County Of Knox

County Of Knox, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, receives federal grants across housing, public safety, community development, and emergency preparedness programs, operating as a prime grant recipient rather than a federal contractor.

The county's federal footprint spans formula and project grants distributed across twenty distinct federal agencies, with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development dominating the award count. HUD accounts for 39 of the county's 109 total awards and funds the largest pipeline of activity: the Home Investment Partnerships Program (CFDA 14.239) for affordable housing acquisition, rehabilitation, and tenant-based rental assistance; the Community Development Block Grant program (CFDA 14.218) for housing, infrastructure, and economic opportunity expansion targeting low- and moderate-income households; and, most recently, a $3.8 million Lead Hazard Reduction Grant from the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (CFDA 14.900) awarded on March 16, 2026, through March 2030, to conduct lead inspections and abatement work in pre-1960 housing units and build local capacity in certified lead-safe contracting. The National Endowment for the Arts follows with ten awards supporting the Children's Festival of Reading. The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance funds probation-based case management and substance use treatment expansion ($211,000 awarded October 2023 through September 2026) and forensic genetic genealogy testing for cold cases ($117,000 awarded May 2024 through April 2025). The Federal Highway Administration awarded $225,000 on February 17, 2026, for a Safe Routes to School Action Plan planning grant (CFDA 20.939). The Federal Emergency Management Agency funded regional catastrophic preparedness capacity-building at $911,354 under the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (CFDA 97.111, awarded September 2023). The Appalachian Regional Commission granted $1.136 million for business site development (CFDA 23.002, awarded November 2024 through November 2027). Additional sub-recipient awards flow through Tennessee state agencies, including health promotion services, emergency management programs, watershed initiatives, and broadband readiness grants.

County Of Knox's organizational structure includes two named subsidiaries: Knoxville-Knox County Planning (a joint county and city planning commission) and the Knox County Sheriff's Office, both of which appear in sub-recipient grant activity and reflect the county's role as a pass-through entity for federal funds directed to local criminal justice and planning functions. The county functions as both a direct grant recipient (69 prime awards, 63% of the total) and a sub-recipient of state-administered federal programs (40 sub-awards, 37%), typical of local government grant administration. Activity per year has declined from 17 awards in 2023 to only six in 2024 and four in 2025, suggesting either a lag in reporting of more recent awards or a shift in federal funding cycles. Four awards face completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore carry recompete exposure, primarily driven by the rolling annual and multi-year allocations from HUD's formula-grant programs rather than single large contracts.