You may find federal grant money to help fund your project.
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| January 2025 Federal Grant Opportunities Aloha, I’m pleased to present he January 2025 Grants Newsletter, the latest monthly resource for governments, schools, non-profit organizations, and businesses interested in pursuing opportunities for federal grant and cooperative agreement funding. To access my grants e-newsletter click on the January 2025 Federal Grant Opportunities title above. These grant opportunities are also published in the Federal government’s central website for grant funding (www.grants.gov). Part 1 of this month’s newsletter contains current discretionary program listings and research opportunities. Part 2 is a compilation of websites and links to general grant information provided by the Federal Agencies that most often have discretionary grant solicitations and is updated monthly. Please note that under the new Administration there may be changes to some of the programs listed in this month’s newsletter. There are several notices specific to Hawai’i: The Department of Housing and Urban Development – Advancing HUD’s Learning Agenda through Cooperative Agreements with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Alaska Native/ Native funds quality research that contributes to knowledge on housing and community development; and (2) support minority-serving institutions to conduct housing and community development research important to the communities and students they serve. (April 09, 2025 deadline) Department of Transportation – 69A345 Office of the Under Secretary for Policy Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program NOFO has funds available to award for planning and design phase activities for developing transportation projects in rural or tribal communities. Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is specifically noted as an eligible applicant. The application form to apply for Program funding will be available beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on March 4, 2025 on the Program’s webpage. (Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early, given the first-come, first-served award process. The application portal will close at 4:59 p.m. ET on April 3, 2025; however, award funding may be committed before this date.) Institute for Museum and Library Services – Native Hawaiian Library Services Library Services Grants (2025) is designed to assist Native Hawaiian serving organizations in sustaining and improving library services with their communities. As information needs change, Native Hawaiian organizations must be able to serve as knowledge and resource centers to benefit their users and the wellness of their communities. The NH program supports organizations across the islands and country to address their individual information needs and priorities. (April 1, 2025 deadline) Department of the Interior – National Park Service. FY2025 ABPP – Preservation Planning Grants and FY2025 NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants supports a variety of projects that contribute to the preservation and interpretation of historic battlefields and associated sites of armed conflict on American soil by providing financial assistance to eligible applicants based on the outcome of a competitive merit review process. These grants are funded by direct appropriation from the U.S. Congress and are authorized under 54 U.S.C. § 308102.Due to the large number of activities that the Preservation Planning Grants may fund, applicants are encouraged to reach out to NPS ABPP directly with any questions about potential project eligibility at abpp_ppg@nps.gov. and separately the consultation program make funds available for the purposes of assisting in consultation, documentation, and repatriation of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony (25 U.S.C. 3008). NAGPRA Consultation and Documentation grants assist museums, Indian Tribes, and NHOs to undertake projects leading to the repatriation of Native American human remains or cultural items. (March 31, 2025 deadline) There are two notices of specific interest to Hawai’i that are included as reminders this month: Department of Commerce – DOC NOAA – ERA Production 2025 Pacific Islands Marine Education and Training Mini Grant is soliciting competitive applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Pacific Islands Region Marine Education and Training (MET) Mini-Grant Program. Projects are being solicited to improve communication, education, and training on marine resource issues throughout the region and increase scientific education for marine related professions among coastal community residents, including indigenous Pacific islanders, Native Hawaiians, and other underserved communities in the region. (February 28, 2025 deadline) Department of Commerce – DOC NOAA – ERA Production FY25 Pacific Islands – Hawai’i Marine Wildlife Response and Outreach is soliciting competitive applications for the fiscal year 2025 Pacific Islands – Hawai’i Wildlife Response and Outreach competition. Projects are being solicited to support specific programmatic activities related to the following 3 priorities: Priority 1: Hawaiian Monk Seal Management Support, Field Response, and Outreach: Projects to conduct in-field response and educational outreach for Hawaiian monk seals occurring on the islands of O’ahu, Maui, Moloka’i, or Hawai’i Island. Funding availability is island and species-specific, with total funding not to exceed $460,000 (up to 4 proposals may be funded). Priority 2: Sea Turtle Management Support, Field Response, and Outreach: Projects to conduct in-field response and educational outreach for sea turtles occurring on the islands of Maui or Hawai’i Island (western Kona side). Funding availability is island and species-specific with total funding not to exceed $140,000 (up to 4 proposals may be funded). Priority 3: Native Hawaiian engagement in cetacean and sea turtle response. Requested funding per project is recommended to not exceed $15,000 (up to 2 proposals may be funded). (February 17, 2025 deadline) New and modified national competitions of special interest this month include: Department of Agriculture – Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants provides financial assistance to enable and improve distance learning and telemedicine services in rural areas. DLT grant funds support the use of telecommunications-enabled information, audio and video equipment, and related advanced technologies by students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents. These grants are intended to increase rural access to education, training, and health care resources that