Funding for COVID-19 Assistance in Rural Communities
The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA) is accepting applications for its Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program. There is up to $500 million in grant funding available with grant awards ranging from $25,000 to $10 million. Applications are due on October 12, 2021.
What is the purpose of this program? The purpose of this program is to help broaden access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, rural health care services, and food assistance through food banks and food distribution facilities. Funding is distributed to eligible applicants through two tracks:
- Track One: Recovery Grants provide immediate relief to address economic conditions arising from the COVID-19 emergency.
- Track Two: Impact Grants advance ideas and solutions to solve regional rural health care problems to support the long-term sustainability of rural health.
Who is eligible to apply? Eligible applicants include:
- Public bodies;
- Community-based nonprofits; and
- Federally-recognized Tribes.
Track Two applicants also must establish a network or group of health care provider organizations, economic development entities, or institutions of higher learning (which may include academic health and research institutes).
What is an eligible area?
Rural areas including cities, villages, towns, townships, and federally-recognized Tribal lands with no more than 20,000 residents – as determined by the latest U.S. Census data available – are considered eligible areas. Facilities and projects must be located in – and primarily serve – rural areas.
What projects are eligible? Grant funds must be used to support health care and nutritional assistance in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible projects will address this through one of the following tracks:
Track One: These projects will support immediate health care needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, to help prepare for a future pandemic event or to increase access to quality health care services and improve community health outcomes. Applicants may request assistance to execute one or more of the activities listed below:
- Increase capacity for vaccine distribution
- Provide medical supplies and equipment to increase medical surge capacity
- Reimburse for lost health care related-revenue used to maintain capacity during the pandemic
- Increase telehealth capabilities, including underlying healthcare information systems
- Construct temporary or permanent structures to provide health care services
- Support staffing needs for testing or vaccine administration
- Support facilities, equipment, and operating expenses associated with food banks and food distribution facilities
Track Two: These projects will support the long-term sustainability of rural health care. Long-term sustainability is defined as “improved health outcomes, improved access to quality health care, and creating and maintaining sustainable economic development for small communities.” Applicants may request assistance to execute one or more of the activities listed below:
- Establish or scale a regional partnership or group of community and health care leaders to plan, implement, and evaluate models to help solve regional health care problems and promote the long-term sustainability of rural health care
- Establish or scale evidence-based models and share lessons learned
- Identify a health-related problem within a region, develop and implement a method and solution, and conduct a program evaluation to examine health-related outcomes, long-term sustainability, and ability to successfully replicate
Are there are any funding priorities for this program? Applications will be selected for funding based on a priority point system specific to each project track.
Track One: Priority points will be allocated based on the following factors: whether the project impacts Distressed Communities as defined here, median household income, population, COVID-19 impacts, and socioeconomic equity.
Track Two: Priority points will be allocated based on whether the project impacts Distressed Communities as defined here, median household income, and population; need, methodology, and innovation; organizational capacity and strength of consortium; workplan and proposed budget; evaluation, impact, and ability to replicate; and socioeconomic equity.
What is the project period? Applicants should assume that the proposed grant period will begin no earlier than November 1, 2021 and should end no later than 36 months following that date. Eligible pre-award costs may be requested for costs incurred between March 13, 2020, and the project start date.
What are the funding levels for this program? Grant awards for Track One will range from $25,000 - $1 million; there is an estimated $350,000,000 in grant funding available for these projects.
Track Two awards will range from $5 million to $10 million; USDA intends to provide up to $125,000,000 to fund no more than 15 projects under this track. Any unobligated funds for Track Two will be made available for Track One projects.
What is the cost-sharing requirement for this program? An applicant is limited in the amount of grant funds that can be requested, depending on the population to be served and the median household income of that population. Applicants must demonstrate other sources of funds to fund the remaining portion of project costs. In these cases, grant assistance will be provided on a graduated scale with smaller communities with the lowest median household income being eligible for a higher proportion of grant funds.
The percentages of eligible project costs are:
- Up to 75 percent when the proposed project is located in a rural community having a population of 5,000 or less and the median household income of the population to be served by the proposed facility is below the poverty line or 60 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income, whichever is greater. As such, cost-sharing funds will need to cover the remaining 25% of project costs.
- Up to 55 percent when the proposed project is located in a rural community having a population of 12,000 or less and the median household income of the population to be served by the proposed facility is below the poverty line or 70 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income, whichever is greater. As such, cost-sharing funds will need to cover the remaining 45% of project costs.
- Up to 35 percent when the proposed project is located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or less and the median household income of the population to be served by the proposed facility is below the poverty line or 80 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income, whichever is greater. As such, cost-sharing funds will need to cover the remaining 65% of project costs.
- Up to 15 percent when the proposed project is located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or less and the median household income of the population to be served by the proposed facility is below the poverty line or 90 percent of the state nonmetropolitan median household income, whichever is greater. As such, cost-sharing funds will need to cover the remaining 85% of project costs.
- If requesting Track One funds for lost revenue or staffing expenses, applicants may utilize the applicable percentage of lost revenue or staffing expenses to satisfy the cost-sharing requirement, as further detailed in this program’s Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA).
In-kind contributions are not an acceptable source of cost-sharing funds. Applicants must utilize cash contributions to fund the remaining project costs and these funds must be expended for an eligible purpose.
What is the anticipated award timeline?
Track One: Applications will be accepted on a continual basis until funds are exhausted. Each USDA Rural Development state office will conduct an initial review, rating, and selection of complete applications received on October 12, 2021 by 4 p.m. local time. USDA will conduct subsequent reviews as long as funding remains available.
Track Two: Applications must be received by the applicable USDA Rural Development state office on October 12, 2021 by 4 p.m. local time. Applications received after October 12, 2021 will not be considered.
The NOFA 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.