Federal Assistance for Economic Development (2024)

A core objective for Economic Development Integration at EDA, is to increase your access to the most relevant federal resources that support job creation, drive innovation and entrepreneurship, and build resilient regional economies. This page offers resources to help communities across the US to more readily identify and apply for the federal economic development resources that best support their local priorities and objectives.

In addition to funding opportunities available through EDA, the websites, tools and partner organizations listed below provide a wealth of financial and technical assistance opportunities available from other federal agencies that can be leveraged with local and private resources to ensure projects reach the scale and impact necessary to assist distressed areas, and to provide long term benefits for the entire region.

Check out these current opportunities from our federal partners:

Upcoming Deadlines -- Featured Federal Funding Opportunities

See below for a selection of funding opportunities that may complement your region’s economic development strategies. For more detail or to apply, open the Grants.gov search field and enter the Opportunity Number shown here:

Opportunity NumberOpportunity TitleAgencyPostedCloses
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Business AssistanceUSDA-NIFA-SLBCD-007772Assistive Technology ProgramUSDA1/13/21
Industry/Sector20210114-PGPreservation Assistance Grants for Smaller InstitutionsNational Endowment for Humanities1/14/21
Workforce DevelopmentHRSA-21-020Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) ProgramHHS1/19/21
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Business AssistanceUSDA-FS-WERC-20212021 Wood Innovations Funding OpportunityUSDA1/20/21
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Business AssistanceDE-FOA-0002196Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2020DOE1/20/21
Workforce DevelopmentUSDA-NIFA-HSI-007752Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants ProgramUSDA1/28/21
InfrastructureDHS-20-MT-047-00-99FY20 Building Resilient Infrastructure and CommunitiesDHS-DHS1/29/21
Disaster AssistanceDHS-20-MT-029-000-99FY20 Flood Mitigation AssistanceDHS1/29/21
Workforce DevelopmentPAR-21-034NIDDK Education Program Grants (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)NIH1/31/21
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Business AssistanceUSDA-FS-COMMUNITY-WOOD-2021Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation ProgramUSDA2/3/21
Workforce DevelopmentUSDA-NIFA-SAECP-007855Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA)USDA2/4/21
Workforce DevelopmentFOA-ETA-21-01Workforce Pathways for Youth grant programDOL2/4/2021
Workforce DevelopmentFOA-ETA-21-04YouthBuildDOL2/9/2021
Workforce DevelopmentNOAA-NMFS-AK-2021-2006616FY 2021 Alaska Native Organization Co-Management Funding ProgramDOC2/12/21
Workforce DevelopmentUSDA-NIFA-RIGP-007856Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular AreasUSDA2/15/21
Workforce DevelopmentDE-FOA-0002421Early Career Research ProgramDOE2/16/21
Workforce DevelopmentUSDA-NIFA-AHSI-007832Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Competitive Grants Program (ANNH)USDA2/17/21
Disaster AssistanceRFA-GH-21-004Conducting Research to Inform Pandemic Response and Recovery of Emergency-Affected Populations by Determining Public Health Needs, Improving Methods, and Integrating Services to Mitigate Morbidity and Mortality (DISASTER RESOURCES)HHS2/18/21
Planning & Technical Assistance21-542Build and Broaden 2.0: Enhancing Social, Behavioral and Economic Science Research and Capacity at Minority-Serving InstitutionsNSF3/5/21
Planning & Technical AssistanceUSDA-NIFA-CGP-007858Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants ProgramUSDA3/18/21
InfrastructureN/ARural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & GrantsUSDA3/21/21
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Business AssistanceN/ARural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP)USDA3/31/2021
InfrastructureDOTBAB202012Regional Infrastructure AcceleratorsDOT3/31/2021
Workforce DevelopmentTAP-2021OIA Technical Assistance ProgramDOI4/1/21
Planning & Technical AssistanceEPA-OLEM-OBLR-20-08Technical Assistance to Brownfields CommunitiesEPA10/30/21
Workforce DevelopmentHHS-2020-IHS-UIHP3-0002Urban Indian Education and Research Program, Competing SupplementHHS11/6/21
Workforce Development-2021-ACL-NIDILRR-ARHF-0009Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program - Health and FunctionHHS12/18/21
Workforce DevelopmentHHS-2021-ACL-NIDILRR-ARCP-0005Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program - Community Living and ParticipationHHS12/18/21
Workforce DevelopmentHHS-2021-ACL-NIDILRR-AREM-0007Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program - EmploymentHHS12/18/21
InfrastructureNOAA-NFA-NFAPO-2021-2006626FY2021 to FY2023 NOAA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)DOC-NOAA9/30/23
Planning & Technical AssistanceN/ACybersecurity Education Diversity Initiative (CEDI)DODOpen
Workforce DevelopmentPWEAA2020FY 2020 EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs (Includes CARES Act Addendum)DOC-EDAOpen
Disaster AssistanceEDA-2019-DISASTERFY 2019 EDA Disaster SupplementalDOC-EDAOpen

