Starting in 2021, Congress reinstated the process of directing federal funds for local projects called Community Project Funding (CPF).
The CPF process allows members of the House and Senate to request targeted federal investments for specific projects for nonprofits or local governments within their districts. CPFs are designed to support local priorities with demonstrated public benefit and strong community support. Each member of Congress may submit 20 requests in designated program areas. Potentially eligible projects range from infrastructure, law enforcement, community programs, rural health, and other initiatives detailed below.
Timing is critical, most applications are due within the first two weeks of March 2026. Shumaker Advisors assists clients in deciding how a request would qualify and align with a member's priorities.
In addition to CPFs, members of Congress may submit a request to fund a specific program or activity at most agencies (i.e., the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health and Human Services) at a specified level to include specific bill or report language that does not direct funding to a particular entity, but encourages, urges, or directs some type of action.
Program Request: a request to fund a specific program or activity in the bill at a specified level. Example: Provide $70 million in the Transportation Security Administration's Procurement, Construction, and Improvements account for the Checkpoint Property Screening System.
Language Request: a request to include specific bill or report language that does not direct funding to a particular entity but encourages, urges, or directs some type of action. Example: Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies – The Committee directs the Secretary to expand eligibility for grants under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) prevention programs of regional and national significance and corresponding services provided by the Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies to private, nonprofit, regional organizations, including faith-based organizations.
CPF projects are sorted into categories by subcommittee/agency groups, then by existing programs. Below are eligible CPF accounts:
Health:
- State, local, and nonprofit entities that are: (1) certified rural health clinics, (2) Federally Qualified Health Centers, (3) designated Critical Access Hospitals; or (4) hospitals located in areas that meet HRSA's definition of rural.
- CPF requests for the cost of limited-scope construction, renovation, or capital equipment purchase for facilities for health, mental health, or substance use disorder services, training of health professionals, or medical research. In addition to construction and renovation, CPF funding can be used to acquire capital equipment, such as lab equipment, X-ray machines, or telehealth and information technology.
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Economic Development Initiatives:
- Counties, cities, towns, parishes, or other local government entities, public colleges and universities are all eligible. Nonprofits are not.
- The Community Development Block Grant Program – Economic Development Initiatives – program for land or site acquisition, demolition or rehabilitation; blight removal; and construction and capital improvements of public facilities. Programmatic and operational expenses are not eligible, but the following are eligible.
- The acquisition of real property which is (A) blighted, deteriorated, deteriorating, undeveloped, or inappropriately developed from the standpoint of sound community development and growth; (B) appropriate for rehabilitation or conservation activities; (C) appropriate for the preservation or restoration of historic sites, the beautification of urban land, the conservation of open spaces, natural resources, and scenic areas, the provision of recreational opportunities, or the guidance of urban development; (D) to be used for the provision of public works, facilities, and improvements eligible for assistance under this chapter; or (E) to be used for other public purposes;
- The clearance, demolition, removal, reconstruction, and rehabilitation (including rehabilitation which promotes energy efficiency) of buildings and improvements (including interim assistance, and financing public or private acquisition for reconstruction or rehabilitation, and reconstruction or rehabilitation, of privately owned properties, and including the renovation of closed school buildings);
- Public or nonprofit housing rehabilitation, housing development financing, residential conversions, and neighborhood revitalization projects, which would increase housing supply and/or improve housing affordability in the local community.
Agriculture/Rural:
- Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Community Facilities Grants – Grants to purchase, construct, or improve essential community facilities, to purchase equipment, and pay other related project expenses. Examples of eligible projects include but are not limited to: town halls, police or fire departments, and public works vehicles.
- Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants – The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program helps rural residents better utilize the enormous potential of modern telecommunications and the internet for education and healthcare, two critical components of economic and community development. The DLT program helps rural communities acquire the technology and training necessary to connect educational and medical professionals with students, teachers, and patients in rural areas.
- Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Waste Disposal Grants – The Water and Waste Disposal Grant Program may be used to finance the acquisition, construction, or improvement of drinking water sourcing, treatment, storage and disposal; sewer collection, transmission, treatment and disposal; solid waste collection, disposal and closure; and storm water collection, transmission, and closure.
- Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Buildings and Facilities – The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) owns and operates laboratories and facilities across the United States. Many of these laboratories/facilities are decades old, have outlived their functional lifespan, and are badly in need of major repairs, renovation, or replacement. Requests can assist in the acquisition of land, construction, repair, improvement, extension, alteration, and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities as necessary to carry out the agricultural research programs of the Department of Agriculture. Facility requests must be for ARS-owned facilities or for facilities already partnering with ARS. Universities seeking new agricultural and/or veterinary facilities or labs are not eligible.
- Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Conservation Operations – The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) supports private landowners, conservation districts, and other organizations to conserve, maintain, and improve the Nation's natural resources.
Justice:
- Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant projects assist state, local, and Tribal law enforcement efforts to enforce laws, address violent crime, increase prosecutions, improve the criminal justice system (including the correctional system), provide victims' services, and other related activities law enforcement focused nonprofit recipients may be eligible.
- COPS Office Technology and Equipment Program (TEP) projects support state, local, and Tribal law enforcement efforts to develop and procure the technology and equipment needed to respond more quickly and effectively, improve officer safety, increase transparency and enhance community relations. Nonprofit recipients are not eligible.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Projects support science education, research, and technology development related to NASA's mission. Nonprofit colleges and universities are the only eligible non-profit recipients.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Home (NOAA) – nonprofit colleges and universities are the only eligible non-profit recipients
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — Scientific and Technical Research: Projects support standards-related research and technology development.
- NOAA—Coastal Zone Management: Projects support the protection, restoration, and responsible development of our nation's diverse coastal communities and resources.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Federal Assistance— Emergency Operations Center (EOC) grants improve emergency management and preparedness capabilities by supporting flexible, sustainable, secure, strategically located, and fully interoperable EOCs with a focus on addressing identified deficiencies and needs. According to the National Fire Protection Association, an EOC is defined as a "facility or capability from which direction and control is exercised in an emergency. This type of center or capability is designated to ensure that the capacity exists for leadership to direct and control operations from a centralized facility or capability in the event of an emergency."
- Federal Assistance—Pre-Disaster Mitigation grants assist state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments with planning and implementing sustainable, cost-effective measures to provide long-term, permanent risk reduction to individuals and property from future natural hazards, such as floods and wildfires, while reducing reliance on federal funding for future disasters.
Department of Transportation
- Airport Improvement Program
- Highway Infrastructure Projects
- Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements
- Transit Infrastructure Grants
- Port Infrastructure Development Program
CPF is an opportunity in the federal appropriations process to shape meaningful policy outcomes at the local level, and empowers members of Congress to direct aid to specific projects in their districts and ensures that they are responsive to local needs.
Examples of Shumaker Advisors' Client CPFs
- Clearwater Marine Aquarium: Shumaker Advisors obtained nearly $1 million in funding to help the Clearwater Marine Aquarium continue to educate the youth of Pinellas County on the importance of environmental stewardship.
- Phoenix House of Florida: The Shumaker Advisors team secured over $2 million to help women veterans in the Tampa area. This facility will serve the unique needs of women veterans suffering from substance use disorders by addressing a shortage of beds and providing the necessary infrastructure, including 20 individualized private rooms for successful treatment outcomes.
- Lions World Vision Institute: Shumaker Advisors secured a federal appropriation of $2 million to build a state-of-the-art pediatric vision center to provide programs for children lacking access to vital vision care.
- Gracepoint Wellness: Shumaker Advisors helped secure $2 million in federal funding for Gracepoint Wellness, a leading provider of behavioral health solutions for the Tampa Bay area, to construct the Mariposa Neuropsychiatric Hospital for Women on the Gracepoint Campus, a 24-bed facility that will help address the area shortage in hospital beds.
- Hillsborough County Public Schools: Shumaker Advisors obtained $2.3 million to fund a program to train students in a variety of medical and building construction professions.
For questions or more information, please contact Shumaker Advisors' J.D. White.