Council briefing

Grants for small towns: finding, winning, and keeping the money.

Where the money is, what makes a project fundable, and what the award requires after the check arrives.

Three parts, fifteen minutes

Find

Where the money is

The programs a town this size can actually use, and when they open.

Win

What gets funded

What reviewers score, what readiness looks like, and why applications lose.

Keep

What the award requires

Reporting, procurement, and closeout, the part nobody budgets time for.

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Funders give to plans, not to needs.

Every town needs money. The ones that get it have a project defined, a plan it belongs to, and the match already in hand.

Where the money is for a town this size

Program	What it funds	What to know
Community Crossings (INDOT)	Roads, bridges, sidewalks, ADA ramps, preservation	State pays 80% for towns under 10,000, up to $1 million a year. Approved asset management plan required.
CDBG through OCRA	Water and sewer, stormwater, Main Street, blight clearance, community facilities	Two rounds a year. Applications must be prepared by an OCRA-certified grant administrator.
Indiana DNR	Parks, trails, outdoor recreation	Land and Water Conservation Fund and Next Level Trails; a local match is required.
USDA Rural Development	Water and waste systems, community facilities, equipment	Grants and low-interest loans, often combined. Rolling applications.
Community foundations and CreatINg Places	Small projects, equipment, planning; parks, plazas, and streetscapes	Foundations: quick decisions, letter of inquiry first. CreatINg Places matches an online campaign dollar for dollar, up to $50,000.
Regional and federal	Quality of place, hazard mitigation, broadband, energy	READI through the regional authority; federal programs through annual notices with short windows.

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What makes a project fundable

A defined scope

One project, a drawing or description, and a current cost estimate, ideally from an engineer.

A plan it belongs to

Comprehensive plan, capital improvement plan, or asset management plan that already names it.

The match in hand

Identified, and committed by council resolution before the application goes in.

Site and clearances

Site control, and environmental review started where the program requires it.

Support on paper

Letters from partners, survey results, public meeting minutes.

Someone to run it

A named administrator for reporting, procurement, and closeout.

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The grant-ready binder

Nearly every application asks for the same documents. Assemble them once and every future application starts half done.

Last two years of budgets and financial statements

Adopted comprehensive plan and capital improvement plan

Approved asset management plan for roads and bridges

Council resolution templates for match and authorization

Procurement policy and conflict-of-interest disclosures

SAM.gov registration and unique entity ID for federal funds

ADA transition plan and Title VI plan

Maps, parcel records, and proof of site control

Income survey or census data for low-to-moderate income programs

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Grants have seasons

Program	When it opens	Lead time to be ready
Community Crossings	One call per state fiscal year; the current call closes September 30, 2026, with awards announced late in the year	3 to 6 months, and the asset management plan must already be approved
CDBG through OCRA	Two rounds a year: proposals first, full applications about two months later	6 to 12 months for income survey, engineering, and environmental review
DNR parks and trails	Annual rounds	6 months; a park master plan helps
Community foundations	Quarterly or rolling, letter of inquiry first	1 to 2 months
Federal programs	Annual notices, often with 60- to 90-day windows	Registration and planning done before the notice appears

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How reviewers score

Read the rubric first

Every state program publishes its scoring. Write to the points, in the funder's own words.

Prove readiness

Adopted plans, resolutions, engineer's estimate, site control. Readiness points are the easiest to earn and the most often left on the table.

Count everything

Households served, miles improved, income levels, jobs. Numbers beat adjectives.

Submit early

Technical assistance ends before the deadline. Questions asked the last day go unanswered.

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Why applications lose

The match was not secured, or was promised without a resolution

The scope was vague or the cost estimate was years old

The project was not in any adopted plan

Wrong program for the project, or the town was not eligible

A prerequisite was missing: asset management plan, income survey, environmental review

A past grant was overdue or never closed out

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Winning is the middle of the job.

The award comes with rules on how the money is spent, documented, and closed out, and the next application depends on getting them right.

After the award: what the money requires

Requirement	What it means for the town
Reporting and drawdowns	Progress and financial reports on the funder's schedule; money released against documented expenses, not up front.
Procurement	Indiana public purchasing and public works statutes apply, with federal rules layered on top for federal dollars.
Prevailing wage	Davis-Bacon wage rates and payroll checks on federally funded construction.
Environmental review	Completed and cleared before ground breaks on CDBG and most federal projects.
Records and audit	Files kept for years after closeout; the State Board of Accounts will look.
Closeout	Final reports, final draw, and a clean file. An open or overdue grant can block the next award.

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How a project actually gets funded

Few projects are paid for by one grant. A funding stack combines sources, and each one strengthens the case for the next.

Lead grant

The largest source, matched to the project type: Community Crossings, CDBG, DNR, USDA.

Second grant

A complementary program for a distinct piece: lighting, trail connection, ADA ramps.

Local share

EDIT, local income tax, cumulative funds, or a bond; sometimes an SRF loan counts as match.

Philanthropy

Community foundation grants and a CreatINg Places crowdfunding campaign with state match.

In-kind

Donated land, volunteer labor, or town crews where the program allows it.

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How Civic & Main helps

Research report

Every program that fits one project, ranked, with deadlines, match, and what the town still needs to qualify.

Application

Written to the rubric and submitted, with the resolutions, exhibits, and letters assembled.

Administration

Reporting, procurement, environmental review, and closeout after the award, so the next application starts clean.

Fixed fee, quoted in writing. Never a percentage of the award: funders prohibit it, and it is against the grant profession's code of ethics.

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Next steps

A free 30-minute consultation

Bring three things and you will leave with a ranked list of programs for your top project and a fixed price for the application.

Your project list, even if it is just a page of ideas
Any adopted plans: comprehensive, capital improvement, asset management
Last year's budget and the status of any open grants

info@civicandmain.com
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Sources

Indiana Department of Transportation, Community Crossings Matching Grant: FY2027 call for projects and program changes following the 2025 legislative session (one call per year, $1 million local cap, 80/20 match for towns under 10,000)
Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, CDBG 2026 Round 1 Construction Instructions and 2026 Round 2 Instructions: programs, rounds, certified grant administrator requirement, match rules
OCRA, 2025 Round 2 program updates: Main Street Revitalization scoring and award maximums
Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Land and Water Conservation Fund and Next Level Trails program pages
USDA Rural Development: Community Facilities and Water and Waste Disposal programs
Indiana Code 5-22 (public purchasing) and 36-1-12 (public works); 2 CFR 200 (federal Uniform Guidance)

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