August 2024 Resources

Each month LOR sends a curated list of funding opportunities and other resources relevant for small rural communities in the Mountain West. To receive a link to our monthly resources guide, drop us a line to connect@lorfoundation.org.

Funding Opportunities

August Deadlines

The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) invites nonprofit applicants in rural areas to seek grant funding to tackle the nation’s opioid crisis. Proposed projects (no grant amount guidance provided) should foster collaboration among multi-disciplinary, cross-sector teams, aim to reduce overdoses, enhance treatment access, and support long-term recovery. Eligible entities include nonprofits, universities, and government agencies.
Deadline: August 8

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has nearly $470 million available via its Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program aimed at protecting children from lead poisoning. The program assists states, cities, counties, Native American tribes, and other local governments in identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards. Additionally, HUD offers Healthy Homes Supplemental funding to address other housing-related health hazards. Eligible applicants include state and local governments with EPA-authorized lead abatement programs. HUD expects to make 71 grants ranging from $1 million to $7 million.
Deadline: August 19

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has $40 million available for its Eviction Protection Grant Program, which provides no-cost legal assistance to low-income tenants facing eviction. Projects under this program should expand the evidence base on eviction prevention by reporting on tenants served, legal assistance provided, outcomes achieved, milestones reached, and other activities. Eligible applicants range from Native American tribal organizations to various types of nonprofits and government entities. HUD expects to make 25 grants ranging from $500,000 to $2.5 million.
Deadline: August 20

The National Park Service’s History of Equal Rights Grant Program allocates up to $750,000 for preservation work and up to $75,000 for pre-preservation planning at sites listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or designated as National Historic Landmarks. The grants support a wide range of preservation projects, such as architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and physical upkeep of structures. Eligible entities include states, territories, federally-recognized tribes, local governments, universities, and nonprofit organizations. 
Deadline: August 20

The GRAMMY Museum Grants Program will provide up to $20,000 for organizations and individuals who help preserve the heritage of North American music. Preservation grants support projects that advance the archiving and preservation of music and recorded sound heritage. Research grants support efforts that study the links between music and early childhood education, treatments for illnesses and injuries common to musicians, hearing loss alleviation, and the impact of music therapy.
Deadline: August 23

The National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund – Underrepresented Communities Grant Program has $1,250,000 available for organizations who can help diversify listings in the National Register of Historic Places. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, state governments, special district governments, institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments and organizations, city or township governments, county governments, and private institutions of higher education. Grants awarded range from $15,000 to $75,000.
Deadline: August 29

September Deadlines (and beyond)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment grant program has $28 million available for communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. The grants will support a variety of programs that promote wildlife conservation and public land management to support engagement, employment, and education of our nation’s diverse youth and veterans. Eligible applicants include state and tribal governments, nonprofits, educational institutions, and other organizations designated under the Public Lands Corps Act. The grant awards will range from $5,000 to $2 million. 
Deadline: September 1

The Polaris TRAILS GRANTS Program offers grants of up to $10,000 to organizations focused on off-road trail development and maintenance projects, safety and education initiatives, and other efforts to increase and maintain land trail access. The program supports national, state, and local organizations in the United States and Canada to ensure the future of off-road vehicle and snowmobile riding. Organizations can apply for either monetary or product donations of up to $10,000 annually. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations and local governments.
Deadline: September 1

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts provides grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to organizations that support artists in every phase of the creative process. Grants are provided in the following categories: curatorial research fellowships, up to $50,000; exhibition support, ranging from $60,000 to $100,000; and multiyear program grants, ranging from $60,000 to $100,000. The foundation awards 100 grants annually. 
Deadline: September 1

The U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods Program has $4 million available for organizations working to improve outcomes for kids in distressed communities. The program targets neighborhoods with high rates of poverty, childhood obesity, academic challenges, and juvenile delinquency, among other issues. Eligible applicants include governmental bodies, higher education institutions, nonprofits, and Native American tribal organizations and governments. The award ceiling is $500,000 per project.
Deadline: September 10

