GRANT Program provides support to enhance economic development and tourism opportunities 

FRANKFORT, KY - On March 3, 2025, Gov. Andy Beshear announced a Team Kentucky partnership is helping communities across the commonwealth access federal grant funding to improve quality-of-life initiatives and create new investment and job-creation opportunities.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (CED) has partnered with nonprofit Grant Ready Kentucky (GRKY) to ensure communities have the resources needed to leverage federal grants and fund innovative projects across the commonwealth, including infrastructure upgrades, creation of recreational facilities, increased child care access and public transportation, among other eligible uses. The partnership builds on the Governor’s mission to strengthen the state’s communities by helping them increase their chances of winning competitive federal grant funding, which makes our New Kentucky Home an even better place to live, work and invest.

“This partnership is part of our commitment to better the lives of our people and position our communities for future growth and prosperity,” Gov. Beshear said. “I want to thank everyone at Grant Ready Kentucky for their support of community and nonprofit organizations. This work will help us identify and capitalize on federal funding opportunities to spur economic growth, job creation and quality of life improvements in our New Kentucky Home.”

In 2023, Grant Ready Kentucky championed the creation of the Kentucky GRANT match program, a bipartisan policy designed to better position Kentucky communities to be awarded federal grants for economic development and tourism projects. The GRANT Program of 2024, now administered by CED, provides up to $200 million in matching funds to help communities and nonprofits meet local match requirements for eligible federal grants.?The program also provides applicants with grant writing support by combining real-life stories and the measurable impacts these federal grants will have if awarded.

Hannah Conover, executive director and co-founder of Grant Ready Kentucky, explained why they supported the creation of the program and why it’s important for Kentucky communities: “The 2023 pilot of the GRANT program demonstrated an 8-to-1 return at the state level. Every dollar the state invested was leveraged into over eight federal dollars that came back into Kentucky. Most importantly, it came back in the form of vital funding for projects that communities care about, predominantly in rural and distressed areas of the state. This program isn’t just about the amount of funding that it leverages. It’s also about moving forward the projects that are most important to our Kentucky communities.”

Through the GRANT Program of 2024, CED aims to disburse the $200 million state investment to support up to $1 billion in community-driven projects.

Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel said Kentucky is seeing amazing grant applications that connect all the right elements of state and local cooperation needed to win competitive federal grant funding: “We have committed $93 million, with total project costs of about $437 million. On this trajectory, we could see over $1 billion of projects leveraged with the $200 million program. The capacity building we are seeing with local communities that have historically struggled on these competitive grants are now presenting their grants in powerful ways that will help them access federal funding for years to come. Now that is a success story in and of itself on top of a leverage ratio that could exceed 5-to-1.”??

Appropriations & Revenue Committee Chair Rep. Jason Petrie, who co-sponsored the legislation that established the GRANT program, remarked on the program’s robust fiscal impact and return for Kentucky: “This is a massive program. When you really get down to it, not just the dollar figures, but its impact. And if you’re thinking about $200 million going out to assist local applicants, that might potentially result in $1 billion worth of investment in Kentucky, that is a pretty good ROI, I think.”

Over the next two years, Grant Ready Kentucky will provide supplemental grant writing support and education to help communities maximize federal grant success.

Additionally, CED has enhanced its coordination with Kentucky’s 15 Area Development Districts. Area Development District staff are the local experts in workforce development, economic development and infrastructure across Kentucky and are vital to identifying and developing grant-eligible projects.

Casey Ellis, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Area Development Districts, noted the impact of the program: “State government now has a program to help provide matching funds that local governments often need to get grants. Originally targeted to coal counties, its outlay of $1.5 million helped generate $12.8 million in grants last year.”

Since launching the program in 2024, CED, Grant Ready Kentucky and the state’s Area Development Districts have collaborated on 155 projects totaling more than $400 million, a significant achievement demonstrating Kentucky’s readiness to take advantage of federal funding opportunities previously out of reach for many communities. This success stems from a collaborative effort wherein the Grant Ready Kentucky team and the ADDs are working closely with CED to share expertise and build on each other’s strengths. Several communities have even had multiple grants approved, which reflects the importance of the program and the need for state support of the local match required to obtain federal funding.

For more information about Grant Ready Kentucky, visit grantreadyky.org/about.

To request grant writing support or education, book a free office hour with an expert grant coach at grantreadyky.org/grant-professionals.

For more information about the Kentucky GRANT Program of 2024, visit the Cabinet’s dedicated website: ced.ky.gov/grant.

To find the local Area Development District that serves your county, visit this GRKY resource: grantreadyky.org/blog-resource/kentuckys-area-development-districts.