How to pay for it: grants small towns can use for tourism projects
Creative City Developments. Published November 4, 2026. Checked on funders' own pages November 2, 2026. Next check due December 11, 2026. Deadlines move, so open the funder's page before you act.
For people at a town, chamber, CVB, DMO or main street program with a project in mind and no budget for it. You may never have written a federal application. You finish with a short list of programs that fit, a cash box showing what you must front, and the questions to ask before you hire anyone.
The short answer
There is money, but on any given day much of it is closed. Three things catch small towns out: who is allowed to apply, the match you must raise (your share of the cost), and that much of this money pays you back only after you have spent it.
Start with your state tourism office, not a federal website.
What that count covers
We looked up 77 names: 41 federal and national, and 36 from 15 states. It is a sample, not a census. We took the states our earlier research had named and added others for spread, so it leans toward the Midwest and the places we had already read about. A few names turned out not to be grants, or could not be found. Some of the 21 we could not confirm run state by state, and some sites refused our check.
Do this first: 15 minutes
Finish this sentence: "When the money is spent, a visitor will be able to ____." Then find your state's tourism grants page, and email the person named on it. Ask whether anything fits and when it next opens. You can find your state office in the U.S. Travel directory, which lists member offices.
What we are, so you can weigh this. A for-profit consultant is never the applicant on a town's grant. That includes us. You would apply, and we could only ever be a contractor on your budget. We sell town assessments, reports and consulting, including a monthly retainer through our partner studio Windrose Digital. The rules below limit firms like us. This is general information, not legal advice. Where the rules turn, ask your grant officer or attorney.
Share this freely. Forward it, print it, quote it. Please cite: Creative City Developments, "How to pay for it: grants small towns can use for tourism projects", checked November 2, 2026.
Find the money
Pick what you want to do and who you are. A match means the funder's words do not rule you out, so ask. Every line was checked on the funder's page on November 2, 2026. Open that page before you act.
Tourism grants from your state: mostly marketing
Most states we checked run something. Most match in cash and pay back after you spend.
| State program | Who can apply | Award | Match | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Tourism Marketing Grant, 2026 cycle | DMOs and statewide tourism associations | $2,500 to $49,000 | You put in $1 for every $2 or $4 | Reopens mid 2027 |
| Virginia Marketing Leverage Program, spring 2026 | Tourism partners, including DMOs and small businesses | To $20,000 if you put in $1 for every $1. To $30,000 if you put in $2 for every $1 | Cash match | Names marketing consultants and website development. Research is not on the eligible list |
| Minnesota Tourism Marketing Grant, FY2027 | Nonprofit DMO types, qualifying municipal DMOs, tribal nations | $2,500 to $14,000 by budget | 1 to 1, cash | Names SEO and research from a vendor. FY2027 is closed |
| Iowa Tourism Marketing Grant, FY27 | Nonprofits, for-profits, cities, counties | $2,500 to $10,000 | 20 percent of project, cash | Closes the last working day of September each year |
| Kentucky Matching Funds, FY 2026/27 | Tourism commissions, CVBs, DMOs | By county formula | Reimburses 50 to 90 percent | Research needs approval in advance |
| Wisconsin Joint Effort Marketing | Wisconsin nonprofits | To $39,550 a year | Up to 75 percent of costs in year one | Linked guidelines date from 2022 |
Tennessee's page says only that a new grants portal is coming soon.
Downtown revitalization and main street grants
New York's Downtown Revitalization Initiative, or DRI, is the big one. DRI grant money funds a state-led plan and then projects, and only New York towns qualify.
Elsewhere, look at your state's share of the Community Development Block Grant. States award it only to local governments that do not get it directly, so a chamber cannot apply on its own. Texas, for one, has a Downtown Revitalization Program with a $1,000,000 award and 2027 dates still to come.
Wisconsin's Community Development Investment grant takes applications continuously under its FY27 guidelines. Development grants cap at $250,000, and you put in $3 for every $1, or $1 for every $1 in rural or distressed places. Vibrant Spaces grants run $25,000 to $50,000 and also take nonprofit groups. Start with a WEDC account manager.
For main street grants, start with your state coordinating program. Main Street America's funding page names no open grant of its own that we could confirm. It points to outside opportunities and an email sign-up.
Rural Business Development Grants
USDA's Rural Business Development Grants showed closed on November 2, 2026, with no next window posted. The 2026 rounds closed in June.
