347467 - Rural Innovation Grant
Funding Opportunity Details

Rural Revitalization

Final Application Deadline: Aug 31, 2023 4:00 PM

Description

• The Rural Innovation Grant program seeks to support creative ideas that address current issues and challenges faced by rural communities associated with the themes of community investment, growth and connection. The word "innovation" is derived from the Latin verb innovare, which means to renew. So at its root, innovation means to improve or to replace something, such as a process, a product, or a service. It is the concept of bringing creativity into implementation with a definitive outcome. This grant is designed to support the implementation stage of projects.

  The program, defined in Iowa Administrative Code, is administered by the Center for Rural Revitalization, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative Task Forces.

  Informational Webinar

  Wednesday, July 19, 10-11 AM: Register online

  Funding

  Grant Request Amount

  Applicants may request funding for eligible one-time project expenses that are incurred and expended within the eligible funding period.

  Minimum Grant Request: $10,000
  Maximum Grant Request: $50,000

  Match Requirement

  Applicants are required to demonstrate investment in projects by providing a minimum of 1:1/2 cash match. The cash match must be secured, dedicated to eligible expenses, a legitimate part of the proposed project and must be expended within the eligible funding period. The 1:1/2 match requirement may be raised through a combination of public and private sources but may not include in-kind donations of goods or services, unsecured funding, or loans. For example, an applicant that requests $10,000 in grant funds must have at least $5,000 in cash match. While the minimum match requirement is 1:1/2, competitive proposals will demonstrate broad-based financial support for their project and that public funding sources have been adequately leveraged to seek and obtain private dollars.

  • Cash match constitutes actual cash contributed to direct project expenses by the applicant or other funding sources.
  • Funding from state government that is already being used as match from another program, including other funds from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, cannot be used to meet the match requirement.

  Funding Period

  All project activities and incurred expenses must occur within the eligible contracted funding period. Funding is awarded to grant recipients on a reimbursement basis after expenses have been incurred for approved project activities within the eligible funding period. Expenses that are incurred before or after the eligible funding period are not eligible for reimbursement.

  Disbursement of Funds

  Disbursements will be made on a reimbursement basis. Disbursement claims must be for an amount equal to or greater than $1,000 per request. All claims must be made through Iowagrants.gov. When submitting a claim, the following items are required:

  · An invoice and proof of payment.
  · A status report for the claim period. Status reports must be received once per quarter. If no funds are requested, recipients should still file a status report.
  · Additional documentation requested by IEDA, as needed.

  ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  Eligible Applicants

  Iowa businesses, colleges and universities, city or county government, and private 501(c)3 nonprofit agencies and foundations are eligible to apply. A single entity must be selected to serve as the primary applicant for grant funding applications; however, the project should include collaboration between a consortium of partners. The selected primary applicant must meet the definition of eligible applicant. The applicant will be responsible for submitting eligible material during the funding application process and will be the entity legally obligated to the terms of an agreement if awarded funding. Partners and collaborating entities are not subject to the eligibility requirements but may be subject to financial and programmatic review during the selection process.

  Projects/programs must exist in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer and not contiguous (sharing a common border) to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater.

  Eligible Project Checklist

  Eligible and competitive projects must fulfill the following criteria:

  • Project is unique in its design or implementation.
  • Project can be replicated in other rural communities of similar size and situation.
  • Project has multiple partners engaged in its success.
  • Project has not been implemented in other communities in Iowa
  • Project will have local impact beyond an individual business or organization.
  • Project is either a new solution to an existing challenge or a new application of an existing solution.

  If your project does not fall into one of these criteria, attend the informational webinar, contact the program manager at rural@iowaeda.com, or consider another grant opportunity through the Center for Rural Revitalization.

  ONLINE APPLICATION SUBMISSION

  Applicants must apply via IowaGrants.gov, an online application portal. Applications will not be accepted in any other format. Late, incomplete, or ineligible applications will not be accepted. Applicants must create a login to view the full application for the program.

  REVIEW PROCESS

  Applications will be reviewed for completion, eligibility, and adherence to published guidelines. Applications are reviewed as submitted. New application information or subsequent application clarification submitted after a program deadline is not considered. Eligible applications will be referred to a competitive review by a volunteer panel that includes the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative Task Force members and expert professionals (grant review committee). The grant review committee reserves the right to recommend conditional funding and partial funding of projects. Funding recommendations will be submitted by the committee to the executive director of the IEDA for consideration and approval. The applicant’s authorized official will receive award notification. All funding decisions are final.

  Extra consideration is provided to projects that have been endorsed by the Iowa Great Places Citizen’s Advisory Board (additional 5 points added to score total), as well as those located in a community of 5,000 or fewer (additional 5 points added to score total).

  Additional Information

  Additional information, including guidelines and scoring rubric are available on the Center for Rural Revitalization web site at https://www.iowaeda.com/center-for-rural-revitalization/rural-innovation-grant/