Beginning last year, the federal government has allocated more than $3 trillion in competitive grants and has prioritized 25 areas for billions in projects. Kentucky has two of these areas - a collection of 21 counties in Eastern Kentucky and 20 counties in Western Kentucky, priming the Commonwealth to receive a major federal investment.
Most nonprofits surveyed by Grant Ready Kentucky say that grant match requirements are a significant barrier to accessing federal funding.
To mitigate this problem, Kentucky nonprofit advocates championed House Bill 9, the Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (GRANT) Program, sponsored by Rep. Richard Heath and co-sponsored by Rep. Jason Petrie.
The GRANT program establishes an innovative grant matching fund in Kentucky, enabling better access to federal resources for nonprofit projects in the 41 federally identified counties.
Any nonprofit, local government, ADD or coalition of these entities can apply for the matching component of a federal grant.
These federal grants cover a broad array of services and projects - infrastructure, housing, workforce development, STEM education, agriculture, substance use disorder treatment and more. The list is broad and expansive.
The program will be administered by the Kentucky Department for Local Government and will prioritize public benefit projects in 41 Kentucky counties that have seen significant energy job losses.
Counties not included on the list may apply as part of a regional coalition provided that the federal grant project impacts one of the 41 counties.
The match application is located here:
https://kydlgweb.ky.gov/Articles/16_articleView.cfm?NewsID=895
Counties included in HB9:
Eastern Kentucky: Bell, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Wolfe
Western Kentucky: Ballard, Breckinridge, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Todd, Union, Webster
Examples of relevant entities, partners, stakeholders, services with to consult with and partner?
school systems, emergency services, water and sewer systems, utilities, local health departments, riverports, parks and recreation, housing departments, transportation, workforce development initiatives, non-profits.
Where must the projects be located and improvements made in the affected counties?
(a) Publicly owned property;
(b) Property to be acquired, which comes with either a:
- Legally binding letter of intent or option for the sale to an eligible grant recipient; or
- Sale agreement for the sale to an eligible grant recipient; or
(c) Private property on which a project is located that is in the public interest and for a public purpose that benefits a priority community.
Can we partner with other counties and entities?
Yes, in fact, the goal of HB 9 is to encourage collaboration among counties. The regional project definition allows for collection of entities, be it counties or non-profits etc., to come together and apply on a single application.
For a regional project made up of multiple counties, do all counties involved have to be priority counties, just one, a majority?
At least one. Applications for awards will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Can regional project applications cross state lines?
Funds from HB9 only can be used within Kentucky.
For additional information on federally identified areas visit https://energycommunities.gov/. For additional information on the GRANT program, contact Aaron Jones of the Kentucky Department for Local Government at aaronj.jones@ky.gov and Rebecca Hartsough at rhartsough@babbagecofounder.com.
