Chamber Funding Opportunities - April 2024

There are many opportunities for chambers, chamber foundations and community partners to seek funding from government sources and the philanthropic sector. For federal opportunities, grants.gov is a comprehensive list of federal grants. Your state may have a similar website, so we encourage you to find and bookmark that site for future opportunities.

For philanthropic opportunities, grant seekers can sign up for a free account with OpenGrants to search for information about foundations and grant opportunities. Candid’s Philanthropy News Digest includes a section of published RFPs and notices of awards that is regularly updated and allows users to sign up for RFP alerts.

The best funding opportunities come from organizations with whom you already have a relationships, but it’s helpful to be aware of additional grants and awards. Here are a few that might be of interest:

• Supporting Rural Cross-Sector Partnerships: CivicLab is partnering with ten rural community and regional cross-sector partnerships around the country to develop education to employment partnerships. CivicLab will assist these rural collaboratives in developing and implementing plans to strengthen talent development ecosystems so that rural learners have paths to good jobs in their communities. In addition to direct financial support, partnerships will receive capacity-building support from CivicLab and specialized technical assistance from a network of experts. Applications are due on May 10.
• Expanding Access to Green Jobs: The GitLab Foundation is launching a Green Jobs for Economic Opportunity Fund to support organizations and multisector partnerships in exploring or developing early-stage initiatives to improve economic mobility. The foundation will award $3 million and is currently accepting proposals.
• Grants for Community Revitalization: The Kubota Tractor Corporation’s Hometown Proud community grant program is currently accepting applications. Grants can be used for a wide variety of projects that support the community. Projects must be within 50 miles of an authorized Kubota dealer to qualify. Applications are due April 12.
• Supporting Rural eConnectivity: The Department of Agriculture’s Rural eConnectivity Program (ReConnect) provides loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. Applications for this cycle are due on May 21, 2024.
• Leveraging Technology in the Nonprofit Sector: Guidelines and instructions for this year’s AWS IMAGINE Grant program have been posted. These grants are designed to empower nonprofit organizations to prioritize technology as a mission-critical component of their projects by providing support for organizations pursuing technology-driven goals. Applications for Round 1 of funding are due on June 3.

While some of these are state-specific opportunities, your state may have similar opportunities. We will post regularly as new opportunities become available. If you are looking for additional information about starting or expanding your chamber foundation, visit ACCE’s learning management system to explore relevant courses and content.