There is no cost share and no maximum, though smaller requests get priority. Public bodies, tribes and rural nonprofits can apply, not businesses. Listed uses include market research and feasibility studies. Enterprise grants must benefit small and emerging rural businesses. Applications are evaluated on job creation and on the share of non-federal money committed, so "no cost share" does not mean match never helps.
The page says to contact a state official first, so do that now, before the next round.
Historic preservation grants
- Hart Family Fund for Small Towns, National Trust. $2,500 to $15,000, for towns of 10,000 or fewer. It pays for planning, not building. In our judgment it is the best fit for a small town, but you must hold a qualifying membership before funds are released, and a 1 to 1 match is encouraged.
- National Trust Preservation Funds. Generally $2,500 to $5,000, with deadlines in February, June and October. The same membership rule and encouragement apply.
- Certified Local Government subgrants. States pass on at least 10 percent of their preservation funds, but your town must be certified first.
- Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants. These pay to rehabilitate historic buildings in rural towns, through a prime grantee that regrants the money. The last round closed June 23, 2026, and the notice says not to expect word until six months after that. The Park Service also lists 25 awards on a page dated August 15, 2025 that does not say which round they came from. No new round showed.
Both National Trust pages still showed past dates as "next" when we checked, so ask before you plan around them.
Placemaking grants
- AARP Community Challenge. Awarded $8.3 million to 750 projects in 2026 from 5,100 applications. Its page says the 2027 round is coming in January, with no exact date. It excludes studies with no follow-up action, planning or surveys without tangible engagement, and published reports.
- Our Town, National Endowment for the Arts. No longer a stand-alone program. It now sits inside Grants for Arts Projects: for the FY27 round, $10,000 to $100,000, a 1 to 1 match, and at least 5 years of arts programming required. No next date posted.
- Community Placemaking Grants, Project for Public Spaces. The open round is for two Arkansas counties only.
- Levitt Music Series, which now includes Levitt AMP. The next cycle opens in 2028.
Grants for small towns: buildings, trails and big projects
- Regional commissions, if you are in one. Northern Border (Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont) funds outdoor recreation infrastructure and feasibility work, with a pre-application first and two rounds a year. Its 2026 rounds have closed. Delta Regional Authority is a poor fit: its 2026 program lists marketing and feasibility studies as ineligible.
- Trails and overlooks. Transportation Alternatives covers smaller scale projects such as paths, overlooks and viewing areas, through your state or regional agency. Land and Water Conservation Fund state grants run through your state office.
- Skip this one. The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership sets a population floor of 25,000, apart from tribal areas.
What has changed, if you are working from an older list
- T-Mobile Hometown Grants: finished. T-Mobile's June 25, 2026 release names the last 26 towns, for 500 projects in all. Its program page still says final phase.
- USDA's Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge: we found no current page for it on USDA's site.
- Recreation Economy for Rural Communities, EPA: not accepting applications.
- EPA brownfields: no Multipurpose Grants in FY 2027.
What we could not check
The Economic Development Administration's site refused our check on November 2, so we say nothing here about its programs. Ask your EDA regional office. The same goes for Lowe's Hometowns. Michigan's MEDC programs are listed at miplace.org, and we have not reviewed them here.
Your odds, at a glance
In most programs that publish counts, most applications lose. For its 2026 round, AARP had more than 5,100 applications and made 750 awards (AARP). Odds differ widely, and many funders publish no application count at all.
Our arithmetic from the funders' counts, except Our Town, where 20 percent is the Arts Endowment's own rough figure. Texas counts invitations to apply in full, not awards. T-Mobile said more than 2,000 applied in a record round, and in 2023 the share was at most 4.2 percent. Paul Bruhn's counts are for organizations that regrant the money, so your own odds are set by the grantee you apply to. The Park Service's report counts 67 Save America's Treasures awards and its newer page lists 49, so treat that one as the least certain. Sources: Virginia DCR, National Park Service, NEA, Texas Agriculture, T-Mobile.
7.32017
8.12018
9.42019
6.62020
6.92021
8.12022
8.62023
10.22024
11.12025
14.72026
Our arithmetic from AARP's yearly counts, some of which AARP gives as "nearly" or "more than". AARP says it doubled the money in 2026.
Know the size before you write. The middle award runs from about $10,000 to $750,000.
We worked out the middles from published award lists, except AARP's average. Maryland pays fixed amounts by type of community. For Iowa and Paul Bruhn the middle is also the cap. Our Town's FY23 awards came before it moved inside Grants for Arts Projects. The Colorado list comes from ColoradoBiz, reprinting the state. USDA figures come from USAspending, program 10.351, new awards by federal year. Other sources: Iowa, Maryland, Our Town, Save America's Treasures.
