Week of April 17th, 2026
Thank you to those who joined our April 16 Brown Bag Webinar "Finding the Money: Identifying Grants That Are Right for Your District." Check out the slide deck to review what we covered!
DEADLINE EXTENDED: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is currently conducting a review of Grants.gov and has reached out to NSDA for feedback on how special districts use the platform and what could make it work better. To make sure we bring as much member input to that conversation as possible, we are extending the deadline for the 2026 NSDA Grants Survey to April 24. If you haven't completed the survey yet, now is the time! Completion time: approximately 5-7 minutes.
Finding the Money: Identifying Grants That Are Right for Your District
New Grant Opportunities
Department of Commerce
FY 2026 Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to establish community-based partnerships to develop cybersecurity career pathways that address local workforce needs. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments; and community-based or economic development organizations.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? Unspecified
WHEN IS IT DUE? May 28, 2026
Department of Defense
FY 2026 Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP)
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to address deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation. For the purposes of this program, “Community Infrastructure” includes projects related to transportation; schools; hospitals; police, fire, or emergency response, or other community support facilities; utility projects (e.g., water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric and natural gas facilities); and demolition projects. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are state and local governments and not-for-profit, member-owned utility services.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $230 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? June 25, 2026
Department of Justice
FY 2025 De-escalation Crisis Response Training Program
WHAT DOES IT FUND? Formerly known as the Collaborative Crisis Response and Intervention Training Program, this program supports state, local, and tribal governments, law enforcement agencies, correctional facilities, probation and parole departments, and sheriffs' offices in developing, implementing, or expanding de-escalation and crisis response training programs. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are state and local governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and hospitals with on-campus police departments, and Native American tribal governments.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $8.4 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? May 27, 2026 (Grants.gov); June 3, 2026 (JustGrants)
Department of Justice
FY 2025 Rural Law Enforcement Violent Crime Reduction Initiative
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to support local law enforcement in rural jurisdictions to prevent, respond to, and reduce violent crime. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are state governments, city or township governments, county governments, special district governments, Native American tribal governments (federally recognized), and units of local government.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $5,838,546
WHEN IS IT DUE? May 27, 2026 (Grants.gov); June 3, 2026 (JustGrants)
Department of Justice
FY 2025 Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention Program
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to support the implementation of intervention and suppression strategies to reduce youth gang crime and violence and promote public safety. These strategies will help to prevent youth from joining gangs, discontinue involvement in gangs, and prevent and reduce additional youth gang violence. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are state governments, city or township governments, county governments, special district governments, Native American tribal governments (federally recognized), and units of local government.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $3.5 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? May 21, 2026 (Grants.gov), June 1, 2026 (JustGrants)
Enviornmental Protection Agency
FY 2026 Training and Technical Assistance to Improve Water Quality and Enable Small Public Water Systems to Provide Safe Drinking Water
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to help small public water systems build their technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The program also assists small publicly-owned wastewater systems, onsite/decentralized wastewater systems, and private drinking water well owners with improving water quality and sustainable operations. Click here for more information.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofit organizations, public institutions of higher education, and nonprofit private universities and colleges.
TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT? $30.7 million
WHEN IS IT DUE? May 13, 2026
Latest Grant News
EPA Announces $30 Million to Help Small and Rural Communities Protect Their Water
Grants Management: Efforts to Address Challenges Through Government-wide Collaboration
US Department of Labor announces availability of $85M in grant funding to support Registered Apprenticeship expansion, modernization
The grant experts of the NSDA Grants Program are committed to helping special districts understand the federal funding landscape and adjust to the changing priorities. As always, our team is here to help you! If you have any questions about specific grants – whether on the pre-award or post-award side – we encourage you to connect with us during NSDA Office Hours or submit a project through the NSDA Project Idea Portal for advice on potential funding opportunities. Special districts may also access additional grant resources on the NSDA Website. If you have any questions, please contact nsdagrants@tfgnet.com.