Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning) is sending his “November Grant Action News Update” to residents, organizations and local governments regarding a series of grants available from the state, federal government and private entities. Each month, the Assembly provides an updated list of grants for a variety of categories.

“During a time of economic recovery, grants can play an integral part in helping our local communities complete needed infrastructure repairs or support underfunded projects,” said Palmesano. “Many people don’t realize the scope of available opportunities because they aren’t sure where to look. The ‘Grants Action News’ bulletin makes finding these grants much easier by consolidating the information and making it available to everyone. I hope residents, organizations and local governments throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions will be able to use this resource to find much-needed support to strengthen communities in our rural area.”

All not-for-profit applicants must now prequalify on the NYS Grants Reform website at grantsreform.ny.gov/grantees in order to apply for certain New York state grant solicitations. Potential not-for-profit applicants are strongly encouraged to begin the process of registering and prequalifying immediately as this is a lengthy process.

The Grant Action News bulletin is updated at the beginning of each month with newly available grants and information on how to apply.

The update can be accessed here:

https://nyassembly.gov/gan/?sec=story&story=115654

State Grants:

NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), Wellness & Healing in Communities Grants

These grants will support a qualified applicant to build and sustain relationships with local health departments (LHDs) to conduct and create professional and tailored communications and outreach with technical assistance, capacity building and partnership in matters related to current and emerging public health issues.

Deadline: December 3, 2025, 4 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Not-for-profit entities

Total Funding Available: $3.9 million

Contact: Bryan Tarr

Email: OPH.GrantContract@health.ny.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://www.health.ny.gov/funding/

https://www.health.ny.gov/funding/rfa/20635/

https://www.health.ny.gov/funding/rfa/20635/20635.pdf

NYS Department of Health (DOH), Health Systems for Tobacco-Free NY Grants

These grants will help organizations that work to engage health care systems to improve the delivery of guideline-concordant care for Tobacco Use Disorders (TUD) (including nicotine-dependent conditions), through systems and policy change at the health care organization level.

Deadline: December 5, 2025, 4 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Governmental entities; not-for-profit entities

Total Funding Available: Approximately $14.7 million

Contact: Therese Dolen

Email: TCP@health.ny.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://www.health.ny.gov/funding/

https://www.health.ny.gov/funding/rfa/20674/

https://www.health.ny.gov/funding/rfa/20674/rfa_20674.pdf

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Municipal Waste & Recycling Program Terrestrial and Aquatic Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control

These grants are for projects to directly control, manage and respond to invasive species introductions and infestations. Both terrestrial and aquatic habitats and species are eligible for the bids. Invasive Species Early Detection/ Rapid Response and Control proposals allow for multiple project types, including:physical and mechanical removal, chemical treatment or biocontrol release

Deadline: December 17, 2025, 3 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Governmental entities, non-for-profit entities, tribal organizations

Total Funding Available: $1.5 million

Contact: Michelle Higgins

Email: dlfgrants@dec.ny.gov

Link to Additional Information: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/invasive-species/resources-regulations/invasive-species-grant-program

NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), NY Peer Specialist Workforce Training Funding

The New York Peer Specialist Independent Practice Association (IPA) will work with partner organizations to develop, nurture and support collaboration, share strengths and promote these elements of professional development for the New York Peer Specialist workforce. The IPA aims to expand the availability of peer support services statewide, increasing the quality of peer support services and favorable outcomes of the practice of peer support.

Deadline: December 18, 2025, 2 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Not-for-profit entities

Total Funding Available: $2.5 million

Contact: Amanda Szczepkowski

Email: OMHLocalProcurement@omh.ny.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/

https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/2025/peer-ipa/index.html

https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/2025/peer-ipa/peer_ipa_rfp_final.pdf

NYS Agriculture & Markets, Regional School Food Infrastructure Grants

This grant program will encourage the use of fresh New York State farm products in meal preparation for K-12 school children, reduce food insecurity, increase market opportunities for New York State producers and strengthen the resilience of our state’s food system. Additionally, this program will encourage workforce development by providing training for culinary arts, food processing, safe food handling and storage, logistics, delivery and other community needs. This grant program will require that facilities serve multiple school districts, support their local community and provide workforce development opportunities. Grant funds are available for the costs of capital projects, including services, expenses and grants for the cost of construction, renovation, alteration, rehabilitation, improvements, installation, acquisition, repair or replacement of buildings or equipment for the development of facilities to support the preparation and distribution of New York focused meals for regional school infrastructure, such as aggregation, storage hubs and/or commissary-type kitchens.

