On August 7, 2025, the White House issued the Executive Order Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking to increase accountability, transparency, and alignment of federal discretionary grants with stated national priorities. This directive reshapes how agencies develop, review, and manage Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), and it adds new oversight layers that will affect both timing...

Federal grants are blooming again—and they’re focused on Kentucky’s real needs. New DOJ and USDA programs are investing in rural safety, food access, and local economies. With more on the horizon like ARC POWER, now’s the time to get ready.

As many nonprofits brace for increased competition and shifting priorities in federal funding, the need for sustainable alternatives has never been clearer. At the 2025 Kentucky Grant Professionals Association (KY GPA) Statewide Conference in Elizabethtown, I met Phil Johncock and discovered one of his books that felt especially timely: Diversify Nonprofit Sustainability with 20 Approved IRS Re...

I was conducting a training a couple of weeks ago in Western Kentucky and an executive director of a small nonprofit asked me during a break in a quiet but steady voice, “What are we supposed to do while the federal grants are stuck in limbo?” It’s a question I’ve heard dozens of times in the last few months. From food pantries to workforce development nonprofits, from after-school programs to...

There’s exciting news on the grant front for Kentucky organizations: The Governor recently signed HB605—a bill updating the Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (GRANT) Program to include expanded opportunities, more flexibility, and a smoother application process for public service providers across the Commonwealth. Changes are expected to go into effect by May 1st.