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Sustainable Communities Competitive

Grantor:
Department of Transportation
Departmental Grant ID:
Department of Transportation
Portal ID:
49214
Status:
Active
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

Encourage local and regional planning that furthers state goals, including, but not limited to, the goals and best practices cited in the Regional Transportation Plan Guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission. 

Description:

Sustainable Communities Competitive Grants are available on an annual basis and through a competitive application process.  Grants are for transportation planning activities such as planning for active transportation, safe routes to schools, transit services, vision zero, complete streets, freight corridors, social equity, integrated land use and transportation planning. The annual call-for-applications is posted on the grants website, which is advertised by Caltrans through various grant workshops for interested applicants. Grant applicants receive an award or non-award email notification in late spring/early summer. A list of award and non-awarded grants is posted to the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program website.

Grant Budget: State funds, approximately $17 million total; Approx. $3 million is set-aside for technical projects such as data acquisition or travel model updates; Approx. $500 thousand is set-aside for Tribal Governments; Program Goal: 50% of grants should benefit Disadvantaged or Underserved Communities.

Grant Minimum:$50,000 for Disadvantaged or Underserved Communities, including Native American Tribal Governments and rural communities;$100,000 for all others

Grant Maximum:$700,000

Who May Apply: The following are eligible to apply as a primary applicant: MPOs with sub-applicants; RTPAs; Transit Agencies; Cities and Counties with compliant Housing Elements and completed Annual Progress Reports; Native American Tribal Governments; and, Other Public Transportation Planning Entities.

The following are eligible to apply as a sub-applicant: MPOs/RTPAs; Transit Agencies; Universities and Community Colleges; Native American Tribal Governments; Cities and Counties with compliant Housing Elements and completed Annual Progress Reports; Community-Based Organizations; Non-Profit Organizations (501.C.3); Other Public Entities

Local Match:11.47% minimum (in cash or an in-kind* contribution). The entire minimum 11.47 % local match may be in the form of an eligible in-kind contribution. Staff time from the primary applicant counts as cash match.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Public Agency
  • Tribal Government

The following are eligible to apply as a primary applicant: MPOs with sub-applicants; RTPAs; Transit Agencies; Cities and Counties with compliant Housing Elements and completed Annual Progress Reports; Native American Tribal Governments; Other Public Transportation Planning Entities.

Matching Funding Requirement:

The match requirement is actually 11.47% and is calculated as a percentage of the total project cost, which consists of the grant amount plus the local match amount.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
Summer 2024
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
approx. 27 months

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$17,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
60 – 79
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$50,000 – $700,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
12%
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State
The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Grantees will enter into a Restricted Grant Agreement to receive their funds on a reimbursement basis.  There are other options available for Tribal Governments.  Refer to the Grant Application Guide for more details.  

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Grant Management Branch, 1-916-261-3326, Regional.Planning.Grants@dot.ca.gov

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