A message from Senator Mazie Hirono September 2025 Federal Grant Opportunities Aloha, I’m pleased to present the September 2025 Grants Newsletter, the latest monthly resource for governments, schools, non-profit organizations, and businesses interested in pursuing opportunities for discretionary federal grant and cooperative agreement funding. This newsletter includes grant opportunities published in www.grants.gov, the federal government’s central website for grant funding. To access my grants e-newsletter, click on September 2025 Federal Grant Opportunities title above. Readers should be aware that the Trump administration continues to cut the federal workforce and federal spending, actions which will have longstanding negative repercussions on the federal landscape and available funding. This grants newsletter is meant to provide up to date information, as of the date this letter is distributed, on grant opportunities to assist grantees in continuing to do your good work for Hawaii. If your organization’s grant award was cancelled or paused, please inform my office by contacting hawaiioffice@hirono.senate.gov. Part 1 of this month’s newsletter contains current discretionary program listings and research opportunities. Please note that new notices are limited and some of the programs are forecasts. This month many programs have very short application periods so be aware of the needed quick turnaround. Part 2 is a compilation of general grant information provided by the federal agencies that most often have discretionary grant solicitations. There is one notice specific to Hawaii this month of special interest: Department of Transportation – 69A345 Office of the Under Secretary for Policy Rural and Tribal Assistance (RTA) Pilot Program. Forecast 2 has as one of the eligible applicants The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to advance transportation infrastructure projects in rural and tribal communities by supporting planning and development-phase activities for projects reasonably expected to be eligible for certain U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT or the Department) credit and grant programs. RTA Program funding is for planning and design phase activities of transportation infrastructure projects that meet the Program’s eligibility requirements. (Posted August 7, 2025 – October 8, 2025 deadline) New and modified national competitions of special interest this month include: Department of Agriculture – Food and Nutrition Service – Farm to School Grant Programfunds programs to improve access to local foods in eligible Child Nutrition Program sites through comprehensive farm to CNP programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts. 50 awards are anticipated. (Posted September 10, 2025 – December 5, 2025 deadline) Department of Health and Human Services – Administration for Children and Families – ORR Residential (Group Home, Shelter, Transitional Foster Care) Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children provides 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). 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. 100 awards are anticipated. (Posted August 15, 2025 – October 14, 2025 deadline) Department of Justice – Bureau of Justice Assistance BJA FY25 Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner System Program Synopsis 1 addresses capacity challenges within the Medical Examiner/Coroner (ME/C) system brought on by strict industry caps on the number of autopsies that certified pathologists can perform in a calendar year. (Posted September 11, 2025 – October 6, 2025 deadline) Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Restorative Practices Pilot Sites Program Synopsis 1 is a 48-month funding opportunity seeking to support, strengthen, enhance, and expand existing restorative practice programs that prevent or address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in accordance with the “restorative practices” definition at 34 U.S.C. § 12514(a)(3). (Posted August 15, 2025 – October 14, 2025 deadline) Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Training and Services to End Violence and Abuse Against Individuals with Disabilities and Deaf People Program Synopsis 1 provides training, consultation, and information on domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, and abuse by caregivers against individuals with disabilities (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) and Deaf people and to enhance direct services to such individuals. (Posted August 26, 2025 – September 23, 2025 deadline) Department of Labor – Mine Safety and Health Administration Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants Synopsis 3 is providing notice of the availability of up to $250,000 available in grant funds for education and training programs to help the mining community identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe and unhealthy working conditions in and around mines. MSHA will give priority to applications that support the President’s goals. The President has declared a National Energy Emergency to discover and mine critical minerals. Exec. Order No. 14156 – Declaring a National Energy Emergency (2025). (Posted August 21, 2025 – September 19, 2025 deadline) National Endowment for the Humanities – National Digital Newspaper Program Synopsis 2 is accepting applications for the National Digital Newspaper Program. This program creates a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963 from all 56 states and U.S. jurisdictions. The Library of Congress (LOC) maintains this freely accessible, searchable online database. (Posted August 20, 2025 – January 15, 2026 deadline) Department of Interior – Fish and Wildlife Service F25AS00282 National Fish Passage Program FY25 Synopsis 1 provides technical and financial assistance to partners to remove instream barriers and restore aquatic connectivity, improve community safety, and support local economies. Fish passage projects benefit communities by reducing flood risk, improving recreational opportunities, and improving roads while supporting native fish populations and aquatic