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 disaster preparedness, community revitalization, museum and library support, and outdoor education.

Grant Opportunities & More

Tips and Tactics for Businesses to Get Ahead of the Next Disaster

National Preparedness Month is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. Every business has unique vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Knowing which disasters are most likely to affect your business can help you to return to operations faster. A back-to-business self-assessment can help you determine your risks for common hazards such as hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, or even cyberattacks. The U.S. Small Business Administration offers a series of tips and links to resources that can help your business be prepared.

Emergency Preparedness

EDA Helps Communities After Disasters Immediately and Long-Term

National Preparedness Month is a time to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies.The data is irrefutable: disasters can strike any community in the U.S., and they are occurring with increasing frequency and intensity. Just last week, parts of Florida and South Carolina were hit by Hurricane Idalia; and in Hawaii, the risk of wildfire remains just weeks after deadly fires destroyed parts of the state. EDA’s support after natural disasters is both immediate and long-term through recovery and resilience investments. WNDD is uniquely positioned to lead federal coordination for economic recovery in the region. Our efforts have led to EDA assistance after multiple disasters and provided billions of dollars in disaster supplemental funding to support communities.

EDA Disaster Resources

Thriving Communities Program Helps Communities Access Historic Infrastructure Investments

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for up to $22 million in grants to provide technical assistance and a Call for Letters of Interest from communities seeking support through the Thriving Communities Program (TCP). Launched in 2022, the program helps prepare state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to better access historic levels of federal funding for projects in their communities. TCP provides intensive technical assistance to under-resourced and disadvantaged communities to help them identify, develop, and deliver transportation and community revitalization opportunities. Those communities receive in-kind support from Capacity Builders funded through TCP to prepare grant application materials and undertake pre-development, and project delivery activities which include:

• Deploying Innovative Community Engagement
• Workforce Development
• Clean Technology Strategies

There is no cost for communities to receive support through the program.

Thriving Communities Program

The Institute for Museum and Library Services’ Inspire!

Grants for Small Museums is a special initiative of the Museums for America program. It is designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, policy development and institutional planning, technology enhancements, professional development, community outreach, audience development, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation.

Inspire! has three project categories:

• Lifelong Learning
• Institutional Capacity
• Collections Stewardship and Access

Grant awards range from $5,000 to $75,000. Cost share requirements depend on the size of the award.

Application Deadline: November 15, 2023

Inspire! Grants for Small Museums

NOFO

Nevada Outdoor Education and Recreation Grant Program

The Nevada Outdoor Education and Recreation Grant Program (NOER) seeks to provide quality opportunities for Nevada students to experience the outdoors. Administered by the Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation, the goals of the program are to improve academic achievement and personal wellness while fostering an appreciation of nature. Public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, schools, tribal governments, and other community-based entities that provide outdoor education and recreation programs for Nevada students are eligible for grants ranging from under $5,000 to $50,000. Grants will be available for outdoor environmental, ecological, agricultural, or other natural resource-based education and recreation programs serving Nevada students through the age of 18, with a focus on prioritizing students who face barriers to outdoor recreation access.

Application Deadline: October 6, 2023

More Information and Grant Manual

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 energy, nutrition, transportation, and disaster loans.

Grant Opportunities & More

Solar for All Grants Target Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities

The EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All grant competition will award up to 60 grants to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofit recipients to expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities primed for distributed solar investment. Grantees must use funds to expand existing low-income solar programs or design and deploy new Solar for All programs nationwide. EPA will not fund individual projects under this competition. Solar for All grants will range from $25 million to $400 million to provide subsidies and other financial assistance to residential rooftop and residential-serving community solar projects in and benefiting low-income and disadvantaged communities. Grants may include project-deployment technical assistance such as workforce development, community outreach, and other project-deployment support (e.g., interconnection technical assistance, siting and permitting support) to help overcome barriers to solar deployment.

Application Deadline: October 12, 2023

NOFO

Farm to School Programs Support Child Nutrition Activities

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Technical Assistance grants support nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations to implement national- and/or regional-level farm to school activities. Awardees under this cooperative agreement will undertake projects supporting USDA’s priorities of Food System Transformation, Improving Child Health through Nutritious School Meals, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty.

Available funding ranges from $500,000 to $1 million depending on the applicant’s choice of track. Eligible applicants are national and/or regional level nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations with a history of meaningful engagement with the target audience.

Application Deadline: October 10, 2023

Farm to School Program

Electrifying Tribal Communities

The Department of the Interior has launched a new program through the availability of $72.5 million to help Tribal communities electrify homes. The program will provide financial and technical assistance to Tribes to connect homes to transmission and distribution that is powered by renewable energy; provide electricity to un-electrified Tribal homes through zero-emissions energy systems; transition electrified Tribal homes to zero-emissions energy systems; and support associated home repairs and retrofitting necessary to install the zero-emissions energy systems. Awards range from $250,000 to $20 million and can include planning, implementation or both.

