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Michigan’s Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP) is offering a grant opportunity to promote the sustainability of land-based industries and support the infrastructure, economies, workforce, and communities in rural Michigan. Applicants to the Rural Development Fund may request up to $100,000 for community and business development grants, and up to $200,000 for regional collaboration grants, with a 20% applicant match required. Letters of Intent are due November 2, 2026.

What is the program’s purpose?

Funded by tax revenue from mining, the purpose of the Rural Development Fund is to promote the sustainability of land-based industries and support the infrastructure, economies, workforce, and communities in rural Michigan. Land-based industries include Food and Agriculture; Forestry; Mining; Oil and Gas Production; and Tourism.

The grant funds are available for projects that address expansion and sustainability of land-based industries; worker training related to land-based industries; and energy, transportation, communications, water, and wastewater infrastructure to benefit rural communities.

What are the funding areas?

Funding will be focused on the following categories of projects in rural areas:

Category 1: Community and Business Development (1-year, up to $100,000)

Infrastructure & Community Facilities:

• Improvements or development of roadways, bridges, renewable energy, wastewater facilities, municipal and/or community-owned buildings, rural housing, broadband, and other built infrastructure.
• Plans, assessments, or engineering necessary to implement infrastructure improvements.

Workforce, Community, & Economic Development

• Projects that improve local and regional workforce and economic development needs such as workforce development programs, housing, childcare, recreation and cultural facilities, tourism, transportation, health, and food access and production.
• Plans, studies, or assessments necessary to implement workforce, community, and economic development projects.
• Capacity-building activities (e.g., housing specialists, economic development coordinators, planning support roles) that are necessary to implement workforce, community, and economic development projects.

Business Development

• Plans, assessments, studies, and engineering that will identify opportunities for new investment, markets, and business development, with an emphasis on land-based industries
• Projects that will ensure long-term creation or retention of jobs with a strong local and/or regional impact.

Category 2: Regional Collaboration (2-year, up to $200,000)

• Projects that demonstrate new, formalized shared-service models (i.e. shared administrative costs) that support regional planning, workforce, and economic development and increase the capacity of regional, multi-county organizations to meet local planning, workforce, and economic development needs to increase the sustainability of land-based industries.

Who is eligible to apply?

A project is considered eligible for funding if it serves or is located within an eligible rural community as determined by ORP. Eligible applicants include:

• Individuals
• Organizations
• Businesses
• Local Units of Government (county, city, township, village, school district; any authority composed of counties, cities, townships, villages and school districts or combination of these entities)
• Federally Recognized Tribes
• Educational Institutions (i.e., universities, community colleges). Note: while the educational institution applying for funding may be in an urban area, the project itself must serve one or more eligible rural areas.
• Regional planning agencies and economic or workforce development organizations

What is the application timeline?

Letters of Intent are due November 2, 2026. Select applicants will be invited to submit a full application by January 13, 2027. Award funding will be announced in April 2027.

The 2027 Rural Development Fund Guidelines can be found here.

For more information on this grant or how to apply with Morrison’s assistance, please contact the Morrison Grants Team by email at grants@morrisonco.net or call us at 530-893-4764.