ecosystems. NFPP project examples include dam removals, culvert replacements, floodplain restoration, and the installation of fishways. It is estimated that for every $1 million invested by the program, $1.5 million in value is added to the economy. (Posted September 3, 2025 – December 31, 2026 deadline) Active reminders from previous newsletters: Department of Commerce – National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE) Research Grant Programs supports activities that develop, expand, strengthen, or sustain NIST partnership programs and/or support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research in a variety of areas including, but not limited to: Metrology; Standards; Nanotechnology; Artificial Intelligence; Advanced Communications; Advanced Manufacturing; Promotion of U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness; Measurements in Sciences; Neutron Research; and enhancing coordination of the U.S. Standards System with government and private sector organizations. 300 awards expected. (Posted May 14, 2025 – rolling deadline) Department of Commerce – Economic Development Administration EDA FY25 Disaster Supplemental awards investments in regions experiencing severe economic distress or other economic harm resulting from hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. EDA’s goal under this NOFO is to assist communities recovering from a disaster by realizing opportunities to recover and change the economic trajectory of the community for the better. In other words, EDA funding seeks to help communities recover and set them on a path to exceed their previous pre-disaster baseline. EDA seeks projects that are responsive to community needs post-disaster by engaging all aspects of the community, with special focus on private industry partners. (Posted June 4, 2025 – March 3, 2026) Environmental Protection Agency – Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program Synopsis 1 assists medium and large size public water systems with protecting drinking water sources from natural hazards, extreme weather events, and cybersecurity threats. Eligible applicants for this grant program include public water systems that serve a population of 10,000 people or more. Projects or programs that may be funded through this opportunity are those which aim to increase the resilience of a water system to natural hazards, extreme weather events, or reduce cybersecurity threats. (Posted July 21, 2025 – September 26, 2025 deadline) Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Service Area Competition Synopsis 1 has four current solicitations to improves the health of underserved communities and populations by providing grants to support the delivery of comprehensive, high-quality primary health care services in the United States and its territories. For each SAC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), service areas available for competition are announced in the Service Area Announcement Table (SAAT). (Posted between July 22, 2025 and August 5, 2025 – September 22, 2025 – November 10, 2025 deadlines) Department of Interior – Fish and Wildlife Service F25AS00165 Partners for Fish and Wildlife FY25 Synopsis 1 helps private landowners restore and protect habitats for fish and wildlife. It offers both technical assistance and financial support, mainly through cooperative agreements. Applicants seeking technical or financial assistance from the PFW Program are required to contact a local Program office BEFORE developing or submitting an application by visiting our website. (Posted January 23, 2025 – September 30, 2025 deadline) Department of Interior – Fish and Wildlife Service F25AS00188 Coastal Program FY25 helps coastal areas with technical and financial support to address complex conservation challenges of priority coastal ecosystems. This support is mainly provided through cooperative agreements with conservation partners and landowners, including state and Tribal agencies. The goal is to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitats on both public and private lands. Coastal Program staff work with partners, stakeholders, and other Service programs in important areas for conservation. Applicants seeking technical or financial assistance from the Coastal Program are required to contact a local Program office BEFORE developing or submitting an application. (Posted January 23, 2025 – September 30, 2025 deadline) Department of Veterans Affairs – Veterans Legacy Grants Program Forecast 1 will provide grants to eligible entities for the purpose of conducting cemetery research related to national, State, or Tribal Veterans’ cemeteries; producing educational materials that teach about the history of Veterans interred in national, State, or Tribal Veterans’ cemeteries; and promoting community engagement with the histories of Veterans interred in national, State, or Tribal Veterans’ cemeteries. This is a Forecast posted July 17, 2025 – the estimated post date is March 13, 2026 with a April 17, 2026 deadline) The following competition appears to remain viable despite being published before January 20, 2025. This notice appeared in previous newsletters and is also included as a reminder: Department of Defense – Dept of the Army — Materiel Command DEVCOM Analysis Center Broad Agency Announcement For Applied Research CFDA number 12.431 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) 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. Registration on SAM.gov is free of charge. Grants.gov is currently undergoing a transition. The general site currently states, “We’re building a simpler Grants.gov! Visit Simpler.Grants.gov to search for grants using the experimental Search feature.” 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 the one-page abstract of your project. Letters of support are submitted directly to the granting agency from my office after the complete application has been submitted. I encourage you to share these grant resources with anyone who may benefit from this information. 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. |
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