The FY 2022 Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program is now open. This is an excellent funding opportunity for smaller localities; few grant programs fund brick and mortar projects (town hall, police/fire station, etc.).
Eligible applicants are: Public bodies, community-based nonprofit corporations, and federally recognized tribes. Facilities supported through this program must serve the rural area where they are or will be located. Rural areas include cities, villages, townships, and towns, including federally recognized tribal lands, with no more than 20,000 residents according to the latest U.S. Census data.
Additionally, in order to be eligible, applicants must have the legal authority to borrow money, obtain security, and repay loans; and to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities, and be unable to finance projects from their own resources and/or through commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms.
Priority will be given to projects that serve communities with populations of 5,500 or fewer or serve low-income communities having a median household income below 80 percent of the state non-metropolitan median household income.