Grant Information Guide

About

Rural communities across New England and New York are rich in assets, ideas, and opportunities—yet many struggle to attract the investment necessary to meet local needs and priorities. At the same time, investors often overlook viable rural projects due to perceived risks, limited scale, or misalignment with traditional funding models.

The Rural Investment Project (tRIP) believes in the power and promise of rural areas, and seeks to ensure these communities attract the investments and capacity they deserve. To that end, tRIP aims to better understand why some rural communities face barriers to attracting investment, why good investment opportunities to improve rural communities are often overlooked by funders, and to share strategies that can help address these challenges. The initiative is guided by a national Steering Committee of rural investment practitioners and project managed in partnership by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) and Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC).

As part of the initiative, the Rural Investment Project is releasing a Project Grant Opportunity (3-5 awards up to $40,000 each) to support and learn from multi-town partnerships, collaboratives, and development hubs that are advancing projects that lead to economic transformation in a rural place. Applications should indicate that the projects are either seeking diverse types of capital (debt, grant, public finance, etc) or are currently utilizing different types of capital to implement their project(s). Grant awardees are able to choose where to apply their grant awards in service of advancing their project or pipeline of projects.

An independent jury that is made up of the Steering Committee, and does not include FRBB or NBRC staff, will select the grantee awards. Funding for this one-time grant offering comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support research and learning, not from the FRBB or NBRC. Grants will be made by a fiscal agent for the Rural Investment Project. 

In addition to the grant, awardees will have the opportunity to learn from other rural places about their successful projects, showcase their projects to other rural partners, and shape the learning that comes out of the project. Awardees also will be invited to a capstone event with peers and funding partners across New England and New York to share what is working and how the field of community finance can build on the strengths of rural communities.

Eligibility

Proposed projects associated with requested funding must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Applicants must be multi-town partnerships, collaboratives or development hubs. A municipality may also be an eligible applicant if it is acting as fiscal agent for a multi-town or regional partnership, collaborative or development hub.
2. The lead applicant for the project must be a core project partner and a nonprofit organization or entity, able to provide required financial documentation if selected for the award. (See Awardee Requirements)
3. The project must be located in a designated NBRC or FRBB area of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont or New York. Applicants with projects in the following counties are eligible to apply:
   
   • Maine: Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington
   • Massachusetts: Berkshire and Franklin
   • New Hampshire: Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coӧs, Grafton, Merrimack, and Sullivan
   • New York: Cayuga, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Orleans, Oswego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Sullivan, Washington, Warren, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates
   • Vermont (all of the state): Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham, and Windsor
4. The project must benefit ”a region”, defined as a group of interconnected communities that share a common vision, aligned goals, and a natural interdependence—where progress in one area generates benefits across the broader region. Regions may be linked by shared infrastructure such as schools, public safety services, or utilities.
5. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to collaboration across partners and a community-based inclusive engagement or decision-making process. The project should be able to demonstrate how it will improve economic conditions for people who live in the region.
6. Applications should represent a project or pipeline of projects with a finalized project plan, project goals and outcomes, budgets, implementation activities, defined partner/stakeholder roles and responsibilities, timelines, milestones etc. It is important that the project(s) are using or intend to use diverse types of capital (e.g., debt, grant, public finance). We are not looking for projects in the planning stages.
7. In keeping with NBRC’s mission focused on the most distressed counties in its region and the FRBB’s overarching mission to support a vibrant economy for all, not just some, the projects should advance economic prosperity for places facing long term economic hardship and/or people experiencing long term financial insecurity.

Use of Funds

Grant funds may be used for the following allowable expenditures:

• Internal organizational capacity (e.g., staffing, operating support, learning opportunities)
• External capacity or expertise (e.g., engineering, contracting, consulting)
• Time and expenses to plan for and host tRIP project team (NBRC, FRBB) for a learning visit

Funds may not be used to:

• Carry on propaganda or otherwise attempt to influence legislation
• Attempt to influence the outcome of any specific election
• Lobby for any political activity or legislative outcome 
• Purchase major capital expenditures (e.g., property or building acquisition, renovations)

Ideally, funds will be expended within six-months of receiving them.

