The Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) is pleased to announce the availability of funding from the Rural Development Fund (RDF), through the 2025 Community One Stop for Growth.
Donor Name: Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED)
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/05/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The RDF is a competitive grant program created to provide financial support for a variety of activities related to economic and community development in rural communities and small towns throughout the Commonwealth.
Eligible municipalities and other public entities are invited to submit project proposals to be considered for funding. The program is designed to support projects that address the unique economic needs and challenges faced by smaller communities, which sometimes includes difficulty competing against larger cities/towns for grant resources. RDF offers grants for a variety of project types, including community planning efforts, predevelopment activities, and/or construction.
Funding Information
Grants in this category will likely be in the $50,000-$500,000 range. Projects that apply under the “Planning and Zoning” category will be limited to no more than $100,000 per application. Grants in all other categories will be limited to a maximum of $500,000. At its discretion, EOED may make partial awards, for an amount less than requested by an applicant or make grants over $500K, as appropriate. All funding for this program is subject to annual appropriation.
Eligible Projects 
The program will consider a variety of projects for funding support. Examples of project types that may be submitted for considered include, but may not be limited to the following (projects listed under the corresponding Development Continuum categories):

Planning and Zoning Category (generally, grant requests are for consulting services)

Create a housing production plan to better understand housing needs of the community and identify strategies to reduce gaps in existing housing relative to identified needs.
If applicable, create a multi-family zoning district near a transit station to comply with M.G.L. Chapter 40A, Section 3A.
Conduct a zoning review to identify and remove language that hinders economic growth, such as housing and/or commercial development.
Create a plan to update zoning rules to unlock potential housing production and economic development growth.

Site Preparation Category (generally entails hiring of consultants, engineers, and/or contractors)

Create a site master plan, including predevelopment activities, on an underutilized commercial property with the intent to create mixed use that may include affordable housing.
Conduct design, engineering, and/or permitting activities to address changes to existing water, sewer and stormwater in a prospective development site.
Demolish a blighted building that cannot be recovered to prepare a portion of a parcel or an entire parcel for mixed-use redevelopment that may include affordable housing.

Buildings (generally entails hiring of consultants, engineers, and/or contractors)

Conduct design, engineering, and/or permitting activities to address ADA accessibility requirements for public buildings and resources.
Rehabilitate housing to bring an underutilized property back onto the market.
Provide further subsidies to an affordable housing project to directly create affordable housing units or increase the number of affordable units in a new housing project.

Infrastructure (generally entails hiring of engineers and contractors)

Conduct design, engineering, permitting, and construction for road improvements, including projects that address public safety concerns, such as dangerous road conditions and/or imminent collapse of a bridge or culvert.
Conduct design, engineering, and/or permitting activities to address improvements to existing water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure.
Conduct design, engineering, and/or permitting activities to address construction of a new water line connection to an adjacent town or making plans to consolidate water districts for an area served only by wells.
Conduct design, engineering, permitting, and construction of alternative transportation infrastructure to address ADA accessibility requirements for pedestrians and cyclists between residential and/or commercial areas.

Eligibility Criteria 
A municipal government, or other public entity, from any Massachusetts town that meets (based on the 2020 Census data) the definition of a Rural Community (having less than 500 persons per square mile) and/or a Small Town (having a total population of 7,000 or less persons). Other public entities may include a Public Housing Authority, Redevelopment Authority, Water/Sewer District, Economic Development Industrial Corporation, a public body created by legislative act, etc. Regional Planning Agencies may also be eligible applicants if applying on behalf of a clearly identified and eligible public entity or entities within their assigned region, with clear and evident support from those communities. Applications must be submitted by a single lead applicant. However, a lead applicant may submit a joint application in partnership with one or more other eligible applicant(s).
For more information, visit EOED.