Grants
Start with a current need! Creating a new project just to fit a grant is not good… And local match funding and extra strings on grants are non-negotiable!
Funding Opportunities – Quick Grant Links
Northern VT Economic Development District
Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation
Resources
- TRORC Grant Training
- TRORC Grant Cheat Sheet
- Vermont Federal Funding Guidebook
- Community Development Funding Directory
- Hazard Mitigation Funding Programs, Vermont Emergency Management
- VTrans “Show Me the Money” Grants Guide
- ANR Clean Water Grants
- Northern Border Regional Commission NBRC
Funding Opportunities
Other Funding Opportunities
Flood Resilient Communities Fund (FRCF) was established by the Vermont Legislature under Act 74 with the intent of improving landscape and community resilience and reducing the future public safety and water quality impacts of flood hazards in Vermont, focusing on buyouts of flood-vulnerable properties. This program will prioritize projects that are not eligible for FEMA funding. Funding is currently limited, although towns and other eligible applicants are still encouraged to submit applications, which can be processed should more funding become available.
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program to states and local communities for mitigation activities. The funding available in 2023 was $2 million for federal share set-aside for Vermont. Funding can be used for Project Scoping, planning activities, and project implementation. The deadline to submit application to the State for BRIC 2023 has passed. The funding announcement for BRIC 2024 is expected in Fall 2024.
Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program funds states, local communities, tribes, and territories to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The deadline to submit application to the State for FMA 2023 has passed. The funding announcement for FMA 2024 is expected in Fall 2024.
Questions can be directed to: [email protected].
Town American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF)
We are reaching out to remind you that all Towns and Villages that received ARPA (SLFRF) funds are required to submit their annual Project and Expenditure Reports by April 30, 2024. Reporting is required even if your municipality expended all of your funds in a previous reporting period. Failure to report by the deadline could jeopardize your funding. Treasury’s portal will “open” for reporting on April 1st.
Please note that a confusing message was distributed by Treasury earlier this week. The deadline extension Treasury announced is ONLY for proposals of estimated administrative expenses that a municipality expects to incur after 12/31/24 (NOT recommended). All municipalities are still required to submit their annual reports by April 30, 2024, regardless of whether or not you intend to incur administrative expenses after 12/31/24.
If you have any questions about the reporting process, please feel free to contact [email protected], 802.457.3188 x3007.. When you have completed your reporting, please send me an email to let me know. We are working closely with VLCT to track reporting progress and provide assistance where needed.
VLCT has prepared some helpful guides to walk you through the reporting process, step by step: https://www.vlct.org/resource/arpa-vermont-neus-guide-treasurys-compliance-portal
Treasury Pages: Program recipients with questions about reporting, technical issues, eligible uses of funds, or other items please visit the updated SLFRF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and self-service resources.
Helpful Tips for Reporting:
- This reporting period covers April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024.
- Please note that access to Treasury’s portal is limited to those who have been granted access. If there has been staff/position turnover in your municipality since last April, you will need to track down the person who was assigned to be the account administrator, so that they can go into the portal and grant access to new people. You can assign multiple people to each role, or assign the same person multiple roles.
- Account Administrator: this is the only person who can give others access to the portal, by designating them as the Authorized Representative for Reporting or the Point of Contact for Reporting.
- Point of Contact for Reporting: this person is the primary contact for receiving official Treasury notifications. They are also responsible for preparing the SLFRF reports.
- Authorized Representative for Reporting: this person is responsible for certifying and submitting official reports on behalf of the municipality. Treasury will accept reports or other official communications only when submitted by the Authorized Representative for Reporting.
- When adding a project, some of the fields can be a little confusing. Please note these definitions, taken from Treasury’s P&E Report User Guide:
- Project Expenditure Category Group: You should select “6 – Revenue Replacement.”
- Project Expenditure Category: You should select either 6.1 or 6.2, depending on the nature of the project you are reporting. In most cases, the category should be 6.1 (Provision of Government Services).
- Recipient Project ID: you assign this project number to your project. You can number projects however you wish, just don’t duplicate numbers.
- Adopted Budget: The amount the municipality budgeted for this particular project. (This should be the same as the amount of funds obligated for the project.)
- Total Cumulative Obligations: The total amount that you’ve obligated for this particular project since you first received your ARPA award.
- Total Cumulative Expenditures: The total amount that you’ve spent on this particular project since you first received your ARPA award.
- Current Period Obligations: The total amount that you’ve obligated for this particular project during this reporting period (see #1 above).
