Community Improvement
Federal Resources
US Economic Development Administration
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is a key federal agency dedicated to driving economic growth and resilience. Each year, the EDA offers millions of dollars in grant funding and other programs to support infrastructure development, innovation, regional collaboration, and job creation. Through partnerships with local governments, nonprofits, and businesses, the EDA empowers communities to build a stronger and more sustainable economic future.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Brownfields Program
The US EPA’s Brownfields Program supports the cleanup and revitalization of contaminated properties, known as brownfields, to enhance environmental and community health through assessment, cleanup, revolving loan fund, and area-wide planning grants.
US Small Business Administration
Created in 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to help small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American dream. The SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses. The SBA Arkansas District serves Arkansas with locations in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas. SBA Arkansas District staff provides resources and services in three areas referred to as “the three C’s” – counseling, capital and contracting.
sba.gov
Arkansas District Resource Guide
USDA Rural Development
Our mission is to help develop and sustain rural Arkansas’ diversified, rapidly changing society by working in partnership with people and communities and to assist them in improving their quality of life through financial and technical assistance. We accomplish this by helping with a wide range of projects that include Community Facility, Water and Wastewater, Business and Industry, and Housing.
State Resources
Arkansas Department of Commerce
75Strong
The 75Strong grant program is aimed at educating community leaders and equipping them with the resources and skills to cultivate entrepreneurship in their communities.
Arkansas Development Finance Authority
The purpose of our programs is to promote economic growth in the state of Arkansas. ADFA provides and supports financing for affordable housing, agricultural business enterprises, industrial and economic development, capital improvement for state agencies and local governments, higher education funding and related programs.
Arkansas Office of Skills Development
The Office of Skills Development (OSD), a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, strategically invests in all levels of the Arkansas workforce, from students to incumbent workers, by raising education and skill levels, meeting the needs of companies operating in Arkansas, balancing workforce and employer interests, leading to greater economic achievement for workers and companies.
Arkansas Rural Connect
Arkansas Rural Connect funds ISP’s through grants to improve broadband access across the entire state.
Community Development Block Grant
$75,000 to $200,000 for public facilities and public infrastructure projects. These include: senior centers; child care centers; public health facilities; youth centers; accredited public libraries; removal of architectural barriers from city halls or county courthouses for accessibility; residential water and wastewater; street, curb, gutter, sidewalk, or storm sewer; flood control and drainage; and, other public facility or infrastructure project determined to be a high priority, which are not eligible to be funded under another CDBG program.
Military Affairs Grant Program
This is a grant program designed to strengthen and sustain military installations across the state.
Rural Community Development Grant
This maximum $15,000 grant requiring a 50% match is intended to assist small communities with the construction or renovation of community centers, baseball fields, tracks, parks, playgrounds, and general community beautification projects.
Rural Services Block Grant
This grant targets small communities with a majority low to moderate-income range population with renovations and the new construction of community centers, fire stations, or multi-purpose centers. It also includes resources for purchasing necessary equipment for fire protection services.
Site Development Program
This $10,000,000 program for developing greenfield industrial site improvements is rewarded to municipalities and primary economic development organizations. Uses are limited to infrastructural improvements that would make the site more marketable for economic development.
Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism
ADPHT Grant Matching
Arkansas city and county governments may apply for up to $250,000 to acquire parkland and/or develop public outdoor recreation facilities. This is a reimbursable grant and requires a 50% local match.
Arkansas Arts Council grants
Grant opportunities for nonprofits, schools, and government entities to support arts and community programs statewide. A variety of funding options are available, with a one-to-one match requirement. Explore how these grants can bring creative initiatives to life in your community.
Certified Local Government Grants
This is a federal grant program passed down through the state to fund projects designed to survey, preserve, and restore historic resources at the local level.
FUN Park Grants
Arkansas cities with a population of 2,500 persons or less and unincorporated communities sponsored by their county may apply for up to $75,000 to develop public outdoor recreation facilities. No local match is required.
Historic Marker Program Grants
This grant program is designed to establish markers for historical places to help preserve and promote Arkansas’s cultural and historical resources through a 50/50 grant match.
