568003 - Rural Planning Grant
Funding Opportunity Details

Rural Revitalization

Final Application Deadline: Aug 30, 2024 4:00 PM

Description

• Description

  Child care is a challenge across rural communities in Iowa and across the nation. However, the solutions are often more complicated than the construction of a new facility. Many factors need to be carefully analyzed to determine the feasibility for development of a child care center, expansion of an existing one or support for in-home providers. Through greater understanding of their geographic market, demographics, competition, financials, and other factors, communities can be armed with the information needed to take proactive steps towards addressing child care challenges. Funding from the program will empower communities to assess their current child care environment and develop strategies.

  The program, defined in Iowa Administrative Code, is administered by the Center for Rural Revitalization, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative Task Forces.

  Eligible Use of Funding
  The program provides funding for planning initiatives addressing child care needs through a professional third- party partner.

  Eligible Applicants
  The following entities are eligible to apply:

  • City and county governments or federally recognized tribal governments physically located in Iowa;
  • Federally designated nonprofit agencies and foundations;
  • Public and private schools that serve grades pre-K through 12 and are physically located in Iowa; and
  • Higher education institutions located in Iowa.

  The study must take place in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer and not contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater. If a county-wide application, the applicant must be within one of the 88 least-populous counties in Iowa. Any eligible applicant may submit an application that includes one or more partners and may apply on behalf of multiple cities or an entire county if the county is one of the 88 least-populous counties in Iowa.

  Grant Request Amount
  Grant Recipients will be awarded $20,000.

  Match Requirement
  Applicants are required to demonstrate investment in the project process by providing a minimum of $10,000 cash match. The cash match must be secured, dedicated to eligible expenses, a legitimate part of the project and must be expended within the eligible funding period. The $10,000 match requirement may be raised through a combination of public and private sources but may not include in-kind donations of goods or services, unsecured funding, or loans.

  • Cash match constitutes actual cash contributed to direct project expenses by the applicant or other funding sources.
  • Funding from state government already being used as match from another program, including other funds from IEDA, cannot be used to meet the match requirement.

  Contact Empower Rural Iowa Director Robin Bostrom at robin.bostrom@IowaEDA.com with questions. 

  Rural Housing Assessment Grant
  The Rural Housing Assessment Grant program supports the use of publicly available, online information and rural community efforts to interpret publicly available hard data to implement changes through development codes, local ordinances, and housing incentives specific to individual community needs. In partnership with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach’s Rural Housing Readiness Assessment workshops, funding from the program will empower communities to assess their current development environment and enact changes resulting in the creation of policies and procedures attractive to potential developers.
  The program, defined in Iowa Administrative Code, is administered by the Center for Rural Revitalization, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative task force and ISU Extension and Outreach.

  Eligible Use of Funding
  The Rural Housing Assessment Grant Program provides funding for housing assessment data collection and ISU Extension and Outreach Rural Housing Assessment Readiness Workshop. Funds may be used to fulfill that process at the discretion of the grant recipient but must contribute to the completion of the housing assessment report, workshop, or implementation of the workshop outcomes within the contract period.

  Eligible Applicants
  Local city and county governments, or federally recognized tribal governments physically located in Iowa are eligible. The government must exist in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer and not contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater. County-wide projects must be one of the 88 least-populous counties in Iowa.

  Grant Request Amount
  Grant Recipients will be awarded up to $20,000. A portion of the total project cost must be used to contract with ISU Office of Extension and Outreach for the Rural Housing Assessment Readiness Workshop. The workshop price is dependent upon the number of communities involved.

  Match Requirement
  Applicants are required to demonstrate investment in the project process by providing a minimum of $10,000 cash match. The cash match must be secured, dedicated to eligible expenses, a legitimate part of the project and must be expended within the eligible funding period. The $10,000 match requirement may be raised through a combination of public and private sources but may not include in-kind donations of goods or services, unsecured funding, or loans.

  • Cash match constitutes actual cash contributed to direct project expenses by the applicant or other funding sources.
  • Funding from state government already being used as match from another program, including other funds from IEDA, cannot be used to meet the match requirement.

  Contact Empower Rural Iowa Director Robin Bostrom at robin.bostrom@IowaEDA.com with questions.