We post grants and other items of interest to small town governments, specifically in western Oklahoma. You can subscribe to updates in the box in the right sidebar.
Would your small town library like to host a feature on popular music? The National Endowment for the Humanities has a program that might be a good match for an outstanding small town library. Small towns and rural communities are listed specifically as a target.
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Music program at the Newcastle Library.
Photo (cc) by Pioneer Library System. |
America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway is a six-week public program featuring documentary film screenings and scholar-led discussions of twentieth-century American popular music. ... The project will provide DVDs of compelling documentary films, discussion guidelines, original essays by eminent scholars, extensive resource guides, and Web support. The project will offer participating organizations training in how to organize, promote, and run the series successfully. All libraries and nonprofit organizations selected to implement the public program will receive grants of $2,500 for project expenses. Fifty organizations (libraries and other eligible nonprofits) will be selected to receive a grant to present this series of community programs on the history of American popular music. The grantee institutions are expected to offer the programs between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013.
Local governmental agencies are eligible. Small towns and rural communities are specifically mentioned as targeted underserved audiences. Application deadline is March 14, 2012.
Find out more at
Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway.
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A new Greensburg, KS, water tower
went up after the 2007 tornado. |
The USDA Rural Development provides Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants for communities in rural areas and cities under 10,000 in population.
The emergency must include a significant decline in the quantity or quality of drinking water, but can also include the imminent threat of decline. Listed emergencies include natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and chemical spills.
Grants for new water sources may be funded up to $500,000, and grants for distribution may be up to $150,000.
Details are available at
Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants.
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| Photo by Laurie Reyes' daughter, Lacie. |
The Bikes Belong Grant Program funds bike trail projects across the U.S. The Facilities project funds bike paths, lanes, trails and bridges, end-of-trail facilities, mountain bike facilities, bike parks and BMX facilities.
It would mesh well with
Oklahoma Recreational Trails Grants Program projects that include bike facilities.
Funding is limited to $10,000, and the minimum match is 1 to 1. Oklahoma communities that have successfully applied in the past are Enid and Yukon.
Cities and towns are encouraged to partner with local riders groups or clubs to carry out the project. Find out more at the
Bikes Belong Grant Program.
Support entrepreneurs and small businesses with
RBEG funds from the USDA Rural Development. These funds are exceptionally flexible for economic development projects. Eligible uses include:
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Economic development projects are eligible
for RBEG funding from USDA. |
- Acquisition or development of land, easements, or rights of way;
- Construction, conversion, renovation, of buildings, plants, machinery, equipment, access streets and roads, parking areas, utilities;
- Pollution control and abatement;
- Capitalization of revolving loan funds including funds that will make loans for start ups and working capital;
- Training and technical assistance;
- Distance adult learning for job training and advancement;
- Rural transportation improvement;
- And project planning.
Any project funded under the RBEG program should benefit small and emerging private businesses in rural areas. Small and emerging private businesses are those that will employ 50 or fewer new employees and have less than $1 million in projected gross revenues.
Towns with population of fewer than 50,000 are eligible. Grants usually range from $10,000 to $500,000 and smaller projects get higher priority. Applications can be made at local USDA Rural Development offices.
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Water systems require
constant maintenance. |
The USDA Rural Development offers
grants and loans to develop water and waste disposal systems in rural areas and towns smaller than 10,000.
Fund can be used for construction, land acquisition, legal and engineering fees, initial operation and maintenance, as long as the projects primarily benefit rural users.
Applications are accepted year round at Rural Development offices.
