Grant Opportunities

There are things you can do NOW to get started!

1. Complete registration of your community on several federal websites so you’re prepared to apply when the opportunity is right.  Applications often have short deadlines once released, so completing these steps ahead of time is VERY IMPORTANT. Click here for grant registration requirement information.
2. Begin scoping your projects now. Complete whatever engineering studies or other evaluations are needed, so you know what you need and want to ask for in the grant. Planning is 80% of grant writing. Think about your project, objectives, your goals, who you’ll partner with, how you’ll evaluate the impact, and what you want to accomplish with use of these funds.

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• 10 Tips for Understanding Grants

Through the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), states apply for funds that can then flow to municipalities as subrecipients.  Each state designates a State Administrative Agency (SAA) that determines the state’s application process and timeline.  Links below are for each SAA; you may need to search the site for SLCGP information:

Colorado

Iowa

Kansas

Nebraska

Wyoming

Grants.gov

Grants.gov is the federal government's central location for grant seekers to fund and apply for federal funding opportunities. The website also handles grant application submissions to many federal agencies.

You can set up custom saved searches for grant categories of interest and receive regular emails regarding new grant opportunities by going to "Connect" and "Manage Subscriptions."

The Grants.gov Community Blog is also a helpful source of straightforward "How to" guidance and other topics related to grant applications.

Grants.gov also contains helpful training resources and videos, including step-by-step explanations of registering and setting up your application workspace, a self-help knowledge base, and links to other help.

Local Infrastructure Hub

The Local Infrastructure Hub is a national program that was created to help local leaders navigate federal infrastructure funding opportunities and to provide resources to help cities successfully apply for funding. It includes a tool for searching funding opportunities targeted to communities.

American Recovery Act of 2021 (also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or the American Rescue Plan)

A $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill to speed up the country’s recovery. Many of these funds went directly to households, businesses, and specific plans, but state and local fiscal recovery funds were also sent to states and allocated by various entities or state legislatures.

Cities serving a population of < 50,000 are considered non-entitlement units (NEUs) and receive their funds from the State. More information is available here.

• Self-service resources

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021-2022

This law will invest billions in our national infrastructure and provide opportunities specific to rural communities for broadband, transportation, roads and bridges, water, airports, electric vehicle charging, energy, and resiliency.

This Technical Assistance Guide identifies programs, processes, and resources to support communities seeking to access and deploy federal funding.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (also called the Build Back Better bill)

This legislation is a $750 billion package addressing healthcare, energy and climate, and tax reform supporting these priorities. Here is a summary of the energy and climate investments contained in the bill. More details are available in this IRA Guidebook.

Many of the Inflation Reduction Act’s benefits come in the form of tax credits for businesses or individuals and guidance can be found here.

1. Click here for a summary of competitive federal opportunities from the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office.  This summary includes links to program pages with further details, FAQs, application portals and more.
   
   This program also includes Smart Grid Grants, which includes AMI and how that investment will support grid resiliency and innovation.  See this Smart Grid Fact Sheet which include DOE’s priority investment areas.
    

2. Under the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants Program (BIL Sec 40101(d)), federal money will flow to states, and each state will administer funds for distribution in their state, with their own application timelines and procedures. Select your state below for more information and a link to the administrative agency responsible for your state's program:

   Colorado (Colorado Energy Office)

   Colorado Electric Grid Resilience Funds (Note: this includes a sign up to receive future program announcements)
   
   The Colorado Energy Office has released its Grid Hardening for Small and Rural Communities Grant Program; check the link for application deadlines.
   
   Kansas (State of Kansas Corporation Commission)
   Formula Grant for Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid
   
   The KCC released their state Notice of Funding Opportunity; check the link for application deadlines.

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   Nebraska (Nebraska Dept. of Environment and Energy)

   Preliminary proposals are being accepted for the Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid/Hazard Hardening program. These are state formula grant funds under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation 40101(d) Grid Resiliency Funding; approximately $5 million is available in Nebraska for this first of five funding cycles. 

   NDEE plans to support grid improvement projects that result in a more resilient electrical grid and promote a clean and equitable energy economy. Click here for a program summary.

   Eligible entities are strongly encouraged to submit pre-proposals which provide NDEE with a general outline of each project using the two-page preliminary proposal checklist; check the link for application deadlines.