Expect a long wait, even for a yes. State tourism marketing grants in our sample plan to answer in two to three months. Federal programs run longer: about four and a half months for Virginia's trails program, and plans of six months or more for others.
Our day counts from each funder's published dates. Only AARP and Virginia are results. "Planned" means the funder's own schedule, not what happened. A yes is not money: Save America's Treasures says a selection notice is not permission to start.
Read the score sheet before you write a word. Funders weigh very different things.
Source: AARP.
Our reading: this sheet scores need, track record and your own money, not how good the idea is. Source: Texas Agriculture.
USDA's score sheet rewards a small ask from a small place
USDA's Rural Business Development scoring rule lists ten criteria. The most they can add up to is 240 points, by our count. A state or national official can add up to 50 more, for first grants only.
- Asking under $100,000: 25 points. $100,000 to $200,000: 15. Over $200,000 up to $500,000: 10. Above $500,000: none.
- A community under 5,000 people: 15 points. 5,000 to under 15,000: 10.
- Other money lined up: 30 points if USDA pays under 20 percent of the project.
- Applicant experience: 30 points for 10 years or more.
In USAspending (program 10.351), at least three quarters of new awards each year are at or under $100,000. New awards fell from 485 in FY2019 to 269 in FY2025, while the middle award rose from $50,000 to $75,000. Those figures leave out zero-dollar rows and regional commission pass-throughs, and are our own arithmetic.
Who wins
Nobody we could read publishes winners by town size or rural share. So these are our own rough sorts of published winner names, and a few names will be misplaced.
- Our Town, FY21 to FY23, 170 awards: about 72 percent nonprofits and other private groups, 22 percent local governments, districts or agencies, 4 percent universities, 2 percent tribes (NEA).
- USDA Rural Business Development, FY2025, 269 awards: about 59 percent nonprofits and others, 22 percent cities, towns or counties, 10 percent universities, 4 percent regional bodies, 5 percent tribes (USAspending).
How to get grants for small towns: seven steps
- Name what a visitor will see. Funders differ sharply on studies, so read the rule before you write. Even where a study is allowed, write down the next funded step. That is our advice, not a rule.
- Decide who applies. The town, the chamber and the nonprofit are not interchangeable. If you are the wrong kind of body, ask a partner that fits to apply, if the funder allows it and the project is really theirs.
- Register early for federal money. Grants.gov says a Unique Entity ID takes about a day, and SAM.gov 7 to 10 business days once everything is in. One federal funder tells applicants to allow 4 weeks for the chain. Renew SAM every 365 days. Name two people who can submit. If you apply through a state office, ask what it needs instead.
- Fill in the cash box. This is one page showing what you must front, what you end up paying, and how long you wait. Do it before anyone writes a word.
- Talk to the funder before you write. USDA says to contact a state official first. ARC starts with a state program manager, and Northern Border with a Project Interest Form. IMLS offers counseling calls.
- Write to their criteria. Do not reuse a standard proposal (Candid). Keep your narrative and budget consistent, and show who else has invested (Candid, 2024). Name a number, a date and a way of counting for each result. That is our advice. Keep outputs apart from outcomes (USDA NIFA). Send letters of support only if asked, unless the funder says they help (Candid, 2026).
- Plan for after the award. Keep every invoice and proof of payment. Spending $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a year triggers a single audit. And plan for the money to stop: federal awards can be ended if they no longer serve agency priorities, so stage any contract you sign.
Who pays for studies, and who does not
- No: AARP excludes studies with no follow-up action. Delta Regional Authority treats marketing and feasibility studies as ineligible. Minnesota's IRRRB grant excludes reports and studies. North Dakota's Destination Development Grant excludes strategic planning, and it is closed.
- Yes, with limits: Colorado's Tourism Management Grant funds tourism research and planning, but not research that informs a marketing strategy. Arkansas pays only for a feasibility study of one specific tourism attraction. The National Trust funds preservation planning.
Who can apply: the traps
- Chambers. Walmart excludes 501(c)(6) chambers. Arkansas's feasibility grant excludes chambers and CVBs.
- DMOs. Colorado wants a DMO or statewide association. It counts chambers, CVBs, lodging tax boards and local governments if they typically receive lodging tax and lead promotion. A city running public signs may get an exception with its DMO's letter.
