August 21, 2026 Weekly Grants Update
NSDA's next Lunch & Learn webinar with the Ferguson Group is just 3 weeks away! Join us on September 9, 2026, at 9am PST for Making the Case and Managing the Grant: From Board Buy-In to Post-Award. Many districts face organizational barriers to grants, including limited staff capacity and difficulty securing board support. This session will cover how to make the internal case for a grants program, set realistic expectations for staff time, and understand the requirements of post-award management. Register here!
New Grant Opportunities
Department of Agriculture
FY 2026 Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP)
WHAT DOES IT FUND? 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. Funding will be provided to establish community forests through the fee simple acquisition of private forest land. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants include federally recognized tribal governments, local governmental entities, and qualified conservation nonprofit organizations.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $4.95 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? October 13, 2026
Environmental Protection Agency
FY 2026 Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to support expanding career opportunities in the drinking water and wastewater utility sector and elevating public awareness about jobs in the water workforce. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), nonprofit organizations, and public works departments and agencies.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $10.8 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? October 5, 2026
Department of Justice
FY 2026 The Kevin and Avonte Program: Reducing Injury and Death of Missing Individuals with Dementia and Developmental Disabilities
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to support public safety efforts to reduce deaths and injuries of individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism, who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments. This program provides funding to law enforcement, other public safety agencies, and health care agencies to implement locative technologies that track missing individuals. It also provides funding to such agencies and partnering nonprofit organizations to develop or operate programs to prevent wandering, increase safety for vulnerable individuals, and facilitate rescues. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are government entities including states, counties, cities, townships, special districts, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments; educational organizations; nonprofit organizations; and health care agencies.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $2,105,869
WHEN IS IT DUE? October 6, 2026 (Grants.gov); October 13, 2026 (JustGrants)
Department of Justice
FY 2026 Public Safety and Mental Health Initiative
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to support comprehensive service networks addressing untreated mental illness and substance use to reduce the burden on law enforcement and the justice system; restore order in communities affected by homelessness, mental illness, and substance use; decrease recidivism; reduce crime; and improve overall public safety and restore confidence in public spaces. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are state, county, city/township, special district, and Native American Tribal governments and other units of local government as well as non-profit or for-profit mental health agencies and non-governmental applicants that are designated by the state mental health authority to provide services as a unit of the state or local government.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $38 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? September 25, 2026 (Grants.gov); October 2, 2026 (JustGrants)
Latest Grant News
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Announces Massive $5.3 Billion Investment in Rail Safety Upgrades, New Amtrak Train Sets
Trump Administration Announces $10.8 Million in Available Grant Funding to Strengthen Water Sector Workforce