The GRANT Program is available for eligible recipients to support the local match requirement when applying for a federal government grant. Applications open June 1, 2024 and will continue on a rolling monthly basis thereafter until funds expire.
Supports the efforts of nonprofit organizations to build vibrant communities that offer stable jobs, homes, and communities connected through culture, recreation, and play.
Funding through the Implementation Pathway will help communities and regions devise and implement long-term economic recovery strategies through a variety of construction and non-construction projects to address economic challenges in areas where a Presidential declaration of a major disaster was issued in 2023 and 2024.
NACo’s Counties for Housing Solutions will provide free virtual technical assistance to help counties assess and update their zoning codes to increase affordable housing development and overall housing supply. These fast-paced technical assistance sprints are designed to be high-intensity and implementation-focused, with a county being on track to formally adopt an amendment to their zoning code at the conclusion of the sprint.
Rural Economic Development Loans (REDL) and Grants (REDG)
fund eligible projects using local utility organizations as intermediary lenders. Under REDL, USDA Rural Development provides zero-interest loans to local utilities, which then pass the loans through to local businesses (called “ultimate recipients”).
REDL funds can be used for projects that help create and
keep jobs in rural areas. Ultimate recipients directly repay the
lending utility, and the lending utility then repays USDA Rural
Development.
With REDG, local utility organizations use USDA-awarded grants to establish revolving loan funds (RLFs) which support projects that help create or keep rural jobs. Once the RLF is exhausted or otherwise ends, the grant is then repaid to USDA Rural Development.
For questions about the application contact Scott Maas, Kentucky Program Director, Rural Business-Cooperative Service
at 859-224-7436 or scott.maas@usda.gov.
Applicants must meet one of the following criteria:
Be current Rural Utilities Service (RUS), electric, or telecommunications borrowers;
Be a former RUS borrower that has repaid or pre-paid an insured, direct, or guaranteed loan under the Rural Electrification Act;
Be nonprofit utilities that are eligible to receive an insured or direct loan under the Rural Electrification Act.
In addition, projects must serve rural areas or towns with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents in the United States. For persistent-poverty counties, projects may serve county seats with populations of up to 55,000.
Applications are accepted quarterly and must be received by 4:30 pm local time on one of the following dates 09/30/2025, 12/31/2025, 03/31/2026, or 6/30/2026.
Prior to applying, applicants may request technical assistance or other application guidance from the funding agency as long as such requests are made at least 15 days prior to each submission date.
Awards are anticipated to be made on the following dates:
November 30, 2025, for applications submitted by September 30, 2025;
February 29, 2026, for applications submitted by December 31, 2025;
May 31, 2026, for applications submitted by March 31, 2026; and,
August 31, 2026, for applications submitted by June 30, 2026.
Project periods will begin on December 1, 2025, and end on September 30, 2027.
20% match from non-federal sources