- Government. North Dakota's grant is for businesses, nonprofits and tourism bodies improving assets they own. State and federal bodies are out, and so are state or government owned facilities, so by our reading a town owned site does not qualify (manual.pdf)).
- Businesses. Most federal programs we read do not list them. Iowa's marketing grant and Virginia's leverage program take them.
A worked example: the cash box
This is Colorado's own example, already filled in. Change the numbers to yours.
Cash you may need on hand before you are repaid
Cash you end up paying
The same example with sample budget lines
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sample line: interpretive signs, 10 at $1,500 | $15,000 |
| Sample line: contractor to research, write and design them, 100 hours at $100 | $10,000 |
| Total project | $25,000 |
| Grant, paid back after you spend | $20,000 |
| Your cash match, with letters of commitment | $5,000 |
| Cash you may need on hand before the grant repays you | up to $25,000 |
| Cash you end up paying | $5,000 |
The two budget lines are made up, to show the arithmetic, and are not a price guide.
Colorado's own example for its Tourism Management Grant is a $25,000 project: a $20,000 grant and $5,000 in cash match. It is a reimbursement grant. The two budget lines are made up, to show the arithmetic, and are not a price guide.
Colorado lets you ask for an advance in your application, limited to the cash you need within 90 days, and over $15,000 only for grantees it rates low risk. Then ask four things:
- Where does the $25,000 come from until we are repaid?
- Is our match allowed? Colorado bars its General Fund, federal funds, Colorado Tourism Office funds and other pending grants as match.
- Can we spend anything before the contract is signed? In Colorado, no.
- If the grant stops halfway, what do we still owe?
For a federal grant, the rule starts from advance payment if your written procedures and finance systems qualify, limited to immediate cash needs. Reimbursement is preferred otherwise, when the funder sets it as a condition, or for construction. The agency or pass-through body must then pay within 30 calendar days unless it reasonably believes the request is improper (2 CFR 200.305). Ask which applies before you fill in the cash box. State programs set their own timing.
Paying for help with grant money
We sell consulting, so read this part closely. Rules are as of November 2, 2026.
Using federal money to hire anyone
This covers federal money that reaches you through your state too.
- Purchases must be openly competitive. Contractors who draft specifications, requirements or statements of work "must be excluded from competing on those procurements".
- The same rule names noncompetitive contracts to consultants on retainer as a problem. We sell a retainer, so if federal money would pay for it, it has to be competed like anything else.
- Up to the micro-purchase threshold (the small purchase limit), $15,000 in general, you may buy without quotes if the price is reasonable and documented. Above that, up to $350,000, you need quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources. Above that, sealed bids or proposals. Your state or town may be stricter.
- A consultant's fee can be charged to a federal award only if it is reasonable and "not contingent upon recovery of the costs from the Federal Government" (2 CFR 200.459). Costs of preparing an application normally count as indirect, meaning shared overhead, not a line in the project.
Paying a grant writer
The Grant Professionals Association code of ethics bars its members from finder's fees, commissions or percentage pay based on grants. Candid says most funders disapprove of percentage pay.
Many programs also refuse the cost outright: Colorado, Iowa's CAT grant, North Dakota, Delta Regional Authority and Arkansas's feasibility grant all exclude grant writing. Our advice: pay a writer a fixed or hourly fee from your own money, in writing, before work starts.
Consultants on the project itself
This varies. Virginia names marketing consultants as eligible. Minnesota names third party vendors. The National Trust allows consultant fees, but it must approve the consultant before funds are released. Check your program's page.
Can a firm help with the application and then bid for the work?
We found no official answer. In our view, an application's work plan can become the later scope, which is why it matters. Ask your program officer or attorney. Three ways to stay clear, each subject to their answer:
- The firm helps with the application and does not bid.
- One firm helps with the application, and a different firm does the work.
- The firm helps, the town writes and scores its own solicitation, and the firm bids only if the funder and your attorney confirm in writing.
Our own rule: if we help write a federally funded application, we will not bid on the work that follows. And you should never promise any firm the job before the money and the competition exist.
These rules may change. An August 2025 executive order tightened oversight of awards. The White House budget office proposed rewriting the grant rules in May 2026, and a funding law bars that rewrite from being issued or finalized through December 11, 2026 (Public Law 119-103, section 157). Check again after that date.
Your one page
Fill this in with whoever signs the checks. Your ticks stay in this browser.
Your next step
Many applications ask you to show the need. Our free Town Checklist is forty plain questions, about ten minutes. You leave a name and email to see a list of what is missing and the three things to fix first. In our view, that list can feed your need statement.
