubators, land acquisition, leadership and entrepreneur training. Contact your state to learn about local application timelines, concept paper requirements. Application Deadline: February 28, 2023 Local Foods, Local Places Toolkit: A Guide to Help Communities Revitalize Using Local Food Systems Nationwide, consumers are growing more interested in getting foods from producers in the same geographic region through farmers markets, community-supported agriculture, farm-to-school programs, and similar initiatives. Strong interest from communities prompted a group of federal agencies to offer assistance with a community-driven planning process that explores how to use the benefits of local foods to help revitalize downtowns and neighborhoods. The resulting Local Foods, Local Places Program presented by the U.S. EPA helps communities create action plans that chart a course for using local foods to help meet a broad range of community goals. The program and its predecessor, Livable Communities in Appalachia, has worked with more than 80 communities since 2014. Local Foods Local Places Program Program Background: Livable Communities in Appalachia National Roadway Safety Strategy Grants The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) is a discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over the next 5 years. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. This week, U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, announced $800 million in grant awards for 510 projects through the first round of funding for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. Activities are eligible for the SS4A program: • Develop or update a comprehensive safety action plan (Action Plan) Round 2 of grant funding is expected to open in April 2023 Award Announcement and Selected Projects National Roadway Safety Strategy Grants Conserve and Improve Wildlife Habitat The Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Program is a voluntary, incentive-based program that provides direct technical assistance and financial assistance in the form of cooperative and grant agreements to private landowners to restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat for the benefit of federal trust resources. Current U.S. Fish and Wildlife partners include farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, recreational landowners, corporations, local governments and universities. Priority goes to projects judged likely to provide habitat for rare, threatened and endangered species. Projects have a minimum duration of 10 years. In addition to private landowners, we partner with other federal agencies, state agencies and non-governmental organizations to complete projects on private lands. Maximum grant awards of $750,000. Review all program information and contact your state Fish and Wildlife biologist BEFORE developing or submitting an application. |
Curated by WNDD…This edition of Five for Friday focuses on opportunities for economic development around the region in the areas of professional education, grant processes, the arts, training, revitalization and conservation.
WNDD Summit – January 30th & 31st!
“Show Me the Money: How to Get your Next Grant”
Join Us… for our 2023 Summit and explore the complicated world of grants, grant writing and more. The events start on January 30th with the Reception Dinner and all are invited to attend. The one-day Summit on January 31st offers attendees the opportunity to learn from, and engage with grant experts from around the country.
January 30th
Reception Dinner: 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
January 31st
Registration and Coffee: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
Summit: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Where:
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Grand Ballrooms 5,6 and 7
Registration Fee:
Members – Dinner and Full Summit $25
Non Members – Dinner and Full Summit $75
Dinner Only – $50
Hotel Information:
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Group rate of $114/night
800.723.6500
Code: WNDD Members Summit
Grants for Arts Projects
Grants for Arts Projects is the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) largest grants program for organizations, providing comprehensive and expansive funding opportunities for communities. Applicants may request cost share/matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Designated local arts agencies eligible to subgrant may request from $30,000 to $150,000 for subgranting programs in the Local Arts Agencies discipline. Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.
NEA welcomes applications from a variety of eligible organizations, including first-time applicants; from organizations serving communities of all sizes, including rural and urban areas; and from organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets. Art projects are funded in the following disciplines: Artist Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Media Arts, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting & Multidisciplinary Arts, Theater, and Visual Arts.
First Deadline: February 9, 2023
See Artistic Disciplines Link Below for Additional Deadlines
YouthBuild for Skills Training and Community Service
The Department of Labor’s YouthBuild awards grants through a competitive process to organizations providing pre-apprenticeship services that support education, occupational skills training, and employment services to opportunity youth, ages 16 to 24, while performing meaningful work and service to their communities. The YouthBuild program model prepares participants for quality jobs in a variety of careers, including infrastructure, and contains wrap-around services such as mentoring, trauma-informed care, personal counseling, and employment – all key strategies for addressing community violence.
YouthBuild applicants must include construction skills training and may include occupational skills training in other in-demand industries. Key aspects of the YouthBuild service delivery model include meaningful partnership and collaboration with the public workforce development system, education and human services systems, and labor and industry partners. Grant awards range from $700,000 to $1.5 million based on number of participants.
Application Deadline: February 7, 2023
YouthBuild Program Information
Bringing HOPE to Main Streets
The HOPE VI Main Street Program provides grants to communities smaller than 50,000 in population to assist in the renovation of a historic, traditional central business district, or “Main Street” area by replacing unused, obsolete, commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units. The obsolete building space property may be publicly or privately owned. Eligible applicants are county governments, city or township governments, and special district governments.
The objectives of the program are to:
• Redevelop central business districts (Main Street areas);
• Preserve historic or traditional Main Street area properties by replacing unused commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units;
• Enhance economic development efforts in Main Street areas; and
• Provide affordable housing in Main Street areas.
Project funding is set at $500,000 through this NOFO.
Application Deadline: January 31, 2023
Land and Water Conservation Fund Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program
The U.S. Department of Interior’s National Park Service offers grants to states, and through states to local units of government and federally-recognized Indian tribes, for projects that will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public through the acquisition of lands and waters for parks and other outdoor recreation areas, as well as through the development of new, or the renovation of existing, outdoor recreation facilities.