T-Mobile’s Hometown Grants Program funds 25 projects up to $50,000 each quarter in small towns throughout the country. Shovel-ready projects that build, rebuild, or refresh community spaces that foster local connections in small towns are eligible for funding. Applications are accepted from elected officials, town managers or employees, tribal leaders, or nonprofit community leaders.
Deadline: Sept. 30 

The Milk House and Daily Yonder’s Best in Rural Writing Contest is awarding prizes of up to $500 to writers of original fiction and nonfiction for its second annual competition. All submissions must be fewer than 6,000 words and be original, unpublished fiction or nonfiction essays. The contest will offer a $500 first prize award and a $200 runner-up award.
Deadline: September 30

The Toshiba America Foundation is offering grants of up to $5,000 to teachers to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning in schools. Eligible applicants include kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers from public or nonprofit private schools. Kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers can apply for up to $1,000 to make STEM learning fun, while sixth through 12th-grade teachers can apply for up to $5,000 to implement an innovative idea for improving STEM education.
Deadline: September 1 or November 1 depending on size of grant (sixth through 12th grade grants); October 1 (kindergarten through fifth grade grants).

The D’Addario Foundation awards grants for up to $2,500 to nonprofits focused on music education. Funding is open to organizations that offer free or affordable instrument instruction, address a community need, and provide frequent instruction to students who are participating multiple times per week for as many years as possible throughout their primary and secondary education. 
Deadline: October 30

The Western SARE Farmer/Rancher Research & Education Grant Program is offering grants for producers who are implementing on-farm sustainability solutions. This grant program requires engagement from agricultural producers and technical advisors to support project implementation to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture. Grant awards can be up to $25,000 for projects with one to two producers and up to $29,900 for projects with three or more producers.
Deadline: October 23

The Brooks and Joan Fortune Family Foundation supports art, education, and outreach programs with grants typically between $1,000 and $10,000 to nonprofit organizations. Eligible applicants include nonprofit programs that extend the impact of arts and arts education and promote the arts in schools.
Deadline: Rolling

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation offers grants ranging from $10,000 to more than $1 million for programs that help children and families. The grantmaking priorities are thriving children, working families, and equitable communities. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, local governments, school districts, institutions of higher education, and other public charities. 
Deadline: Rolling

The Trust for Civic Life’s Civic Entrepreneur Grant has $10 million available for individuals and small organizations for projects aimed at enhancing civic participation. Eligible applicants include entrepreneurs, organizations, and innovative digital leaders who play a key role in their local and regional civic ecosystems. Nominations open in August, and grant awards will be up to $25,000.
Deadline: Not yet announced

State-Specific Funding Opportunities

Colorado: The Colorado Youth Corps Association and Great Outdoors Colorado’s Conservation Service Corps grant has allocated up to $1.2 million for outdoor recreation, stewardship, and restoration projects completed by conservation service corps members. The funding is intended for open spaces, local governments, Conservation Trust Fund special districts, and land trusts to hire conservation service corps members for outdoor recreation, stewardship, and restoration projects. Eligible entities include Colorado municipalities or counties, special districts, local governments, and nonprofit land conservation organizations.
Deadline: August 14

Colorado: The Denver Foundation’s Lowe Fund is offering grants ranging between $10,000 to $50,000 to nonprofits that support training, education, and research into cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, and other nervous and muscular disorders. Eligible entities include Colorado based nonprofits or organizations that are fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3).  Organizations that provide systems-level advocacy, including legal advocacy, are eligible to apply for funding. Rural applicants are encouraged.
Deadline: August 15

Colorado: The RedLine Contemporary Art Center’s Arts in Society program supports the integration of arts and culture into everyday settings to promote health and well-being. Grants between $5,000 and $35,000 are available for projects that help arts organizations and artists as partners find solutions to civic and social challenges faced by Colorado communities. Applicants, which can include nonprofit organizations, individuals, schools, and government agencies, must reside in the state of Colorado and have an arts idea that engages a social issue. Arts in Society specifically seeks projects that demonstrate a high level of collaboration between artists, organizations, and a target community to address a problem or social issue.
Deadline: September 6

Colorado: The Rural Opportunity Office (ROO) is working to build economic planning capacity by helping Colorado communities change things for the better using creative assets. The Colorado Air program will support several communities in learning how to cultivate the skills of their residents and collaborate with others so that the whole community thrives—not just their economy, but within their emergency management systems, educational institutions, and more. The ROO will offer the opportunity for several communities to hold Air Shift workshops in 2024. Interested communities should email Southern CO Rural Opportunity Representative Wendy Stewart-Martinez for more information.