are otherwise unavailable or limited in scope. (March 6, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Rural Utilities Service Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program helps individuals with low to moderate incomes finance certain costs of household water wells and individually owned decentralized wastewater systems that they own or will own. Grants are made to eligible nonprofit organizations to establish and maintain a revolving fund to provide loans and sub-grants to eligible individuals for individually owned water well systems and/or individually owned wastewater systems. Loan and/or sub-grant funds may be used by the individual to construct, refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace decentralized water well or wastewater systems. (March 3, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Rural Utilities Service High Energy Cost Grants is announcing a funding opportunity, subject to appropriation, of up to $10 million in competitive grants to assist communities with extremely high energy costs. The grant funds may be used to acquire, construct, or improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving communities where the average annual residential expenditure for home energy exceeds 275% of the national average. Eligible projects also include on-grid and off-grid renewable energy projects and the implementation of energy efficiency and energy conservation projects for eligible communities. Projects cannot be for the primary benefit of a single household or business. (February 28, 2025 deadline) Department of Education – Office of Special Programs (OSEP): Training and Information for Parents of Children with Disabilities: Parent Training and Information Centers is a program to ensure that parents of children with disabilities receive high quality and useful training and information to help improve outcomes for their children. (March 3, 2025 deadline) Department of Homeland Security – FEMA Fiscal Year 2024 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) makes funds available to local governments for hazard mitigation activities. It does so recognizing the growing hazards associated with climate change , and the need for natural hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to those hazards. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future. The BRIC program’s guiding principles include supporting communities through capability and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation, including multi-hazard resilience or nature-based solutions including the use of native plants; promoting partnerships; enabling large, systems-based projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency. 800 awards are expected to be made. (April 18, 2025 deadline) Department of Homeland Security – FEMA Fiscal Year 2024 Flood Mitigation Assistanceprovides funds to governments to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and within NFIP-participating communities. It does so with a recognition of the growing flood hazards associated with climate change,2 and of the need for flood hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation, equity, and resilience with respect to flooding. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future. (April 18,2025 deadline) Department of Interior – Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Applied Science Grants has as its objective a notice to invite eligible non-Federal entities to leverage their money and resources by cost sharing with Reclamation on applied science projects (Project) to improve access to and use of hydrologic data, develop and improve water management tools, improve modeling and forecasting capabilities. Results from these projects will be used by water managers to increase water supply reliability, provide flexibility in water operations, improve water management, and support nature-based solutions. (March 11,2025 deadline) Department of Interior – National Park Service Bringing Youth Outdoors Together and Environmental Steward Program focuses on youth development, recreation, service, social and environmental responsibility, and healthy living that emphasizes the value and significance of natural and cultural resources in nearby parks and communities. The program provides young people–particularly youth from underserved communities in urban, rural, military, and native settings — with outdoor experiences and excursions to their local national park. (February 8, 2025 deadline) Department of Justice – Bureau of Justice Assistance and National Institute of Justice have several notices this month that range from Smart Reentry to Mental Health Collaborationand Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes deadlines vary in March and April 2025. All of these programs are included in the main newsletter document for your reference. Department of Labor – Women’s Bureau FY25 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program aims to provide technical assistance (TA) to employers (which may include public sector entities) and labor unions in the United States and its territories to encourage employment of women in both apprenticeable occupations and nontraditional occupations (A/NTO). (This is a forecast only anticipating a posting on April 11,2025 with a June 10, 2025 deadline) National Endowment for the Arts – NEA Challenge America, FY 2026 supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities. The program welcomes applications from applicants that are primarily small organizations, first-time applicants to the NEA, and/or returning Challenge America applicants. (April 24, 2025 deadline) Department of Transportation – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FY 2025 Commercial Driver’s License Program Implementation (CDLPI) provides financial assistance to States and other eligible entities to carry out and improve the national CDL program. The national CDL program focuses on the concept that each driver has only one driving record and only one licensing document, commonly referred to as ““One Driver — One License — One Record.”” (February 24, 2025 deadline) Department of Veterans Affairs – Supportive Services for Veteran Families Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for Veteran Families has as its purpose to provide supportive services grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives who will coordinate or provide supportive services to very low-income Veteran families who (i) are residing in permanent housing and at risk of becoming homeless, (ii) are homeless and scheduled to become residents of permanent housing within a specified time period or (iii) after exiting permanent housing within a specified time