Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant | USDA RD CFTAT 2023

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA RD CFTAT 2023

The Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (CFTAT) Grant is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Housing Service (RHS), designed to strengthen rural and other eligible communities by funding technical assistance and training related to essential community facilities. Rather than paying directly for construction or equipment, this opportunity supports the planning and capacity-building work that communities often need before they can successfully develop, apply for, or finance community facilities projects. The program’s focus is on helping local groups understand what facilities are needed, how to prioritize them, and how to put together a workable strategy to move projects forward.

Under this opportunity, USDA makes grants to public bodies and private nonprofit corporations so they can provide technical assistance and/or training to associations and local entities tied to essential community facilities efforts. In practice, this means the grant funds can be used to help communities, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit corporations identify and plan for community facility needs in their area. Once those needs are clearly identified, the grantee can then assist those communities in locating and coordinating public and private financing resources to support the facility needs that were identified. The intent is to build a pipeline of well-planned, finance-ready community facility projects by improving local planning, knowledge, and access to funding networks.

A wide range of applicant types are eligible, reflecting the program’s community development purpose. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); and private institutions of higher education. This broad eligibility allows both government entities and mission-driven organizations to serve as providers of technical assistance and training, especially in places where local capacity is limited.

The funding opportunity is identified as “USDA RD CFTAT 2023” and is listed under CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 10.766, with activity areas noted as Agriculture and Community Development. Awards have an upper funding limit (award ceiling) of $150,000, and USDA anticipated making about 15 awards under this notice. The opportunity was created on April 21, 2023, and the original closing date was June 30, 2023, indicating a time-limited application window for that specific cycle.

Overall, this grant is best understood as a planning and readiness tool: it supports organizations that can coach, train, and guide communities through the early-stage work of defining essential community facility needs and building realistic pathways to fund them. By investing in technical assistance and training, USDA aims to help communities and tribal areas move from identified needs to actionable plans and, ultimately, to financed community facility projects that improve local services and quality of life.

• The Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service in the agriculture, community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.766.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 21, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 30, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA RD CFTAT 2023

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: