According to the Survey of National Development Organizations that was conducted by ACCRA / The Council for Economic and Community Research in June of 2006, many types of development organizations, including regional planning councils and chambers of commerce, experienced depressed budgets for their economic development efforts in fiscal year 2006, as seen in the table below:

To compensate for budget losses many development organizations seek additional funding from local city/county agencies, private foundations, federal agencies, and other public and state sources. 

The following resources detail funding opportunities that support various development initiatives.

To learn more about the 2006 Survey of National Development Organizations conducted by ACCRA / The Council for Community and Economic Research, click here...

 

Federal Funding Sources

USDA Rural Development - Funding Notices
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/nofas/index.html

This site details the funding opportunities available throughout the year by the USDA.  The initiatives sponsored this year are broken up into three categories:  Housing Programs, Utilities Programs, and Business-Cooperative Programs.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development - Funding Opportunities
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm

This site outlines funding opportunities available through HUD to support economic and community development initiatives.  Some of these programs are: fair housing initiative programs, housing counseling programs, rural housing and economic development programs, and elderly and disabled housing programs.

U.S. Economic Development Administration
http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Investments.xml

This site details funding opportunities available through the US EDA on topics in following areas: Public Works and Economic Development, Economic Adjustment Assistance, Research and National Technical Assistance, Local Technical Assistance, Planning Program, University Center Economic Development, and Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms.

Brownfields Economic Development Initiative
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/economicdevelopment/programs/bedi/index.cfm

The Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) is a key competitive grant program that HUD administers to stimulate and promote economic and community development. BEDI is designed to assist cities with the redevelopment of abandoned, idled and underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion and redevelopment is burdened by real or potential environmental contamination.

Federal Financial Assistance for Historic Preservation Projects--Community and Economic Development Programs
http://www.achp.gov/funding-community.html

Federal financial assistance programs that promote community and economic development are key sources of funding for historic preservation projects. These programs can assist in the rehabilitation of historic houses, historic commercial buildings, and infrastructure in historic neighborhoods. There are general programs, as well as those aimed at particular areas or populations, such as rural areas, the homeless, Indians, the elderly, etc.

ARC Sources of Funding for Business Development
http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1235

This site allows you to view recently announced grant opportunities that are relevant to the regions surrounding the Appalachian Mountains.  Grants this year focus on several areas, including:  supporting community investment and economic development, youth and education, human services, arts and culture, technology development, and small business assistance.  Also available is information on ongoing funding sources, revolving loan funds, equity financing, and microcredit resources.

Delta Regional Authority
http://www.state.tn.us/ecd/progman_costben.htm
The Delta Regional Authority is administered through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TDECD). The program’s mission is to improve basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, business development and job training.

US Department of Health and Human Services:  Administration for Children and Families Urban and Rural Community Economic Development
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fbci/progs/fbci_ced.html

The focus of the Urban and Rural Community Economic Development program is to create projects that provide employment and business ownership opportunities for low-income people through business, physical, or commercial development. Generally the projects should improve the quality of the economic and social environment of TANF recipients, low-income residents including displaced workers, at-risk teenagers, custodial and non-custodial parents (particularly those of children receiving TANF assistance), individuals residing in public housing, individuals who are homeless, and individuals with developmental disabilities.

New York State Community Development Block Grant Small Cities Program
http://www.nysmallcities.org/FundingOpportunities/fundingavailability.asp?gid=4

The CDBG Program provides funding to assist communities in ensuring decent affordable housing for all, to provide services to the most vulnerable in our communities and to create jobs and expand business opportunities to implement a wide variety of community and economic development activities directed toward neighborhood revitalization, economic development and the provision of improved community facilities and services.

Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Grants
http://www.doleta.gov/SGA/sga.cfm

This website contains information, forms, and instructions for applying for the various workforce and economic development grants available through the DOLETA.  Several grants this year focus on the creation of educational pathways, and the rehabilitation, training, and placement of disadvantaged, juvenile, and agricultural workers.

EDA Grants for Public Works and Economic Development Facilities
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.PROGRAM_TEXT_RPT.SHOW?p_arg_names=prog_nbr&p_arg_values=11.300

EDA provides Public Works investments to help distressed communities and regions revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry, encourage business expansion, diversify local economies, and generate or retain long-term private sector jobs and investment. Current priorities include proposals that help support existing industry clusters, develop emerging new clusters, or attract new economic drivers.

WIRED Initiative
http://www.doleta.gov/

This initiative provides regions with funding from the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and ongoing technical assistance and support from a cadre of experts to implement a transformational approach to their workforce and economic development systems at the regional level.

National Association of Development Organizations' Economic Development Finance Service
http://www.nado.org/edfs/

The Economic Development Finance Service (EDFS) provides training, information, research and a platform for peer networking for small business development loan funds. EDFS training programs and information services are designed to meet the needs of small business lenders, especially those that administer Economic Development Administration (EDA) Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Intermediary Re-lending Programs (IRPs).

Private Funding Sources

Community Economic Development Fund - Community Development Grant Opportunities
http://www.cedf.com/grants.htm

The Community Economic Development fund offers grants designed to help start and support community and economic development planning efforts and seed small projects. CEDF supports neighborhood economic development planning activities and more specific studies in small business development, retail market analysis, brownfield redevelopment, commercial district revitalization, and commercial real estate studies. These grants are available throughout the year.

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation - Grants and Initiatives
http://www.kauffman.org/grants.cfm

The Kauffman Foundation makes grants available to support initiatives in entrepreneurship and education that are capable of affecting the lives of a great many people in a significant way for the long term.  The Foundation offers ‘idea grants’ to get innovation moving, ‘seed grants’ to test good ideas, and ‘scale grants’ to bring older programs back up to speed.  Grant applications are accepted nationally, but special consideration is given to those which focus on the Kansas City area.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Local Economic Development Grants
http://www.pge.com/edgrant/

This company offers grants in the areas of economic and community development with a special focus on underserved communities in north and central California.  Project focuses can include:  business retention and recruitment, economic development training, conferences, studies and reports, infrastructure planning, and downtown revitalization. 

SCANA Economic Development Grants
http://www.scana.com/en/economic-development/

SCANA's economic development program provides assistance in funding, site location, infrastructure, low-cost energy solutions, government and community affairs, business development, networking and more. They are committed to helping communities in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia grow and have awarded more than $10 million in economic development grants.

Open Society Institute's Economic & Business Development Program
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/business/focus_areas/business

Through a variety of innovative approaches and demanded services, the Economic and Business Development Program (EBD) provides the foundation and opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, and donors to achieve their goals of self-employment, effective growth, and self-reliance.  The Open Society prefers grants that propose programs for regions outside of the United States.

NEO's Fund for the Economic Future
http://www.futurefundneo.org/

The Fund for Our Economic Future ("The Fund?) is an unprecedented collaboration among the philanthropic sector of Northeast Ohio to promote regional economic development.  Areas of focus include:  business growth and attraction, workforce development and educational excellence, growth through racial and economic inclusion, and government collaboration and efficiency.

The AT&T Foundation
http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=7743

The AT&T Foundation is committed to enhancing community development through programs that encourage small business development and entrepreneurship as well as job creation, attraction and retention; provide economic development opportunities in low-income areas, including community revitalization efforts and job training; integrate technology to strengthen nonprofits; develop leadership capacities for underserved populations; provide technology access/instruction for the underserved; and community-driven technology outreach and infrastructure initiatives.

Kellogg Foundation Food Systems and Rural Development Grants
http://www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid=54&CID=4&NID=17&LanguageID=0

The rural development program goal is to fund collaborative, comprehensive and inclusive approaches to rural economic development that emphasize community problem-solving, leadership development, entrepreneurship development, and delivery of human, social, and economic services. It also strives to enable rural people to raise the national awareness of rural communities’ potential and problems.