- Current Period Expenditures: The total amount that you’ve spent on this particular project during this reporting period (see #1 above).
- Program Income: This only applies if you used your ARPA dollars to fund a program that’s earning income for the municipality. It’s an optional field in the report.
- A reminder about obligation: Obligation requires a formal action of your legislative body in an open meeting. It also requires the municipality to place an order for property and services or to enter into contracts, subawards, or similar transactions that require payment. Failure to meet both of these conditions for all of your funds by December 31st, 2024, will result in the loss of unobligated funds. As I explained in my email dated 3/1, the safest and easiest approach is to NOT use your ARPA dollars to pay for any municipal staff time after December 31, 2024, not even ARPA reporting time. If you are concerned about your municipality’s ability to meet the December obligation deadline, please contact me and we’ll discuss your options.
- If you need technical assistance directly from Treasury, you can contact them at [email protected] or by calling (844) 529-9527. They also have a FAQ webpage.
All TRORC towns and villages selected the standard revenue loss allowance so with this selection, they can spend the entirety of their awards on the provision of government services, excluding uses prohibited under the Final Rule. Towns will have to report to Treasury in a narrative or another form about the use of the ARPA-SLFRF funds annually, and recipients are encouraged to report based on their existing budget processes and to minimize administrative burden. Excerpted VLCT guidance follows below.
Once a recipient has selected the revenue loss allowance, how will Treasury track use of funds for the provision of government services?
TRORC has funding to assess sites, but the state of Vermont has its own program. There may also be federal cleanup grants available to towns.
Contact Sarah Wraight at [email protected].
Conservation and Environment
Grants to improve waters, conserve habitat, recycle, conserve farm or forest land, or to provide outreach and education in these areas have a variety of grants.
Contact Pete Fellows at [email protected]
Designated Downtowns and Villages
This seven-page document is a list of grant programs in Vermont that are available to Designated Downtowns and Villages: CPR Funding Directory
Economic Development
Northern Border Regional Commission NBRC: 50/50 infrastructure and economic development planning grants. Must have a clear link to wider economic development. VT Funded project list. VT ACCD page for NBRC
Some Community Development Block Grants can provide business expansion loans from the Vermont Community Development Program. These are granted to the town that applies and then loaned to the business, who in turn repays the town. These funds then stay in the town and must be used for similar purposes. Other types of loans and grants exist. Please contact the Small Business Development Center
– Small Grants for Smart Growth: A program run by the Vermont Natural Resources Council that offers between $500-$1500 per smart growth project. It provides seed money for community-based, local initiatives related to smart growth. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and require a two page proposal. To learn more and apply contact Kate McCarthy [email protected]
–Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program USDA Rural Development provides funding to build and modernize educational, health care, food system, municipal, child care, public safety, and many more types of essential community facilities in qualified rural areas. Application Deadline: Ongoing
Emergency Grants
There are a variety of grants and other assistance that can help local response agencies and communities better avoid, prepare, plan for, and equip themselves to deal with the variety of emergencies they will face. Since many grants involve applications for federal funds and many local officials are volunteers who may be unfamiliar with the administrative requirements of such grants, TRORC staff are available to help communities apply for and administer grants.
Vermont Emergency Management hazard mitigation funding programs
Contact Kevin Geiger at [email protected]
Energy
Contact Harry Falconer at [email protected]
Handicapped Access
Towns can access grants to install ramps and elevators, or planning grants to ready themselves for such applications through the Vermont Community Development Program.
Contact Kevin Geiger at [email protected]
Housing
The best source of funding to actually produce affordable housing is through a Community Development Block Grant from the Vermont Community Development Program.
Contact Kevin Geiger at [email protected]
Planning
The main source of grants for writing town plans, zoning and subdivision bylaws, and capital budgets is the Municipal Planning Grant program. These are usually announced in the summer and due in September.
Contact Kevin Geiger at [email protected]
Transportation
Quick Transportation Guide to Funding for Towns
There are both state and federal grants for highway, pedestrian, transit, and bicycling transportation projects that can fund studying a need and developing a project scope, as well as actually building projects.
–Transportation Alternatives Program– State funding for projects that support transportation alternatives: routes for non-drivers, conversion of abandoned railroad, construction of viewing area, community improvement activities, environmental mitigation activities, and more. Requires a minimum of 20% match, and 50% match of total project cost for scoping studies.
Contact Rita Seto at [email protected]
Utilities and Services
Contact Kevin Geiger at [email protected]