Pre-Application Deadline: September 18, 2023

Full Proposal Deadline: December 22, 2023

Tribal Electrification Program

Pre-Application Information

Pilot Program Targets Transit-Oriented Development Planning and Implementation

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced the availability of approximately $13.4 million in competitive grant funds through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning. The funding will support local planning and investment near transit hubs to promote sustainable, livable, and equitable communities. TOD links public transportation, land use, and housing to create communities that are connected to transit and walkable. Comprehensive planning funded through the program must examine ways to improve economic development and ridership, foster multimodal connectivity and accessibility, improve transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, engage the private sector, identify infrastructure needs, and enable mixed-use development near transit stations.

Application Deadline: October 10, 2023

Webinar: September 14, 2023 at 11:00 am PT

Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning

Webinar Registration

Disaster Loans Available for Businesses and Homeowners in Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Mineral Counties

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available from the U.S. Small Business Administration to assist businesses and residents in Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Mineral counties affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred March 8-19. Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofits may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, and other business assets.

Disaster loans of up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles. Interest rates for loans can be as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.375 percent for private nonprofits and 2.375 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

SBA’s Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center is open 8 am to 4:30 pm PT and can be reached at FOCWAssistance@sba.gov or 916.735.1512.

Apply online or email/call SBA’s customer service center at: Disastercustomerservicee@sba.gov or 800.659.2955.

Disaster Loan Assistance: Applications 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 placemaking, infrastructure, mobility, drought preparedness, and wildfire defense.

Grant Opportunities & More

Placemaking: Community Development Success Stories

Creative placemaking integrates arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities. Community leaders and public and private grant funding organizations interested in rural placemaking are encouraged to attend the USDA and University of Kentucky Webinar on Placemaking Resources in Rural Communities.

Attendees will hear about firsthand experiences of rural leaders who have received grants to finance creative placemaking projects. The presentations will also provide successful placemaking models that small funding organizations can replicate in their own communities.

Webinar: August 30, 2023, at 10:00 am PT

Webinar Registration

Rural America Placemaking Toolkit

Infrastructure ‘Bootcamps’ Help Small Cities Get Grants

The National League of Cities’ (NLC) Local Infrastructure Hub is a national program designed to connect cities and towns with the resources and expert advice they need to access federal infrastructure funding in order to drive local progress, improve communities, and deliver results for residents.

As part of the Local Infrastructure Hub, NLC hosts Grant Application Bootcamps for local governments with 150,000 or fewer residents. The Bootcamps are designed to assist smaller communities navigate grant opportunities. More than 600 cities have participated in the Bootcamps, with new registrations opening later this summer.

Local Infrastructure Hub

Grant Application Bootcamps

Getting SMART about Transportation Technology

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is accepting applications for the second year of its Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. This SMART Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will accept applications for Stage 1 Planning and Prototyping grants. During Stage 1, the SMART program seeks to fund innovation aimed at solving real-world transportation problems and is focused on building data, technology capacity, and experience for State, local, and Tribal governments.

Recognizing that many public sector transportation agencies face challenges finding the resources and personnel to leverage new technologies, the program also builds in the time and support to enable successful deployment. The funding opportunity is open to public sector entities seeking to carry out transportation projects that demonstrate at least one of the following technology areas:

• Coordinated automation

• Connected vehicles

• Sensors

• Systems integration

• Delivery/logistics

• Innovative aviation

• Smart grid

• Traffic signals

Anticipated funding for Phase 1 projects is $250,000.

Application Deadline: October 10, 2023

SMART Grants Program

Application Submission

NOFO

WaterSmart Grants for Drought Preparedness Webinar

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation provides funding for projects that will help communities prepare for and respond to drought. Typically, these types of projects are referred to as “mitigation actions” in a drought contingency plan.

Reclamation will fund projects that build resiliency to drought by:

    Increasing the reliability of water supplies

    Improving water management

    Providing benefits for fish and wildlife and the environment

The Bureau will host an informational webinar to discuss eligible applicants and project types, program requirements, and the evaluation criteria for both the Planning and Project Design Grants funding opportunity and the Drought Resiliency Projects funding opportunity. The new Planning and Project Design Grants funding opportunity includes:

    Water Strategy Grants

    Project Design Grants

    Drought Contingency Planning

Awards range from $25,000 to $5 million.

Application Deadline: October 31, 2023

Webinar: August 24, 2023, 10:30 am PT

WaterSmart Grant and Webinar Information

Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program

The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is again accepting applications for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. Now in its second year, the competitive program is designed to assist at-risk communities, including Tribal communities, non-profit organizations and state forestry agencies with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks.

In the first round of funding, the program awarded $197 million to 99 project proposals across 22 states and 7 Tribes. The program provides funding to communities for two primary purposes:

• Develop and revise Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP)

• Implement projects described in a CWPP that is less than 10 years old

Application Deadline: October 31, 2023

Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program