Last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands Lakeisha Hood Moise announced the availability of grants to help repair essential community facilities that were damaged by the Adkins Avenue and Chipola Complex Fires, as well as Tropical Storms Nicole and Ian and Hurricanes Nicole and Ian in calendar year 2022.
The facilities must be located in eligible rural areas and presidentially declared disaster areas.
“The Biden-Harris administration and USDA stand ready to deploy every resource we have available to help families and individuals rebuild their lives and their communities,” Hood Moise said. “The assistance I’m announcing today will help rural communities across this state have the resources they need to repair essential community facilities that were damaged by natural disasters in 2022. Under the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris and Secretary Vilsack, USDA remains committed to helping America’s rural communities build back better by making rural infrastructure – including vital community facilities – more resilient in the face of increasingly severe floods, wildfires, hurricanes and other risks.”
USDA is making up to $50 million in grants available through the Community Facilities Disaster Repair Grants Program, which received supplemental disaster funding under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Eligible entities may apply to receive up to 75 percent of total project costs to help repair community facilities that were damaged by natural disasters in 2022. Eligible organizations include public bodies, federally recognized Indian Tribes and community-based nonprofits.
Funds may be used to:
Repair essential community facilities,
Replace damaged equipment or vehicles,
Purchase new equipment to undertake repairs.
The communities must be located in presidentially declared disaster areas in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington or West Virginia.
Applications for Community Facilities Disaster Repair Grants will be accepted on a continual basis until all funds are exhausted. There is no minimum or maximum grant limit per project.
For more information on how to apply, visit here.
The funds come through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. These funds are part of the series of disaster grant funds USDA is making available to help rural people in presidentially declared disaster areas who were impacted by natural disasters in 2022. Disaster grant funds will help rural communities repair water infrastructure and essential community facilities and help very-low- and low-income homeowners repair damaged homes.
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