State and federal agencies outline grants, loans and technical assistance at CFCC virtual funding fair

State and federal funding agencies on the CFCC spring funding fair’s virtual platform summarized current grants, loans and technical-assistance programs and next steps for communities seeking infrastructure financing.

The event, hosted by Sarissa Hartwell of the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Financial Assistance, brought presentations from the California State Library, Department of Water Resources, California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank), State Water Resources Control Board, Strategic Growth Council, Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Cal OES, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s brownfields program. Organizers opened virtual “booths” and breakout rooms for agency-specific follow-up.

The fair matters because several programs have active solicitations or near-term deadlines, and the presentations condensed eligibility, application portals and contact points. For example, the California Grants Portal (grants.ca.gov) was presented as a central searchable index that state agencies are required by AB 2252 to populate; the Strategic Growth Council said its Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) round closes May 28; and Cal OES announced a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program notice-of-interest window with a May 29 deadline for HMGP submissions.

Presenters emphasized where to find application materials and the limits of local authority. Shivani of the California State Library described the grants portal as a “central place for all eligible grant opportunities” that includes forecasted and active funding and supports filtering by applicant type and category.…