period, are seeking other housing that is responsive to such low-income Veteran family’s needs and preferences. (March 3, 2025 deadline) Department of Veterans Affairs – Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program GPD Case Management Grant anticipates awarding renewal grants to community-based organizations to provide case management services to improve Veteran housing retention. Awards are expected to be for 3 years starting on or around October 1, 2025. The target audience for this funding is current GPD case management grantees. (February 26 deadline) These additional competitions from previous newsletters are included as a reminder: Department of Agriculture – Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) West to assist at-risk local communities and Indian Tribes with planning and mitigating against the risk created by wildfire. The Act prioritizes at-risk communities in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster. More details on these three priorities can be found in the Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs). The CWDG helps communities in the wildland urban interface (WUI) implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy): Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, are resilient to fire, insect, disease, invasive species, and climate change disturbances, in accordance with management objectives. Create Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure are as prepared as possible to receive, respond to, and recover from wildland fire. Improve Wildfire Response: All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions. This program is authorized in Public Law 117-58, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). There are two primary project types for which the grant provides funding: The development and revision of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP). The implementation of projects described in a CWPP that is less than ten years old (February 28, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Rural Business Development Grant Program promotes economic development and job creation projects through the awarding of grant funds to eligible entities. Applications will compete in two separate categories, business opportunity grants and business enterprise grants, for use in funding various business and community projects that serve rural areas. 450 grants are expected to be awarded. (February 28, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Rural Business-Cooperative Service Rural Energy for America Program is issuing a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to announce acceptance of grant, guaranteed loan, and combined grant and guaranteed loan applications under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). This notice announces the deadlines, dates, and times that applications must be received in order to be considered for REAP funds. The NOFO is being issued for Fiscal Years (FY) 2025, 2026, and 2027. The notice will not be applied retroactively to any applications previously filed. 6000 awards are expected to be made nationally. (March 31, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Forest Service Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program is a competitive grant program that provides financial assistance to Indian Tribes, local governments, and qualified conservation non-profit organizations to establish community forests through the fee simple acquisition of private forest land. The purpose of the program is to establish community forests by protecting forestland from conversion to non-forest uses and provide community benefits including public recreation, environmental and economic benefits, and forest-based educational programs. Public access is required for all projects. (January 23, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Foreign Agricultural Service 2025 Emerging Markets Program is available to U.S. entities to develop, maintain, or expand markets for exports of United States agricultural commodities and to promote cooperation and exchange of information between agricultural institutions and agribusinesses in the United States and emerging markets. (June 30, 2025 deadline) Department of Agriculture – Rural Business-Cooperative Service Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant provide funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. USDA provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they in turn, pass through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The ultimate recipients repay the lending utility directly. The utility then is responsible for repayment to USDA. (June 30, 2025 deadline) Corporation of Community and National Service – Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 AmeriCorps State and National Competitive Grants awards grants to eligible organizations that engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is a person who does community service through AmeriCorps. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits. After successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award they can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans. (January 23, 2025) Department of Commerce – DOC NOAA – ERA Production Sea Grant Programs Only – FY2025 Disaster Preparedness for Coastal Communities approximately $900,000 in FY 2025 federal funds will be available to individual Sea Grant programs in order to support innovative all-hazard preparedness, response, and recovery initiatives for coastal communities. The most competitive applications submitted for this opportunity will do the following: Address a disaster preparedness gap or need of an underserved or vulnerable coastal community; Enable coastal communities to reduce disaster impacts and reach recovery more quickly; and Feature innovative techniques, ideas, or solutions. This opportunity is only open to existing institutional Sea Grant programs. All projects must take place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways. (April 2, 2025 deadline) Department of Defense – Dept of the Army – Materiel Command DEVCOM Analysis Center Broad Agency Announcement For Applied Research is soliciting research proposals for submission to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Analysis Center (DAC) for funding consideration. 