Awardee Requirements

Documentation

Upon award, grantees will be asked to supply the following:

• IRS certification letter of tax exempt status
• Most recent year of audited financial statement with management letter, if applicable
• Signed grant agreement by authorized official
• Bank and wiring information for payments

Learning Visits

Awardees will be asked to host members of the project team (NBRC, FRBB) for a day to learn what gets in the way and what helps advance their pipeline of projects, and potentially host peers from inside and outside their region for a half day learning lab to exchange about their project(s). Awarded funds may go to support hosting these visits.

Grant Timeline

June 1, 2026: Application period opens 
June 17, 2026: Information session at 2:00 PM (EDT) | Register here
June 30, 2026: Applications due by 5:00 PM (EDT)
July 31, 2026: Grant awards announced

Application Process

Instructions for prospective applicants:

• Register for the Information Webinar on June 17, 2026 @ 2:00 PM (EDT). (optional)
• Submit your grant application via the online form. (preview the form on the next page)
• Grant applications are due June 30, 2026 by 5:00 PM (EDT).
• Awardees will be notified in late July 2026.
• Grant monies will be distributed to awardees by the project's fiscal agent.

Applicants will be asked to submit and demonstrate the following:

• Applicant information: from an eligible entity
• Project overview: about your project and why this funding is important
• Regional context and need: surrounding conditions of the challenge and the process by which you determined the need, including community engagement
• Regional collaboration: who are the partners and what does each bring to the project
• Project timeline and investment readiness: project phasing
• Funding structure: what funding/financing is secured and still needed
• Impact: anticipated community outcomes upon completion

All applicants must identify in their own words the step or phase that their project or process is in, why flexible funding is critical at this stage, and how they intend to use an award. We are interested in understanding development milestones, to help identify when and how funding options work best for rural communities.

Project Examples 

1. A rural development hub or intermediary applies to support their new center for entrepreneurship and innovation. The center includes a comprehensive suite of small business support resources, including business boot camps, entrepreneurship start up pitch contests, and coworking space. Current funding to support the center includes grants from local banks, a mission aligned loan from a CDFI, and private equity and historic tax credits from a private developer that financed the purchase of the downtown building. Establishing new, high growth businesses in machining, wood products, and tech-based service business is part of the rural development hub's 5-year strategy to diversify the economy. Two towns in the region have chronically high rates of unemployment, double that of the statewide average.
2. A regional development organization applies on behalf of three communities that are building a microgrid for energy reliance and security.  The microgrid is part of a regional food and agricultural hub that is working with local farmers to build and capture new forms of energy from their farms.  The microgrid will help distribute the energy capture from the farmers and help the farmers earn new revenue to stabilize their businesses and other agriculture-related businesses in the region. The microgrid has already received a grant from USDA Rural Development and is seeking debt from a mission aligned philanthropist that will allow repayment of a loan to finance the microgrid over 20 years at favorable terms.  The regional development organization is seeking other grants and debt from banks, CDFIs, and philanthropy to fill the remaining financing gaps for the project.   
3. A municipality applies on behalf of a multi-town growth council to finish a riverway project that connects park land and redevelops multiple riverfront building sites in their town and adjacent towns. The municipality has purchased some of the riverfront sites using a municipal bond, federal brownfield grants, and through a partnership with a developer who is bringing private equity to two of the redevelopment sites. Part of the project will be the completion of a  spur trail that will connect its downtown as a welcome center node on a regional outdoor recreation trail. The municipality is part of a regional growth council that formed five years ago to combine priorities, assets, and resources across multiple towns. The growth council has completed an economic development strategy that engaged the community in visioning and priority setting after paper mills closed in two of the towns . Outdoor recreation is a key pillar of the strategy.

Questions

All questions may be directed to the Rural Investment Project consultant: 
Contact: Holly Fowler, Northbound Ventures Consulting
Email: holly@northboundventures.com
Phone: 617-899-9690 

NOTE: This is a preview of the Rural Investment Project Grant application form to help potential applicants prepare. To begin the actual application form, please visit the online form. Applicants are able to begin, save, and return to edit an application until it is submitted.