Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant Program (IA)

Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant Program (IA)

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Iowa Economic Development Authority
Amount: Up to US $20,000
Last Updated: July 08, 2025

Summary

The Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant Program in Iowa supports local governments in enhancing housing policies through data-driven assessments. Partnering with Iowa State University, the program provides up to $20,000 for projects aimed at improving community development environments. Eligible applicants must show a minimum cash match of $10,000 and demonstrate their capacity to manage the grant effectively, ensuring that proposed activities align with local needs and regulations.

Overview

Rural Housing Assessment Grant Program (IA) The Rural Housing Assessment Grant program supports the use of publicly available, online information and rural community efforts to interpret publicly available hard data to implement changes through development codes, local ordinances, and housing incentives specific to individual community needs. In partnership with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach’s Rural Housing Readiness Assessment workshops, program funding will empower communities to assess the current development environment and enact changes resulting in the creation of policies and procedures attractive to potential developers. The program is administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) Center for Rural Revitalization in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative Task Forces and ISU Extension and Outreach. Funding Grant Recipients will be awarded up to $20,000. Applicants are required to demonstrate investment in theproject process by providing a minimum of $10,000 cash match. The cash match must be secured, dedicated to eligible expenses, a legitimate part of the project and must be expended within the eligible funding period. The $10,000 match requirement may be raised through a combination of public and private sources but may not include in-kind donations of goods or services, unsecured funding, or loans.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible Applicants:Local city and county governments, or federally recognized tribal governments physically located in Iowa are eligible. The government must exist in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer and not contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater. County-wide projects must be one of the 88 least-populous counties in Iowa.Eligible Use of Funding:The Rural Housing Assessment Grant Program provides funding for housing assessment data collection and ISU Extension and Outreach Rural Housing Assessment Readiness Workshop. Funds may be used to fulfill that process at the discretion of the grant recipient but must contribute to the completion of the housing assessment report, workshop, or implementation of the workshop outcomes within the contract period.Eligible Project Requirements:Requirements for Rural Housing Assessment grant awards include, but are not limited to the following:Applicant must demonstrate the capacity for grants administration.Application must demonstrate the feasibility of completing the proposed activities with the funds requested and contract period.Application must identify and describe any other sources of funding for the proposed activities.Applicant must provide $10,000 cash match for each city or full county partnering on the application.Applications must agree to contract with ISU Extension and Outreach for the facilitated Rural Housing Assessment Readiness Workshop.Applications must identify any additional partner organizations that will be utilized in additional data collection or implementation processes.