1000 awards are expected. (January 2028 deadline) Department of Health and Human Services – Centers for Disease Control – NCIPC Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program – NEW (Year 1) has released a forecast for this program which supports programs to establish and strengthen collaboration to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent youth substance use. By statute, the DFC Support Program has two goals:1) Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies, as well as federal, state, local, and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth (individuals 18 years of age and younger).2) Reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. (March 25, 2025 deadline) Department of Health and Human Services – Administration for Children and Families – ORR Residential (Group Home, Shelter, Transitional Foster Care) Services for Unaccompanied Children has as its goal to provide funding to organizations that can deliver high-quality and child-centered care, ensuring the safety and well-being of the children. Services must be available 24/7 with the ability to accept children at any time (as long as it aligns with state licensing requirements and is safe to do so). While children in ORR care are under the legal custody of the federal government, they are physically cared for by the care provider. At the time of application, care providers do not have to be licensed by an appropriate licensing agency to provide shelter, group home, or foster care services for children. However, care providers must be fully licensed prior to accepting children for placement within the timeframes specified in the funding opportunity. (April 4, 2025 deadline) Department of Interior – National Park Service Creating Opportunities for Relevant Experience (CORE) Wildland Fire Training Crews seeks to offer basic training, knowledge and experience that will inspire interest in future career opportunities for participants while working to support the NPS wildland fire mission. CORE crewmembers will work with trained professional fire staff with the NPS and gain on-the-job skills and experience. They will also be coached and mentored in wildland fire and NPS operations. (Rolling deadline until 2029) Institute for Museum and Library Services – Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (2025) supports the training and professional development of library and archives professionals; developing faculty and information leaders; and recruiting, educating, and retaining the next generation of library and archives professionals in order to develop a diverse library and archival workforce and meet the information needs of their communities. (March 10, 2025 deadline) Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program is intended to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by funding comprehensive legal services projects. The legal services projects should include organizations that have a mission and history of providing direct services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations; publicly funded entities acting in a nongovernmental capacity, such as law schools. (January 28, 2025 deadline) Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration National Dislocated Worker Grants Program Guidance are discretionary grants awarded by the Secretary of Labor under Section 170 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to provide employment-related services for dislocated workers. The Department funds two types of DWGs: Disaster Recovery and Employment Recovery. (Rolling deadline) National Endowment for the Humanities – Fellowships supports individual scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional humanistic research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Fellowships provide recipients with time to conduct research or produce books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital materials, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, or critical editions resulting from previous research. (April 9, 2025 deadline) National Endowment for the Humanities – Summer Stipends This is a forecast only and applications are not being accepted at this time – For planning purposes – these stipends support continuous, full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research. (Estimated deadline date is September 17, 2025 ) National Endowment for the Humanities – Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizationsstrengthens the capacity of small and mid-sized museums and cultural organizations to create and develop public humanities programming. (June 11, 2025 deadline) National Endowment for the Humanities – Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Educationfunds projects to enhance the teaching and study of the humanities at one or more colleges and universities that enroll fewer than 10,000 undergraduate students and that belong to at least one of the following categories: community colleges, minority-serving institutions, rural colleges and universities, or colleges and universities with more than 40% of students receiving Pell grants. (October 7, 2025 deadline) Department of Transportation – DOT Federal Highway Administration Fiscal Years 2024-2026 Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program provides grants on a competitive basis for projects that seek to strengthen surface transportation to be more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, heat waves, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk costal infrastructure. (February 24, 2025 deadline) Important note: Federal grants are very competitive. To ensure your application is processed, please verify that your organization’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) is valid and current. Go to SAM: Systems for Award Management and follow the FAQs and User Guides to update and verify your SAM data. Current SAM registration is mandatory for most agencies, and grants will not be awarded to applicants without valid and current registration in SAM. Remember: Registration on SAM.gov is free of charge. If you are applying for a federal grant and would like to request a letter of support, or have questions about the application process, please contact my state office at Hawaiioffice@hirono.senate.gov, and include this form and an abstract of your project. Letters of support are submitted directly to the granting agency from my office once the complete application has been submitted. Please do not hesitate to contact my staff if you have any questions before submitting your application. I encourage you to pass along these resources to anyone you believe would benefit from this information. If you do submit a grant proposal, please stay in touch by contacting my state office. Mahalo, Mazie K. Hirono United States Senator You can follow my work in the U.S. Senate on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you would like to contact me again, please visit my website. |
University Lab School * University High School * Junior Bows Alumni * Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 