Resources to Assist with Grants, Funding Programs
As cities continue developing and executing plans for Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (LFRF) received through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), many are exploring grant opportunities to enhance their projects and leverage their funds. Under the ARP, LFRF classified in the “revenue replacement” category may be used as matching funds for grant opportunities (subject to any limitations of the grant programs themselves).
Many new and existing grant programs received funding through the ARP and the bipartisan infrastructure law known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Navigating those programs can be challenging. However, national resources are available to assist in those efforts.
A sampling of those resources are as follows:
The Local Infrastructure Hub is a partnership between local government organizations – including the National League of Cities (NLC) – and is supported by several national foundations. Among its services is a searchable grant database that can be found here: https://localinfrastructure.org/funding-opportunities/. The Hub also offers a series of Grant Application Bootcamps designed to assist small and mid-sized local governments in accessing available grants. Registration for the next round of bootcamps will open in October 2022, and more information can be found here: https://localinfrastructure.org/application-bootcamp/.
The National League of Cities also offers its own grants database, known as the Infrastructure Insights Dashboard. That can be found on the NLC website here: https://www.nlc.org/resource/infrastructure-bill-insights/. Many city officials may already be NLC members who can access the dashboard, but if not information on joining NLC is also available at that link.
The Government Finance Officers Association has set up a website for IIJA Implementation Resources that can be found here: https://www.gfoa.org/the-infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act-iija-was. A number of IIJA-related resources can be found or are linked from that page. Among them is a Notice of Funding Opportunity Tracker (https://www.gfoa.org/iija-notice-of-funding-opportunity-nofo-tracker) that details currently open grants.
The N.C. League is working to bring its members additional resources for one-on-one assistance with specific grant programs and applications that support ARP-funded projects. If such services are of interest to you, please visit https://www.cognitoforms.com/NCLM1/ARPServicesSurvey and let us know. One of our staff members will follow up with you on any services you indicate an interest in.