Take the free Town ChecklistRead next: How to attract tourists to a small town and How to make a visitor guide people use.
If you want measured numbers behind it, our Synced report is listed at $1,500 for one town. It connects your Google Analytics, Search Console and Google Business data for a report measured from your own numbers. That can give you a baseline to show the need and to count your result against.
Be clear about what it is not. We do not promise it will help you win, and many programs will not pay for a stand-alone report, so plan to cover it from your own budget. A few programs name research. Minnesota's FY2027 round, now closed, allowed it from a vendor for DMOs. Kentucky requires advance approval and sets tests for outside firms, including 2 years in operation and 3 references. We have not checked whether our report would qualify under either. If you use federal money for it, the competition rules above apply to us too.
Sources
Each outside link in this guide was opened on November 2, 2026.
- U.S. Travel directory (ustravel.org): https://www.ustravel.org/directory?field_stakeholder_category_target_id=66858
- Colorado Tourism Marketing Grant (oedit.colorado.gov): https://oedit.colorado.gov/tourism-marketing-grant
- Virginia Marketing Leverage Program (vatc.org): https://vatc.org/grants/leverageprogram/
- Minnesota Tourism Marketing Grant (exploreminnesota.com): https://www.exploreminnesota.com/industry/opportunities/grant-programs
- Names SEO and research from a vendor (exploreminnesota.com): https://www.exploreminnesota.com/sites/default/files/2026-07/27-ir-tourism-marketing-grant-guidelines-final-digital-2_8.5x11-072226.pdf
- Iowa Tourism Marketing Grant (industrypartners.traveliowa.com): https://industrypartners.traveliowa.com/iowa-tourism-grants/
- Kentucky Matching Funds (industry.kentuckytourism.com): https://industry.kentuckytourism.com/matching-funds
- Research needs approval in advance (industry.kentuckytourism.com): https://industry.kentuckytourism.com/docs/kentuckyindustryandtourismextranetlibraries/matching-funds/2026-2027-powerpoint-matching-funds.pptx?sfvrsn=72c1d40a_0
- Wisconsin Joint Effort Marketing (industry.travelwisconsin.com): https://industry.travelwisconsin.com/grants/joint-effort-marketing-jem-grant-program
- coming soon (industry.tnvacation.com): https://industry.tnvacation.com/grants-and-funding
- Downtown Revitalization Initiative (ny.gov): https://www.ny.gov/downtown-revitalization-initiative
- Community Development Block Grant (hud.gov): https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/community-cdbg
- Downtown Revitalization Program (texasagriculture.gov): https://texasagriculture.gov/Grants-Services/Rural-Economic-Development/-TxCDBG-Rural-Community-Development-Block-Grant/Fund-Categories-and-Applications/Downtown-Revitalization
- Community Development Investment (wedc.org): https://wedc.org/programs/community-development-investment-grant/
- FY27 guidelines (wedcazurecdn.blob.core.windows.net): https://wedcazurecdn.blob.core.windows.net/public/OnlineDirectoryProgramGuidelines/BCD_CDI_FY27_PG_not-signed.pdf
- state coordinating program (mainstreet.org): https://mainstreet.org/our-network/coordinating-programs
- funding page (mainstreet.org): https://mainstreet.org/resources/funding
- Rural Business Development Grants (rd.usda.gov): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/rural-business-development-grants
- Hart Family Fund for Small Towns (savingplaces.org): https://savingplaces.org/hart-family-fund
- National Trust Preservation Funds (savingplaces.org): https://savingplaces.org/preservation-funds
- Certified Local Government subgrants (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/certified-local-government-program.htm
- Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/paul-bruhn-historic-revitalization-grants-program.htm
- closed June 23, 2026 (apply07.grants.gov): https://apply07.grants.gov/grantsws/rest/opportunity/att/download/352147
- lists 25 awards (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/nps-awards-nearly-%2417-million-in-paul-bruhn-historic-revitalization-grant-program.htm
- AARP Community Challenge (aarp.org): https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/community-challenge/
- Awarded $8.3 million to 750 projects in 2026 (aarp.org): https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/community-challenge/aarp-community-challenge/
- Our Town (arts.gov): https://www.arts.gov/grants/our-town
- Grants for Arts Projects (arts.gov): https://www.arts.gov/grants/grants-for-arts-projects
- Community Placemaking Grants (pps.org): https://www.pps.org/community-placemaking-grants
- Levitt Music Series (levitt.org): https://levitt.org/music-series/
- Northern Border (nbrc.gov): https://www.nbrc.gov/Catalyst
- Delta Regional Authority (dra.gov): https://dra.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2026-SEDAP-NOFA-Appendices-FINAL-1.pdf
- Transportation Alternatives (fhwa.dot.gov): https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/transportation_alternatives/
