This USDA program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

Eligible borrowers include:

• Public bodies

• Community-based non-profit corporations

• Federally Recognized Tribes

Grant assistance is available based on population and median household income, ranging from 15% to 75% grant eligibility. Please review the information page for further details.

SECURE grants can fund assessments and improvements that protect water and wastewater systems from evolving cyber threats.

Cybersecurity Assessment: Up to $50,000

Eligible Activities:

• Third-party cybersecurity risk assessments and penetration testing

• Network architecture reviews and asset inventories

• Creation of system-specific cybersecurity implementation roadmaps

Cybersecurity Upgrades: Up to $100,000

Eligible Activities:

• Procurement and installation of security equipment (firewalls, network segmentation devices, access control systems, etc.)

• Development and implementation of incident response plans and continuity of operations plans

• Deployment of monitoring, alerting, and backup/recovery solutions

EFC’s Community Assistance Teams are available to provide no-cost guidance and tools to help water and wastewater systems implement cybersecurity best practices. Communities can request one-on-one consultations and access centralized training and best practice resources.

The New York Farm Viability Institute is pleased to announce an opportunity  in partnership with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The program will provide $1.7 million to support beginning farmers in building financially sustainable, independent, commercial agricultural enterprises throughout New York State.

Eligible uses: 

• Start-up, improvement or expansion of farm operations

• Purchase of land, machinery, equipment, or livestock

• Construction or improvement of structures

• Marketing initiatives

• Worker or apprenticeship training

• Other business needs tied to financial impact

Eligible Applicants:

• New York beginning farmer with 10 years or less of farm operation experience, and who will materially and substantially participate in operating a farm in New York State.

• Applicants must demonstrate the potential for the project to grow the business and improve financial sustainability. All applicants whose farm generated less than $1,000 in the previous year must provide a business plan.

• Proposals may support a business that produces any type of agricultural product, with the exception of cannabis.

The Environmental Facilities Corporation is offering a total of $3,000,000 toward Engineering Reports for Wastewater Infrastructure across New York State.

They fund the development of an engineering report, which is an eligibility requirement for financing. This program helps ensure fiscally sound and well-designed projects are advancing to construction. Grants of up to $100,000 are available for inflow and infiltration studies. Grants of up to $50,000 are available for all other projects.

Get reimbursed for 50% of your septic system project, up to $10,000.

Contact Naturally Lewis to learn about their 2026 Funding Opportunities! 

1. Building Business Fund,

2. Business Retention Fund,

3. Community Connections Fund,

4. Launch Lewis County,

5. Small Things, Big Impacts Fund,

6. Events and Festivals Fund

7. Student Pitch Competition
8. Vacant Property Revitalization Fund

Applications for all programs are currently open, with quarterly deadlines.

The Community Grants Reinvestment Fund (“CGRF”) was established under New York’s Cannabis Law to reinvest in communities. The goal is to create equitable, positive, and lasting impacts by investing in community-based programs that offer youth-focused initiatives and wraparound services tailored to local needs in communities disproportionally harmed by prior federal and state drug policies. 

This grant program, administered by the Farm and Food Growth Fund (FFGF) on behalf of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, supports the scaling of existing and new products produced and harvested in New York State. Funding is available for the construction and renovation of facilities, as well as the purchase and installation of equipment. Priority will be given to projects that expand processing for fruits, vegetables, grains and beans for human consumption; plant and animal fibers. Processed products developed through the grant must contain a minimum of 51% raw agricultural ingredients grown or raised in New York State.

Award Range: $250,000 to $2.5 million. Of the $8.5 million available, $1 million is reserved for projects that use plant and animal fiber. 

The Department of Agriculture and Markets invites eligible applicants to apply for funding through the $3 million New York State Agriculture and Food Systems Workforce Development Grant Program.

Grant funds must be used to implement a program that prepares or leads individuals to employment in the agriculture or food system sector. Examples include programs that provide formal education or experiential learning for individuals to enter and gain skills applicable to jobs in the agriculture or food system industries; formal training or workforce development programs that provide, upon completion, a certificate, credential or other industry-recognized credential; and/or a formal program for currently employed individuals to gain new skills that help them better compete for other jobs in the industry or advance in their current role.

NYSP2I awards funding to support projects that raise awareness and understanding and lead to the implementation of pollution prevention practices and/or behaviors at the local level with the goal of improving the health, environmental quality, and economic vitality of communities in New York State.

Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes; promoting the use of nontoxic or less-toxic substances; implementing conservation techniques; efficiently and effectively utilizing resources such as energy, water, and raw materials; and reusing materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.

Community Organizations, tribal nations and indigenous governance bodies, and local government agencies based and operating in New York State are eligible to apply. 

Awards from $10,000 – $30,000 are available. 

The NYS DOS is offering two grant programs focused on climate change and flood resilience, with $39,000,000 in total available.

1. Coastal Rehabilitation and Resilience projects- minimum award size of $300,000 
2. Inland Flooding and LWRP Implementation projects- minimum award size of $150,000 

The program requires a 10% match. 

Eligible applicants vary slightly for the two programs, but include municipalities, Not-For-Profits, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and New York State Agencies and Authorities. For inland flooding projects, only villages, towns, and cities are eligible to apply.

Eligible actions include climate resiliency and risk reduction through nature-based interventions, habitat restoration, stormwater management, and/or local waterfront revitalization.