Main Street Arkansas
Main Street Arkansas works to strengthen and preserve historic downtowns and Main Street districts across the state. It provides technical assistance, resources, and ongoing education to local programs to help them create a vivid and vital sense of place.
Trails for Life
This no-match-required grant program is designed for developing walking trails and associated facilities, such as parking, signage, and seating.
University Resources
Arkansas Economic Development Institute
AEDI’s mission is to provide economic development research and actionable strategies to every corner of Arkansas. AEDI provides economic and demographic data, GIS mapping, and community development and planning technical assistance to aid Arkansas communities in the promotion of economic growth and improving quality of life for all community members. This organization works with government groups, non-profit organizations, private businesses, and local community groups on projects which adhere to their mission.
Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center is a university-based economic development program that assists entrepreneurs, both new and seasoned. We help with every aspect of business creation, management, and operation. Through our eight locations around the state, ASBTDC works with all types of for-profit businesses, from home-based to high-tech. We provide one-to-one confidential consulting and cutting-edge market research at no charge, and conduct training events.
Arkansas State University Delta Center for Economic Development
The Delta Center offers many leadership and workforce development programs for communities in the Delta Regional Authority’s territory including technical assistance, strategic planning, training, business incubators, and the Delta Leadership Institute.
Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Community and economic development education and technical assistance in the following areas: community & regional strategic planning; local foods system development; county government fiscal analysis: selling to local, state and federal government entities; entrepreneurial development; leadership development; and state and local ballot issues education.
University of Central Arkansas Center for Community and Economic Development
Our mission is to have a positive impact on communities by equipping leaders with economic tools and resources, building consensus to achieve community goals, and bringing UCA resources and communities together. Services include: business retention and expansion programs, benchmarking tours, community assessments, community and/or business survey development, economic and demographic data analysis, first impression driving tours, facilitation of town hall meets or focus groups, and community planning and customized training for local leaders.
Center for Community and Economic Development
Community Development Institute
Winthrop Rockefeller Institute
As part of the University of Arkansas system, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute is a non-profit organization aimed at helping to bring sustainable and positive change benefiting the quality of life for Arkansans.
Non-Profit and Other Resources
Communities Unlimited, Inc.
Communities Unlimited is a rural development hub that works holistically alongside rural leaders to create positive change in their communities through technical assistance and lending opportunities. We facilitate community-led rural development in seven states in the southern United States, an area with high minority populations, high poverty rates and food insecurity. We work side by side with individuals, communities and organizations to make opportunities accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Conductor
The Conductor is a public-private partnership in Conway Arkansas that empowers and inspires innovators, entrepreneurs, and makers. The Conductor serves an 11 county region in Central Arkansas and provides coaching and consulting for those interested in starting or growing their business, a Makerspace for prototyping engineering ideas, community business workshops, structured programming for scaling startups, and summer entrepreneurial youth camps. Because of the unique relationship between Startup Junkie Consulting and the University of Central Arkansas, all Conductor activities are completely free of charge.
EngageAR
EngageAR is a collaborative programmatic initiative to create a culture of service in Arkansas that permeates activities of family, education, business, government and the nonprofit.
EngageAR believes local communities know best how to solve local problems. The staff work to develop partnerships within government agencies, municipalities, institutions of education, and the nonprofit and faith-based sector, developing and promoting civic engagement to undergird the services offered through public agencies. The office oversees approximately 2.5 million in federal funding for national service programs.
Just Communities of Arkansas
Offering programs such as organizational workshops, youth leadership, and cultural assessments, the Just Communities of Arkansas non-profit seeks to build inclusive and equitable communities across the state.
Rural Community Alliance
This non-profit is aimed at helping to improve the quality of life in rural Arkansas through fair education policy and legislation, community cleanup and beautification projects, youth development, and parent mentor programs.
Winrock International
Winrock International is a recognized leader in U.S. and international development, providing solutions to some of the world’s most complex social, agricultural and environmental challenges. Winrock works internationally and in rural Arkansas to better the quality of life in these communities through initiatives such as entrepreneurial support and food insecurity. Services provided include community assessments, feasibility studies, and training for community leaders.