- state grants (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/stateside.htm
- Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/orlp.htm
- T-Mobile Hometown Grants (t-mobile.com): https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-completes-landmark-hometown-grants-initiative-transforming-500-communities
- program page (t-mobile.com): https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/hometown-grants
- Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (epa.gov): https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/recreation-economy-rural-communities
- no Multipurpose Grants (epa.gov): https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-funding
- miplace.org (miplace.org): https://www.miplace.org/programs/
- AARP (aarp.org): https://www.aarp.org/advocacy/community-challenge-grants-2026/
- Virginia DCR (dcr.virginia.gov): https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/pr-relz-detail?id=2025-09-16-15-40-29-654687-uq4
- National Park Service (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/upload/HPFAnnualReport25web.pdf
- NEA (arts.gov): https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/FY25-Our-Town-Guidelines.pdf
- ColoradoBiz (coloradobiz.com): https://coloradobiz.com/colorado-tourism-office-tourism-management-grants-2026/
- USAspending (usaspending.gov): https://www.usaspending.gov/
- Iowa (industrypartners.traveliowa.com): https://industrypartners.traveliowa.com/content/images/2026-tourisml-award-recipients_02022026.pdf
- Maryland (news.maryland.gov): https://news.maryland.gov/dhcd/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2026/07/SFY27-Main-Street-Improvement-Awards.pdf
- Our Town (arts.gov): https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Our-Town-Grants-FY21-FY23.pdf
- Save America's Treasures (nps.gov): https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/nps-awards-%2424-4-million-in-save-america-s-treasures-grants.htm
- a selection notice is not permission to start (apply07.grants.gov): https://apply07.grants.gov/grantsws/rest/opportunity/att/download/352099
- AARP (aarp.org): https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/community-challenge/info-2026/2026-challenge.html
- Rural Business Development scoring rule (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/section-4280.435
- 7 to 10 business days (grants.gov): https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration/organization-registration
- allow 4 weeks (imls.gov): https://www.imls.gov/find-funding/how-to-apply/grantsgov/grantsgov-registration-and-tips
- every 365 days (sam.gov): https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration
- Candid (learning.candid.org): https://learning.candid.org/grant-proposals/272645
- Candid, 2024 (candid.org): https://candid.org/blogs/green-flags-funders-look-for-in-your-grant-proposal/
- USDA NIFA (nifa.usda.gov): https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/grant-training/logic-model-planning-process
- Candid, 2026 (candid.org): https://candid.org/blogs/grant-proposal-documents-part-two/
- triggers a single audit (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.501
- ended if they no longer serve agency priorities (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.340
- IRRRB grant (mn.gov): https://mn.gov/irrrb/grant-resources/other-grants/culture-tourism.jsp
- Destination Development Grant (commerce.nd.gov): https://www.commerce.nd.gov/services-assistance/grant-programs/destination-development-grant
- feasibility study of one specific tourism attraction (arkansas.com): https://www.arkansas.com/sites/default/files/2026-09/Feasiblity%20Study%20Overview%20and%20Application.pdf
- manual (commerce.nd.gov): https://www.commerce.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/Services%20and%20Assistance/Grants/Destination%20Development%20Grant/DDG%20Manual%2025-27%20(2nd%20Round%20Funding
- Tourism Management Grant (oedit.colorado.gov): https://oedit.colorado.gov/tourism-management-grant
- 2 CFR 200.305 (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.305
- openly competitive (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.319
- $15,000 in general (acquisition.gov): https://www.acquisition.gov/far/2.101
- quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.320
- 2 CFR 200.459 (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.459
- normally count as indirect (ecfr.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.460
- code of ethics (grantprofessionals.org): https://grantprofessionals.org/general/custom.asp?page=ethics
- most funders disapprove (learning.candid.org): https://learning.candid.org/paying-fundraisers
- tightened oversight of awards (whitehouse.gov): https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/improving-oversight-of-federal-grantmaking/
- rewriting the grant rules (govinfo.gov): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-05-29/html/2026-10817.htm
- Public Law 119-103, section 157 (congress.gov): https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6500/text
Photo credit
- Galena: Vincent Y on Unsplash. Unsplash License. Resized for the web.