The Ford Foundation
http://www.fordfound.org/program/asset_main.cfm

The Asset Building and Community Development program helps strengthen and increase the effectiveness of people and organizations working to find solutions to problems of poverty and injustice. Grant resources are focused in two program units in New York and abroad, and support people who are building human, social, financial and environmental assets that enable people and communities to expand opportunities, to exert control over their lives and to participate in their societies in meaningful and effective ways

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
http://www.benedum.org/pages.cfm?id=2

The purpose of these grants is to encourage human development in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania through strategically placed charitable resources. Funded programs are divided into four categories:  education, health and human services, community development, and economic development.  The website also includes a searchable directory of programs and grants offered by the Foundation.

Freddie Mac Foundation
http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/grants/

Freddie Mac, through its Corporate Giving program and the Foundation, is one of the largest corporate givers in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Grants are made for direct service projects, general operating support, capacity building, public awareness, and planning and capital projects.  Grants should focus on pre-school, elementary, and high school education and support, children and families in crisis, and public education and awareness.

The Bradley Foundation
http://www.bradleyfdn.org/

The Bradley Foundation is a private, independent grant making organization based in Milwaukee. Its grants support research and educational projects, programs, and other activities that effectively further the Bradley brothers' philanthropic intent and honor their legacy. Priority is given to grants that improve education, promote economic growth and prosperity, revitalize civil society, strengthen private initiative, defend and advance freedom, promote intellectual infrastructure, and sustain the legacy of the greater Milwaukee area. 

The German Marshall Fund of the United States
http://www.gmfus.org/grants/index.cfm

Through its grant making, The German Marshall Fund’s Economics program supports a wide range of institutions and individuals working on various economic, trade, agriculture, and development issues.  Most applications are accepted upon invitation, but unsolicited projects do receive consideration. 

New England Biolab Foundation
http://www.nebf.org/funding_priorities.html

This NEBF is an independent private foundation which supports grassroots organizations working with the environment, social change, the arts, elementary education, and science.  The Foundation’s funding priorities are targeted to environmental issues with special program interests in: Marine conservation, estuary protection, sustainable economic development, sustainable organic agriculture, and environmental education for teachers or elementary school students.   

The Rockefeller Family Fund
http://www.rffund.org/

For almost forty years, the Rockefeller Family Fund has worked at the cutting edge of advocacy in such areas as environmental protection, advancing the economic rights of women, and holding public and private institutions accountable for their actions.  The Fund does not ordinarily consider projects which pertain to a single community, except in the rare instance where a project is unique, strategically placed to advance a national issue, or is likely to serve as a national model.

Community Connections:  Funding Sources
http://www.comcon.org/resources/funding/default.asp

This database is a one-stop website for finding information regarding funding sources for community and economic development.  Search and find information regarding government, corporate, and private sector funding. 

Western Carolina University's External Foundation Directory
http://www.wcu.edu/research/R_fund_ext_fdn_1.htm

This directory lists several private foundations that provide funding in various areas, such as economic development.  Entries are listed alphabetically and the site also offers tips on how to approach private funding foundations.

Grants.gov
http://www.grants.gov

This site is a great way to find and apply for federal government grants. There are over 1,000 grant programs offered by all Federal grant making agencies. Managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Grants.gov helps organizations to electronically find and apply for more than $400 billion in Federal grants.  This site allows users to easily search through all federal grants by category, agency, or keyword. 

Chapel Hill Funding Source Directory
http://research.unc.edu/grantsource/funding_databases.php

This directory organizes funding source databases into four specific categories to help your community find the opportunity that is best for you.  These categories are:  multidisciplinary databases, federal databases, specialized databases for all uses, and specialized databases for graduate students.

Western Carolina University's External Government Agency Directory
http://www.wcu.edu/research/R_fund_ext_fed_1.htm

This directory lists several government agencies that provide funding in various areas, such as economic development.  Entries are listed alphabetically and the site also provides links to other extensive government funding directories.

The Grantsmanship Center (TGCI)
http://tgci.com/funding.shtml

The TGCI offers a very thorough and easy to navigate funding directory, as well as offering workshops and other resources for those looking to receive grant money for their own projects.  This site allows you to search for international, federal, or local grants by state.  Each state is further broken up into the four categories of top grant makers, community foundations, corporate giving programs, and the state's homepage.