Grants and Funding Opportunities

Grants and Funding Opportunities

Following are known grants and funding opportunities for municipalities served by Nashua Regional Planning Commission. NRPC can assist our member communities with applying for and administering potential grants to implement their distinct goals. 

We welcome input!
Send suggestions for additions/deletions to the list to Kristin Wardner. Please note this page is not all-inclusive and is new as of February 2023 and still being populated.

Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program
Applications closing date: August 18, 2023
The vision of the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. This is a Federal Highway Administration program. 
View the PROTECT Program Overview presentation here.

The available grant types are:
1. Resilience Planning – Development of Resilience Improvement Plans, resilience planning activities, capacity building, and evacuation planning and preparation.
2. Resilience Improvements – Projects to make existing surface transportation infrastructure more resilient, such as improving drainage, upgrades to meet or exceed design standards, relocating roadways, or elevating bridges.
3. Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes – Improvements to make evacuation routes more resilient or add capacity and redundant evacuation routes.
4. At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure – Protecting, strengthening, or relocating coastal highway and non-rail infrastructure.

FY 2023 INFRA/Mega/Rural (Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant)
Applications closing date: August 21, 2023
The MPDG opportunity contains three grant programs: the National Infrastructure Project Assistance grants program (Mega), the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highways Projects grants program (INFRA), and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant program (Rural). The funding opportunities are awarded on a competitive basis for surface transportation infrastructure projects—including highway and bridge, intercity passenger rail, railway-highway grade crossing or separation, wildlife crossing, public transportation, marine highway, and freight projects, or groups of such projects—with significant national or regional impact, or to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas.

Granite State Clean Fleets
Proposal due date: October 13, 2023
Approximately $10,000,000 is available to support local government entities only (municipalities, school districts, transit agencies) for approved projects to reduce emissions from qualifying diesel vehicles and equipment by replacing them with electric alternatives and new diesel models. This competitive program is funded by the State of New Hampshire's Volkswagen Mitigation Trust (VW Trust). 
NH DES Contact: Ricky DiCillo, (603) 271-8468,  richard.a.dicillo@des.nh.gov

InvestNH Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) Grants
Application dates vary - refer to the website for specifics.
InvestNH Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) Grants are for municipalities to hire consultants to work on one or more of the three phases of regulatory change: Needs Analysis and Planning Grants, Regulatory Audit Grants, and Regulatory Development Grants. 

Regional Economic Development Center (REDC) Equipment Grant Opportunity

REDC has grants up to $5,000 available for qualifying New Hampshire businesses, with five or fewer employees, for the purpose of equipment or machinery purchases. Grant funding is limited. Grant eligibility is based on specific requirements, set forth by the Community Development Finance Authority, which will be reviewed through submittal of program forms. Submittal of forms does guarantee grant funds. 


Additional Resources

NH Municipal Association: Federal Funding and Resources
nhma logoNH Municipal Association maintains this webpage - it contains a wealth of information about current opportunities, resources to assist with finding grant programs, and more.

NH Dept. of Environmental Services Loans and Grants
nhdes logoNH Dept. of Environmental Services administers several loan and grant programs. NHDES programs also assist groups in obtaining funding for projects from myriad sources.

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)

cdfa logoCDFA administers the State of New Hampshire’s annual federal allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds for eligible municipalities. The primary objective of the program is the development of viable communities by improving economic opportunities and meeting community revitalization needs, particularly for persons of low and moderate income.

CDFA directly awards Community Development Block Grant resources to New Hampshire’s cities, towns, and counties, which often sub-grant the money to a nonprofit agency or other entity conducting the work. Funding for the Community Development Block Grant program is provided to New Hampshire through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.


NH Moose Plate Grants
moose plateThe NH Conservation License Plate (Moose Plate) Program supports the protection of critical resources in New Hampshire, including scenic lands, historic sites and artifacts, plants and wildlife. Grants are available to municipalities and NH Conservation organizations. To learn how to get a grant for your organization and/or project, please contact one of the following agencies:

  • NH State Conservation Committee (NH SCC) - The NH SCC distributes competitive Moose Plate grants to counties, municipal and nongovernmental entities, schools and nonprofits that support the conservation of NH’s natural resources. View NH SCC Grants
  • The Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) - LCHIP provides matching grants (from a different source) to help municipalities and nonprofits protect the state’s most important natural, historical and cultural resources. Funds from the Moose Plate program support LCHIP’s administrative costs. View LCHIP Grants
  • NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources - Providing grants for conservation and preservation of publicly owned historic properties, works of art, artifacts and documents that contribute to NH’s cultural heritage. Restoring historic sites and buildings in NH State Parks. Protecting our state’s biodiversity by researching rare native plants and exemplary natural communities. View NH DNCR Grants