Idaho: The Idaho Gem Grant Program offers up to $50,000 for rural communities to plan and implement economic development projects. Idaho Gem Grants are focused on job creation and retention. Grants may be awarded to eligible communities for the purpose of developing assets directly connected to private-sector job creation. Eligible applicants include any rural community with a population of 10,000 persons or fewer and must be submitted by a city, county, or tribal government.
Deadline: Rolling

New Mexico: The Nusenda Foundation’s Community Rewards program offers grants ranging from $2,500 to $15,000 to organizations that support New Mexicans in their communities. Applications for Community Rewards must demonstrate how the requested resources are being invested and leveraged. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations or public schools located in northern, central, or southern New Mexico that fit within one of the foundation’s focus areas: The arts, community services and support, education, environment and wildlife, or healthcare.
Deadline: Rolling

New Mexico: The Outdoor Recreation Trails+ Grant has $10 million available to support projects enhancing communities’ outdoor recreation opportunities. 
This grant invests in conservation-minded, shovel-ready projects that increase access to outdoor opportunities and demonstrate a clear economic benefit to the community. The grant awards range from $25,000 to $99,999. Eligible applicants include local tribes, pueblos, and nations, municipalities and counties, nonprofits, public schools, colleges and universities, soil and water conservation districts, and acequia and land grant associations.
Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis in three rounds; the first closes September 30.

New Mexico: The Agricultural Workforce Development Program incentivizes agricultural businesses to hire interns by reimbursing up to 50 percent of employment costs, capped at $15,000 per intern. This initiative aims to provide hands-on educational opportunities for students aspiring to agricultural careers and for young or beginning farmers and ranchers. Eligible applicants are agricultural businesses with a physical operation address in New Mexico.
Deadline: Rolling; Applications accepted until funds run out.

Resources

Nearly 30 million children benefit from USDA’s school breakfast and lunch programs during the academic year. However, when school is out for the summer, many kids lose access to these nutritious meals. To address this gap, USDA offers Summer Nutrition Programs to help combat childhood hunger during these months.

The Rural SUD Info Center is an exciting new clearinghouse showcasing the work of three Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders (SUD), funded by FORHP’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP). The website offers current information and technical assistance opportunities on SUD, all viewed through a rural lens.

EdWeek has put together a compilation of discounts and resources available to teachers and schools to offset the out-of-pocket costs that many educators incur when preparing for the school year.

An Introduction to Philanthropy in Rural Aging offers guidance on private nonprofit grant funds for rural aging work, with a look at the scale of current funding, rural assets, sustainability, and partnership building.  Issues related to rural aging are highlighted, including cultural sensitivities, transportation, broadband, housing, institutional care, and social isolation. 

Profitability of rural hospitals in 2020-21 and 2021-22 was influenced by the Public Health Emergency (PHE) funding distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three briefs from the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center examine hospital profitability from 2018 to 2023, taking PHE funding into account.

Radically Rural is seeking 10 to 12 innovative approaches to solving local problems, all to be presented at this year’s summit on September 22nd. They are recruiting ideas from the sectors that the summit presents: community journalism, arts and culture, land and community, entrepreneurship, main street, all in for health, clean energy, and more.
Deadline: September 15

Join The Grant Plant, Inc. for an in-depth introduction to Federal grant management designed for program staff, grant administrators, financial staff, and executive directors. With an unprecedented $1.09 trillion in federal grant and cooperative agreement funds expected over the next decade, this training is timely. The new Uniform Guidance takes effect at the start of the federal fiscal year on October 1, 2024. Dive into the technical requirements of grant management with one of the country’s largest and most dynamic grant consulting firms. The cost is $950 per participant, and the training runs from September 30 to October 2, 2024, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM MT.

Each month, USDA OCFO hosts training and FAQ sessions on the ezFedGrants (eFG) management system, suitable for beginners or those needing a refresher. Find the eFG training schedule, slide decks, job aids, and FAQs here. Upcoming session details are also available on the website.