   Subscribe to the Nebraska Grid Resiliency Information LIstserv:
   Send an email to listserv@listserv.nebraska.gov with "SUBSCRIBE NDEE-GridResiliency" followed by your name - in the body of the message (leave the subject line blank). Example: Subscribe NDEE-GridResiliency Jane Doe. You will receive an e-mail requesting you to confirm your request. Confirm by clicking the link. For more information, contact NDEE at (402) 471-2186 or NDEE.gridresiliency@nebraska.gov

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   Iowa (Iowa Economic Development Authority)

   First round of applications are being accepted for the Iowa Grid Resilience Fund to improve current and future resilience of the electric grid. Municipal utilities are eligible recipients of grant funding. First round of applications will be accepted through IowaGrants.gov until Feb. 15, 2024.

   The Iowa program manager is Stephanie Weisenbach, stephanie.weisenbach@iowaeda.com.

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   Wyoming (Wyoming Energy Authority)

   State Energy Program Grants

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To learn more about developing the infrastructure needed to charge electric vehicles, click here.

Communities interested in electric vehicle charging grants have two potential opportunities:

1. A competitive federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program that includes two funding categories: 1) Community Charging and Fueling Grants (Community Program); and 2) Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants (Corridor Program), as designated by the Federal Highway Administration. To the extent possible, all applications will be considered for both the Community and the Corridor Program, regardless of which grant is applied for.
    
2. Grant funds also flow to the states through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. In order to receive the funds, each state has developed a State EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan, which will likely continue to evolve over five year. Each state establishes its own priorities/criteria for distribution of charging infrastructure funds. Click on the links below to learn more about your state’s plan and opportunities:

• Colorado
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Nebraska
• Wyoming

Congratulations to our NPGA communities of Stuart, Neb., and Trinidad, Colo., that were awarded Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) grants in the 2022 round of funding.

Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grants are available. Check the link for current funding cycles and application deadlines. The link has several additional resources, including the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), evaluation plan, best practices for submitting a grant application, webinars, and FAQs.

Colorado

Colorado Department of Local Affairs Local Community Funding Guide
Colorado Local Match Program (IIJA)

Kansas

Kansas Energy Office
Kansas Infrastructure Hub
Build Kansas Matching Funds

Nebraska

Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy

Iowa

Iowa Grants
Iowa Energy Office
State Funding Opportunities from Iowa League of Cities

Wyoming

Wyoming Energy Authority

This list from the American Public Power Association is based on reporting from Politico at the end of 2022 and is subject to change. Additionally, some states did not provide an IIJA coordinator name. We will update this information if new information become available.

Click here to download the listing.

We recognize our member communities have very limited resources to pursue grant opportunities. Here’s some potential resources to assist you.

Each state has development districts that generally have experienced grant writers. They may be able to assist you, or work regionally with neighboring communities as well, to develop your project and write a compelling grant. We encourage you to reach out to them for assistance. Contact information can be found at the links below:

Colorado

Iowa

Kansas

Nebraska

Wyoming

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs also offers a IIJA and IRA Grant Writing Assistance Program.

Businesses that have indicated they can provide services in grant-writing and project assistance:

Premier Energy
Jeff Cook-Coyle
jeff@premier-clean.energy
970-744-9462

Quanta Technology
Salvador Palafox
SPalafox@Quanta-Technology.com
919-548-5205
https://quanta-technology.com/

Olsson
Aury Kangelos
Infrastructure Funding Strategist
akangelos@olsson.com
731-446-9878
https://olsson.com/

Universal Broadband Consulting
Loel Brooks
lbrooks@brookspanlaw.com
402-476-3300
https://www.ubconsultingltd.com/

Vacanti Municipal Consulting Service
Al Vacanti
alvacanti@hotmail.com
308-430-3904

Water:
Dig Deep Research, LLC.
Tia Cavender
tia@godigdeep.com
720-785-4155
https://digdeepgrants.com/

This information and these links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by NMPP Energy of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual.

Click on the links to download:

• Grant Support Letter Template
• APPA Community Considerations for IIJA Funding

Interested to know where Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants have been awarded in your state?  Check out this interactive maps tool from the General Services Administration that highlights awarded projects.

What is Justice40 that is associated with many grant opportunities?

Justice40 is an initiative of the Biden administration which directs 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments—including investments in clean energy and energy efficiency; clean transit; affordable and sustainable housing; training and workforce development; the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution; and the development of clean water infrastructure—to flow to disadvantaged communities (DACs). This includes many rural communities.

Interim Implementation Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative provides a definition of disadvantaged communities. The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) will help Federal agencies identify communities to support everyone receiving the benefits intended from federal programs.