The State of Minnesota has received a special allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) funds to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The funding is made available through the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) under the CARES Act.

The Small Cities Development Program Unit is accepting grant applications for eligible activities. These activities include broadband development, public services, retrofitting/repurposing buildings, and commercial rehabilitation.

Widseth’s Funding Specialist, Gail Leverson, can help your community, if eligible, obtain these funds.

Eligibility Requirements

The CDBG CARES Act funding is being directed towards projects that assist communities, particularly low-to-moderate income communities, in preventing, preparing for, and responding to COVID-19. Some eligible projects may include:

• Commercial building rehab – Cities can request up to $25,000 per commercial building for rehab that provides relief from COVID. This might include new HVAC systems for airflow, or physical distancing.
  
  
• Broadband development – Up to $5 million per community (could be a city or a larger area). This could be used for broadband equipment to provide relief from COVID for teleworking, schooling, or telemedicine. This must be in a Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) city or Low-to- Moderate Income Area (LMA); and a community that is underserved or unserved, as per DEED mapping.
  
  
• Repurposing buildings for COVID patient treatment – Up to $100,000 per building. Perhaps a clinic or hospital would request funding by partnering with their city. Projects should be in an LMI community for best scoring. 

The application deadline is June 1, 2021.

This funding opportunity is part of the federal funding provided for COVID relief. Widseth is working with our various agency contacts to stay on top of the new funding programs in this ever-changing scenario to determine what options are available for your community.