Dear [firstname],
I know that the Trump Administration’s attempts to freeze federal funding continue to cause a great deal of anxiety and confusion as litigation unfolds in the courts. Please know that I am working hard every day to fight back and continue delivering for our constituents.
Due to the inconsistent application of processes and lack of clarity from the Trump Administration, I highly recommend that you follow relevant agency newsletters and the grants.gov webpage for your grants of interest to see which are canceled, paused, or may have changed eligibility criteria. If this has affected you or your organization, please share your information with my office here.
I am excited to share upcoming grants and federal funding opportunities for local governments, universities, community organizations, businesses, and individuals.
You can find up-to-date information on open federal grants here. This spreadsheet will be updated throughout the month and includes a wide variety of grants related to agriculture, community development, disaster prevention and relief, food and nutrition, transportation, and much more. The grants can be easily sorted and filtered by category to help find grants related to specific needs.
Additionally, you can find an extensive list of funding opportunities for local governments updated regularly by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs here. This user-friendly dashboard includes federal and state funding opportunities and can be filtered by category, program, award type, awarding agency, and eligible applicants.
Upcoming Grants:
This month, there are major federal grants open for funding around transportation, infrastructure, and environmental projects. Below are some of the available federal funding opportunities, listed in order by category and deadline. The following grants are still open and accepting applicants at the time of sending this newsletter.
Transportation:
The Department of Transportation has announced Planning & Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants for the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program. This program funds the planning and implementation of roadway safety action plans by regional and local governments. Interested parties can view program webinars here and find more information here. All applications must be submitted by June 26, 2025.
The Department of Transportation has also recently opened the most recent round of the Bridge Investment Program. This grant program is open to metropolitan planning organizations and local governments to repair bridges in poor and fair condition. Funds are available both for planning and implementation projects. Interested applicants can find more information here and should apply for planning projects by October 1, 2025, and for implementation projects by November 1, 2025. A separate grant fund is open for larger bridge projects that would cost at least $100 million. Interested applicants for the Large Bridge Project program should apply by August 1, 2025.
Environmental:
The Department of the Treasury has an open RESTORE Act Program, which funds construction and real property acquisition activities for environmental restoration, mitigation, and infrastructure projects benefiting the economy or ecological resources. Additional information on the program can be found here, with information on non-construction projects being listed here. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis as long as funds are still available until October 31, 2025.
Rural:
The Department of Agriculture’s Community Facilities Loan and Grant Program provides funding opportunities to develop community facilities in rural areas that provide essential services to local communities. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Education:
The National Science Foundation has a Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which provides funding for elementary and secondary mathematics and science teachers in school districts experiencing teacher shortages in those fields. You can get more information on the grant posting here. The deadline for applications is August 26, 2025.
Arts, Culture, and the Humanities:
The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for projects that address significant challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities resources and collections. Applications are due May 20, 2025.
Technical Assistance:
Something I often hear when meeting with local governments and organizations is that they are interested in taking advantage of federal funding opportunities but simply do not have the capacity to submit a competitive application. Thankfully, you don't have to go through this process alone. My office has compiled a list of resources provided by state and federal government agencies designed to help grant applicants here.
I often hear from groups who find a grant that interests them but aren’t sure when the grant application will reopen or feel the deadline is too soon for them to write a competitive application. To help groups plan for upcoming grants, my office has compiled a list of past opening and closing dates for major grants here.
Education:
The Department of Education funds the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, which offers a variety of free technical assistance resources for early childhood education and childcare providers.
Energy:
The Department of Energy provides a technical assistance program called Clean Energy to Communities Learning Cohorts for local governments, nonprofits, and electric utilities to form partnerships, have access to experts, and receive guidance on clean energy projects. Interested applicants can apply here.
Through funding from the Department of Energy, the Energy Ready organization provides free technical assistance to local governments wishing to implement solar and wind energy within their communities, as well as electric vehicle charging stations. Interested parties can find more information here and apply for assistance here.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture will provide free technical assistance for Colorado rural businesses and agricultural producers for the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) program, including free assistance with technical reports and feasibility studies. REAP funding supports energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
Grants on the Horizon:
The Department of Health and Human Services has a planned Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Centers Grant, which provides funding for non-profits, states, local governments, health facilities, and institutes of higher education to address the opioid epidemic. This funding opportunity is expected to open on May 1, 2025.
Application Tip of the Month:
With any change in administration, it is helpful to think about the incoming administration's priorities when administering grant funds. You can get a sense of a federal agency's priorities by reading a grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), attending agency webinars, reading agency newsletters and press releases, and proactively reaching out to grant administrators listed in a NOFO to ask questions. Once you do some looking into what an agency's priority may be for a specific grant cycle, you can better evaluate whether your project is a good fit for this grant and tailor your application to highlight how it aligns with the agency's priorities.
Reminders from last month's newsletter:
You can always find a full list of the resources and grants (some of which are still open) from previous grant newsletters on my website here.
If you know someone who would like to be added to my monthly grants newsletter, they can sign up for the newsletter here.
If you would like to request a letter of support from my office, please email co07grants@mail.house.gov. Please allow at least one week of processing time and include your application materials and a draft letter of support. Letter of support requests within a week of the deadline may not be processed in time.
Please reach out with any questions, letters of support requests, or if you would like my office to keep an eye out for federal funding in specific areas.
Thanks for reading,
