Meetings Planned to Discuss Accessing Kentucky G.R.A.N.T. Funds

Two events have been scheduled to help cities better prepare to utilize funds made available through House Bill 9 (2023):

Oct. 6 at 9:00 a.m. EST - House Appropriations and Revenue Chairman Jason Petrie (R-Elkton) and Representative Richard Heath (R-Mayfield) will hold a virtual town hall in conjunction with the Kentucky League of Cities and Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) to outline how local governments can qualify for federal and state funding. Register for the Oct 6 briefing here.

Oct. 17 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST - Area Development District executive directors and representatives from the Interagency Working Group (IWG), USDA Rural Development (RD), and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) will discuss the legislation and available funds. The meeting will take place in the Adron Doran Ballrooms at Morehead State University (MSU). You can see a tentative agenda here. Registration will open closer to the event.

Beginning last year, the federal government allocated more than $3 trillion in competitive grants and prioritized 25 areas for billions in projects. Kentucky has two of the locations ‒ one includes 21 counties in eastern Kentucky, and the other is 20 counties in western Kentucky ‒ priming the commonwealth to receive major federal investments.

A majority of nonprofits surveyed by Grant Ready Kentucky said that grant match requirements are a significant barrier to accessing federal funding.

To mitigate this problem, Kentucky nonprofit advocates championed House Bill 9, the Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (G.R.A.N.T.) Program, sponsored by Representative Richard Heath (R-Mayfield) and cosponsored by ten representatives.

The G.R.A.N.T. Program establishes an innovative grant matching fund in Kentucky, enabling better access to federal resources for nonprofit projects in the 41 federally identified counties. Any nonprofit, local government, Area Development District (ADD), or coalition of these entities can apply for the matching component of a federal grant.

These federal grants cover a broad array of services and projects ‒ infrastructure, housing, workforce development, STEM education, agriculture, substance use disorder treatment, and more. The list is broad and expansive.

The Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG) will administer the program and prioritize public benefit projects in 41 Kentucky counties that have seen significant energy job losses. Counties not included on the list can apply as part of a regional coalition, if the federal grant project impacts one of the designated 41 counties.

KLC encourages our member cities to participate in the program. You can access the G.R.A.N.T. Program application here.

Counties included in HB 9:

Eastern Kentucky: Bell, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, and Wolfe.

Western Kentucky: Ballard, Breckinridge, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Todd, Union, and Webster.