EDA funding opportunities are just the tip of the iceberg regarding federal resources that can support a comprehensive regional strategy. A full range of funding opportunities can be found at the following sites, which are arranged from the most comprehensive online resources (i.e. Grants.gov and the CFDA), to more targeted resources including EDA’s own set of funding opportunities, many of which are open now. See below for more information on the following pages that list resources from more general, to those specifically targeted to economic development:

Federal Assistance for Economic Development (1)

Federal Assistance Listings (SAM)

As an entity looking for federal assistance for your economic development project, you can conduct your preliminary planning using the U.S. Government’s official site that hosts its System for Awards Management (SAM). The SAM database integrates ten previously separate systems for federal procurement and grant awards in single location.

Browse SAM for assistance listings across all government agencies to form a “big picture” of your funding options. Enter a keyword or agency name to browse listing, and select filters to narrow results by type of applicant or assistance (grant, loan, etc.). Each listing is associated with a unique five digit CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) number. Once you identify a federal assistance listing that you’re interested in, you can link directly to grant opportunities on Grants.gov or follow up with that specific agency using the contact information provided.

SAM Assistance Listings website: https://beta.sam.gov/search?index=cfda

Current Federal Funding Opportunities (Grants.gov)

The Grants.gov website provides a brief description of all federal grant-making agencies, and lists currently available funding opportunities that can be sorted by category, eligibility, due date and other key criteria.

Matrix of Federal Resources for Economic Development

The volume of programs and variety of agencies, and different requirements can frustrate even the most resourceful applicant. We have identified over 130 federal programs, currently listed in the CFDA, that offer grants, technical assistance or other support that can support different aspects of economic development - in areas ranging from entrepreneurship to infrastructure, workforce development to transportation, trade promotion to capital access, and strategic planning to research and development.

These offerings are arranged in a matrix to help you identify which of these offerings may be best for project funding vs. technical assistance, organizational vs. individual assistance, and for the particular type of activities that your region seeks to implement. A new column has been added to identify programs that currently offer preference, flexibility or other targeting for Qualified Opportunity Zones. Use the filter function to sort the listings by column heading, click on the CDFA number to read the program overview at www.beta.sam.gov, and visit the program office link for funding availability, contacts and additional information.

  • Matrix of selected federal programs that can assist economic development strategies (XLSX)

The EDI team welcomes your updates or additions to this beta version of the matrix. Send us your feedback at [emailprotected]

EDA Funding Opportunities

EDA accepts applications on a rolling basis for its Public Works (PW) and Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) grant programs, which provide grant funding for infrastructure, facilities, planning, feasibility studies, and similar projects to improve regional economies. Other EDA funding opportunities, such Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS), have specific application deadlines.

  • EDA’s Funding Opportunities
  • EDA Program Information

Contact EDA

EDA staff maintain collaborative relationships with interagency colleagues in regional and local offices of federal agencies whose programs complement the broad-based economic development strategies that EDA stakeholders pursue in rural and urban areas across the country.

  • How to reach an EDA Regional Office representative near you
  • For assistance with interagency collaboration at the national level, contact the Economic Development Integration team at EDA’s headquarters in Washington, DC: [emailprotected].

How Can We Improve This Page? Let Us Know!

The EDI team is always looking for opportunities to update and improve the federal economic development resources featured on this page. Please help us make sure that the information we post is consistently useful to your organizations, communities and regions. If you have ideas or updated content you would like us to include here, please contact us at [emailprotected].

Federal Assistance for Economic Development (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Otha Schamberger

Last Updated:

Views: 6088

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (55 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Otha Schamberger

Birthday: 1999-08-15

Address: Suite 490 606 Hammes Ferry, Carterhaven, IL 62290

Phone: +8557035444877

Job: Forward IT Agent

Hobby: Fishing, Flying, Jewelry making, Digital arts, Sand art, Parkour, tabletop games

Introduction: My name is Otha Schamberger, I am a vast, good, healthy, cheerful, energetic, gorgeous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.