Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program
Active
- Assistance listing
- 20.943
- Agency
-
Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation
Department of Transportation
- Grant awards
- 57 $52,398,692 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Assistance type
-
- Cooperative Agreement
- Treasury account
-
- 69-2226-0-8-634
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Transportation Immediate Office of the Secretary is awarding cooperative agreements under the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (CFDA 20.943) to fund planning and design activities for transportation infrastructure projects in rural and tribal communities, with a new application portal opening March 18, 2025.
The program funds early-stage development assistance through grants that support hiring staff or procuring expert firms to provide financial, technical, and legal advisory services. Recent awards have supported diverse project types: street and corridor improvement planning, bridge and intersection design, transit facility planning, pedestrian pathway and safety projects, and rail-to-trail conversion design. Award recipients include federally recognized tribes, county governments, municipalities, transit districts, and regional councils.
The program operates exclusively through Cooperative Agreements and has demonstrated strong recent activity. The Department of Transportation is the sole funding agency, having obligated $52.4 million across 57 awards since the program's inception in May 2024. Award cadence has accelerated sharply: 13 awards were made in 2024, with 44 awards in 2026 as of mid-November. Recent awards have clustered in the $500 thousand to $2.5 million range, with representative examples including $2.5 million to Garrett County Board of Commissioners for active transportation and safety initiatives, $2.5 million to City of Klamath Falls for East Main Street Bypass planning, $1.9 million to Crow Tribe of Indians for tribal transportation facility improvements, and $741 thousand to Chippewa Cree Tribe for street rehabilitation design.
Eligible applicants are units of local government outside urban areas with populations exceeding 150,000 (as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau), states advancing projects in rural areas, federally recognized Indian tribes, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. No local match is required. Awards are processed on a first-come, first-served basis with merit evaluation focused on whether proposed services will materially advance project development and whether requested funding is sufficient to complete identified tasks and deliverables.
The next application cycle opens March 18, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. ET, closing April 17, 2025 at 4:59 p.m. ET. A total of $27 million is available: $10 million for Single Project grants (minimum $200 thousand, maximum $750 thousand) and $17 million for Multi-Community grants spanning at least three separate communities (minimum $500 thousand, maximum $2.25 million). Of that $27 million, $10 million is set-aside for tribal government applicants. Applications submit through the program's dedicated portal at transportation.gov/buildamerica/RuralandTribalGrants, not through grants.gov. An amended Notice of Funding Opportunity was published March 13, 2025.
Objective and description
- Objective
The intent of this Program is to advance transportation infrastructure projects in rural and tribal communities by supporting development-phase activities for projects reasonably expected to be eligible for certain DOT credit and grant programs. Gran
- Description
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL) created the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (the Program) to provide early-stage development assistance for rural and tribal infrastructure projects. The Program will award grants that support either the hiring of staff or procurement of expert firms to provide financial, technical, and legal assistance.
Eligibility
- Applicant eligibility
Applicants for the Program must be one of the following: i. a unit of local government or political subdivision that is located outside of an urban area with a population of more than 150,000 residents as determined by the Bureau of the Census; ii. a State seeking to advance a project in an area located outside of an urban area with a population of more than 150,000 residents as determined by the Bureau of the Census; iii. a federally recognized Indian Tribe; or iv. the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
- Uses of assistance
The Department will provide reimbursable grants to enable recipients to employ or acquire the services of financial, technical, and legal advisors to provide development-phase assistance. The intent of this Program is to advance transportation infrastructure projects in rural and tribal communities by supporting development-phase activities for projects reasonably expected to be eligible for certain DOT credit and grant programs. However, there is no requirement for grantees to apply for other funding programs in the future.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Applications will be reviewed, and grants will be provided, on a first-come, first-served basis. The application window will open 60 days after the listing is posted on grants.gov. Application reviews will conclude once available funds have been awarded.
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Applications deemed complete and eligible will be evaluated based on the two below criteria to determine the likelihood that the requested service(s) will materially advance the project and that the funds requested are likely to be sufficient to complete the task(s) and deliverable(s) identified in the application. Applications that are rated "Meets" in both criteria below will be recommended to the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy for funding in the order they are received. Criterion (1): Appropriateness of services requested: The Application Review Team will assess whether and to what extent the proposed tasks will materially advance the overall project identified in the application. The Application Review Team will consider: • the current state of the project's development, • whether the proposed tasks are appropriate for the current state of the project's development, and • the likelihood that the requested services will materially advance the project's development. Criterion (2): Viability of grant funds requested: The Application Review Team will assess whether and to what extent the funding package (made up of funding requested through this Program and local funding commitment, if any) is likely to result in fully funding and completing the specified task(s) while also providing the deliverable(s) necessary to materially advance the project(s). The Team will consider: • for applicants seeking to procure advisory services: whether the applicant has obtained bids or quotes for the requested services, and the applicant's experience procuring advisory services in the past, • for applicants seeking to hire staff for this task: their organization's hiring process (i.e. do they have a defined job description for this task, process for recruitment), and • the source and amount of funding the applicant intends to commit (if any) as a contribution to the overall cost of the services being proposed. (The addition of local funding will not influence the rating of this criterion).
- Award procedure
Complete and eligible applications will be reviewed by an Application Review Team consisting of approximately three Department of Transportation staff. The Application Review Team will evaluate the Merit Criteria of each application in the order in which they were received. Applications that meet Merit Criteria standards will be recommended for funding to the Undersecretary of Transportation.
Grant opportunities
| Opportunity | Status | Posted | Applications due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program NOFO | — | — | |
| Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program NOFO | Closed |
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 57 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tolowa Dee-Ni Nation | $2,814,000 | 5% |
| 2 | Garrett County Board Of Commissioners | $2,500,000 | 5% |
| 3 | Lummi Indian Business Council | $2,500,000 | 5% |
| 4 | City Of Klamath Falls | $2,500,000 | 5% |
| 5 | ADA County Highway District | $2,500,000 | 5% |
| 6 | Santee Sioux Tribe Of Nebraska | $2,400,000 | 5% |
| 7 | Crow Tribe Of Indians | $1,964,470 | 4% |
| 8 | Alaska Department Of Transportation & Public Facilities | $1,800,000 | 3% |
| 9 | High Valley Transit | $1,705,000 | 3% |
| 10 | County Of Brookings | $1,600,000 | 3% |
10 of 56 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $48,998,692 |
| FY2024 | $3,400,000 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 20.943?
Assistance Listing 20.943 is Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program, a federal grant program run by Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation (Department of Transportation).
What is the CFDA number for Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program?
Its CFDA number is 20.943: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 20.943 awarded?
57 grant awards under 20.943 have obligated $52,398,692 in federal funds to 56 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 20.943?
The recipients obligated the most under Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program are Tolowa Dee-Ni Nation ($2,814,000), Garrett County Board Of Commissioners ($2,500,000) and Lummi Indian Business Council ($2,500,000).
Are there open grant opportunities under 20.943?
No opportunity listed under 20.943 is open now. The latest, Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program NOFO, was posted on December 19, 2024.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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