COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

Community Economic Resiliency Initiative (CERI)

The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) received a supplemental CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) to respond to, and recover from, the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ACOG is excited to announce that a portion of this funding will be utilized for the Community Economic Resiliency Initiative (CERI). CERI is a new program that offers municipal governments the opportunity to develop planning demonstration (demo) projects that will model strategic community and economic investment with a focus on sustainable economic recovery and long-term resiliency.

In developing the CERI Program, ACOG is partnering with the Oklahoma Main Street Center (OMSC) and the University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) to provide a toolkit of services to successful applicants that serve as the foundation for effective economic revitalization and resiliency.

Any municipal government within the four-county ACOG region that is host to an Activity Center is eligible to apply.

Deadline: Wednesday, February 24, 2021, at 4:00 p.m.

CERI Call For Application Preamble

CERI APPLICATION PACKET

CERI FAQs

Contact: Christopher Bluth, Interim Community & Economic Development Manager,405-234-2264.

Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) Grants

The Oklahoma Legislature has appropriated funding for small, rural communities with populations under 7,000 called the Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP). According to state legislation, the funds related to REAP projects are distributed through the 11 councils of government in the state, including ACOG.

ACOG administers the grant process in Central Oklahoma for REAP projects, with a $100,000 maximum for a single grant.

REAP grants require no match and may fund projects such as road and street construction or repair, drainage projects, rural highway improvements, county bridge construction or repair, industrial access road construction or repair, among other specific transportation projects.

DEADLINE: Usually October

CONTACT: Christopher Bluth, Interim Community & Economic Development Manager (405) 234-2264

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Grants

Capital Improvement Planning, or CIP, is a process enabling municipalities to inventory capital investments and effectively plan for their maintenance and improvement. The primary goals of CIP include:

  1. Reducing management effort by providing a standardized and comprehensive understanding of the municipality’s capital assets to decision-makers. Tools provided by the CIP process assist municipal leadership in prioritizing and justifying capital improvements.
  2. Reducing infrastructural maintenance effort by providing all municipal personnel with a standardized and comprehensive understanding of asset locations and associated asset characteristics. Tools provided by the CIP process assist municipal personnel in the maintenance and improvement of capital assets, reducing duplicated field effort and the potential for construction project conflicts.

Click here for a complete overview of ACOG’s CIP program.

DEADLINE: Early July

CONTACT: For more details, please contact Christopher Bluth, Interim Community & Economic Development Manager (405) 234-2264.

Community Development Block Grant Program

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs.

DEADLINE: TBA

CONTACT: Christopher Bluth, Interim Community & Economic Development Manager (405) 234-2264

Economic Development Grants

ACOG was designated an Economic Development District in 2013. We manage the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for Central Oklahoma including regular updates to the plan. We also provide technical assistance to ACOG members interested in applying for economic development grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

DEADLINE: No deadline; Grants may be submitted year round. They are, however, reviewed quarterly by U.S. EDA.

CONTACT: Christopher Bluth, Interim Community & Economic Development Manager, (405) 234-2264.

TRANSPORTATION GRANTS 

Air Quality Small Grant Program

The Air Quality Small Grant Program funds transportation infrastructure projects and congestion relief efforts that strive towards the betterment of regional air quality. A minimum of $200,000 is make available annually through a competitive grant process. A variety of projects are eligible, but all serve to address long-term reductions in transportation-related emissions that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone.

CONTACT: Hannah Nolen, Programs Coordinator

DEADLINE: Grant applications are typically made available in October with a deadline in November.

Fleet Maintenance Grants

Clean Air Grants for public sector fleets are available through ACOG. This grant funding allows member local governments and other eligible entities to utilize Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds for fleet conversions to clean fuel technologies to include light duty, medium duty and heavy duty alternative fuel vehicles, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure.

DEADLINE: Grant applications are typically made available in October and the deadline is typically in mid-to-late November.

CONTACT: For more details, contact Eric Pollard, Air Quality & Clean Cities Coordinator.

Recreational Trails

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a state-administered, federal aid program managed through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (OTRD) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in consultation with the Department of the Interior. The program began as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and is now included in the FAST ACT. The Recreational Trails Program is a reimbursable 80/20 matching grant. In order to be eligible for funding through the Recreational Trails Program, each State must have a Recreational Trails Advisory Board. This Board must represent both motorized and non-motorized trail users. The Oklahoma Trails Advisory Board (OTAB) has nine members, seven of whom represent various types of trails use statewide, and two at-large members.

Visit TravelOK.com for more information

CONTACT: Susan Henry, Grant Administrator, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, Recreational Trails Program, at 405-522-9522, or by email at susan.henry@travelok.com.

Surface Transportation Block Grant Urbanized Area (STBG-UZA) Grants

In 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act converted the long-standing Surface Transportation Program (STP) into the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG) The STBG promotes flexibility in state and local transportation decisions and provides flexible funding to best address state and local transportation needs. Since 2012, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), has distributed $111,032,833 to members. To learn more click here to download a 2017 presentation on STBG-UZA program.

 

Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP)

The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) is a set-aside of the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program. The TAP program funds projects such as sidewalks, bike lanes, recreational trails, community improvements, and environmental mitigation related to stormwater and habitat connectivity. Since the inception of TAP, ACOG has held two calls for projects: The first in 2014 and the second in 2017. The next call for projects will be in 2022. Communities within the ACOG Urbanized Area are eligible to apply for these funds through ACOG. Communities outside the ACOG Urbanized Area must apply through ODOT.

Contact: Jordan Evans, Associate Planner – Multimodal

 

ADDITIONAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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