The competition will prioritize the selection of projects that:
• provide new recreational opportunities, particularly those that will increase access to nature’s benefits, such as green spaces, shady areas (via tree cover), and natural landscapes that help cool the air and reduce urban heat island effects, reduce pollution, and have positive effects on mental and physical health;
• empowered and engaged members of the target community in the project development and design of the plans for the park;
• create or expand public-private partnerships that leverage matching share resources (e.g., money or donations of land, supplies, or services, etc.);
• benefit from a high degree of coordination among the public, multiple levels of government, and the private sector; and
• advance goals of, or meet, priority recreation needs identified in numerous local, regional, state plans and/or initiatives.
Awards will range from $300,000 to $10 million.
Application Deadline: March 31, 2023
“Show Me the Money: How to Get your Next Grant”
Join Us… for our 2023 Summit and explore the complicated world of grants, grant writing and more. The events start on January 30th with the Reception Dinner and all are invited to attend. The one-day Summit on January 31st offers attendees the opportunity to learn from, and engage with grant experts from around the country.
January 30th
Reception Dinner: 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
January 31st
Registration and Coffee: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
Summit: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Where:
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Grand Ballrooms 5,6 and 7
Registration Fee:
Members – Dinner and Full Summit $25
Non Members – Dinner and Full Summit $75
Dinner Only – $50
Hotel Information:
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Group rate of $114/night
800.723.6500
Code: WNDD Members Summit
Five for Friday: Grant Opportunities and More!
Curated by: The Western Nevada Development District…
This edition of Five for Friday focuses on opportunities for economic development around the region in the areas of professional education, grant processes, social justice and infrastructure.
Grant Opportunities & More
WNDD Summit – Save the Date
January 30 and 31, 2023
WNDD Summit “Show Me the Money: How to Get your Next Grant”
Join Us…
For our 2023 Summit and explore the complicated world of grants, grant writing and more. The events start on January 30th with the Reception Dinner and all are invited to attend. The one-day Summit on January 31st offers attendees the opportunity to learn from, and engage with grant experts from around the country.
January 30th
Reception Dinner: 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
January 31st
Registration and Coffee: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
Summit: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Where:
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Grand Ballrooms 5,6 and 7
Registration Fee:
Members – Dinner and Full Summit $25
Non Members – Dinner and Full Summit $75
Dinner Only – $50
Registration begins January 11th. Visit WNDD.org.
Rural Renewable Energy Grants and Loans
SDA Rural Development will make $300 million available under the Rural Energy for America Program to expand renewable energy and support energy-efficiency projects. 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.
Funding includes $250 million provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Two significant changes include an increase in the maximum grant share from 25% to 40% of total project cost and an increase of maximum grant amounts from $250,000 to $500,000 for energy efficiency projects and an increase from $500,000 to $1,000,000 for renewable energy systems.
Who may apply for this program?
• Agricultural producers with at least 50 percent of their gross income coming from agricultural operations.
• Small businesses in eligible rural areas. .
Technical Assistance Application Deadline: January 31, 2023
Grant Application Deadline: March 31, 2023
Loan Guarantee Deadline: Open All Year
Rural Energy for America Program
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grants
Federal Emergency Management Agency grants support pre-disaster mitigation activities to build capacity to help identify mitigation actions and implement projects that reduce risks posed by natural hazards. FEMA’s BRIC grant program give states, local communities, tribes and territories funding to address future risks to natural disasters, including ones involving: wildfires, drought, hurricanes, earthquakes, extreme heat, and flooding. Addressing these risks helps make communities more resilient. In addition to providing funding, the BRIC program offers help to communities in the form of non-financial Direct Technical Assistance that can provide holistic hazard mitigation planning and project support.
Application Deadline: January 27, 2023
EPA’s Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Implementation Plan Needs Your Input: Nevada Session January 9, 2023
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 will host four listening sessions on Zoom to discuss the Region’s draft Fiscal Year 2023 Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Implementation Plan. Regional Administrator, Martha Guzman, will provide an overview of the Region’s priorities and welcome public input. Members of the public are invited to join any session, but three of the four sessions will have a geographic focus. Spanish language interpretation will be provided. Please RSVP for connection information and identifying other accessibility needs.
Zoom Listening Nevada Session: January 9, 2023 at 2:00 pm PT
EPA Region 9: Pacific Southwest
Listening Session Registration
Building Better Transportation Infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Transportation has $1.5 billion in grant funding made available through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. RAISE discretionary grants help project sponsors at the State and local levels, including municipalities, Tribal governments, counties, and others complete in critical freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects.
In 2022, RAISE funded 166 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year’s Notice of Funding Opportunity builds on the success of the RAISE program as authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by refining the rating rubric and continuing to give priority to safety, environmental sustainability, mobility and community connectivity, and quality of life.
Additionally, projects designated “Reconnecting Extra” during the new FY 2022 Reconnecting Communities Program (RCP) competition and submitted for consideration under the FY 2023 RAISE NOFO will have a greater opportunity to be advanced during the FY 2023 RAISE evaluation process, as described in the NOFO.
Application Deadline: February 28, 2023
Selections Announced No Later Than: June 28, 2023