Deadline: January 20, 2026, 3 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Governmental entities, not-for-profit entities, tribal organizations

Total Funding Available: $10 million

Contact: Matthew S. Wilson

Email: farmtoschool@agriculture.ny.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://agriculture.ny.gov/funding-opportunities

https://agriculture.ny.gov/rfp-0379-new-york-state-regional-school-food-infrastructure-grant-program

https://agriculture.ny.gov/request-proposals-rfp-0379-new-york-state-regional-school-food-infrastructure-grant-program

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Green Jobs for Youth Funding

This funding will support tribal organizations and not-for-profit (NFP) community-based organizations that serve disadvantaged communities (DAC) and potential environmental justice areas (PEJA) for projects that will implement a new or existing job training program in green industries targeting young New Yorkers residing in environmental justice communities. This program will help New York State advance the climate equity and just transition goals of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) by helping to develop a skilled workforce equipped to perform these jobs.

Deadline: January 28, 2026, 3 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Not-for-profit entities, tribal organizations

Total Funding Available: $4 million

Contact: Alexis Jones

Email: ejgrants@dec.ny.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/environmental-justice

https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/environmental-justice/grant-programs

https://dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2025-09/greenjobsforyouth_rfa.pdf

NYS Office of Addiction Services & Supports (OASAS), Recovery Residences Funding

Funding applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis from recovery residences, which have been approved for contingent certification and are seeking award funds to enhance their operations as newly certified programs. Certified recovery residences under OASAS will implement safe, secure and quality housing for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. Certified recovery residences will serve those in recovery seeking a non-clinical, supportive residential environment.

Deadline: January 31, 2026, 4 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Not-for-profit entities

Total Funding Available: $5 million

Contact: Nicole Prunty

Email: oasas.sm.grants@oasas.ny.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://oasas.ny.gov/request-applications-sett-24029

https://oasas.ny.gov/application-sett-24029-recovery-residencies

Federal Grants:

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Technical Assistance and Training Program Funding

These funds may be used to pay expenses associated with providing technical assistance and/or training (TAT) to: identify and evaluate solutions to water problems relating to source, storage, treatment or distribution; identify and evaluate solutions to waste problems relating to collection, treatment or disposal: assist applicants, that have filed a pre-application with Rural Utilities Service (RUS), in the preparation of water and/or waste loan and/or grant applications; and/or provide technical assistance and/or training to water/wastewater system personnel that will improve the management, operation and maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities.

Deadline: December 31, 2025

Eligible Applicants: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Estimated Total Program Funding: $35 million

Expected Number of Awards: 40

Email: water-rd@usda.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/99085685-c82a-44d8-b3ec-73c91bdd976b

https://files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunities/99085685-c82a-44d8-b3ec-73c91bdd976b/attachments/c53c93c8- 985c-42f6-9704-33e43504c907/FY26_TAT_Application_Guide.pdf

https://files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunities/99085685-c82a-44d8-b3ec-73c91bdd976b/attachments/18021e24- 5bd2-475b-a8ec-67eaf83f5f50/FY26_TAT_NOFO.pdf

https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/360671

U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) Funding

NFPP provides technical and financial assistance to partners to remove instream barriers and restore aquatic connectivity, improve community safety and support local economies. Fish passage projects benefit communities by reducing flood risk, improving recreational opportunities and roads, while supporting native fish populations and aquatic ecosystems.

Deadline: December 31, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

Eligible Applicants: Small businesses; others (see text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” in the link below for clarification); nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; city or township governments; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; individuals; special district governments; state governments; independent school districts; county governments; public and state controlled institutions of higher education; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits having a 501(c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education

Estimated Total Program Funding: $10 million

Award Ceiling: $1 million

Contact: Thomas McCann

Email: thomas_mccann@fws.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/d4d0a9a8-8cbb-4110-9d81-e8946a520d22

U.S. National Park Service (NPS), American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Restoration Grants

ABPP grants provide the opportunity to provide assistance for the restoration of day-of-battle conditions within eligible Civil War battlefields listed in the Civil War sites Advisory Commission’s (CWSAC) Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields (1993) and in the principal battlefields of the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 identified in NPS ABPP’s Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (2007) (Survey Reports). Restoration sites must be located outside the external boundaries of a unit of the National Park System and must have been protected with assistance from a NPS’s Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant (BLAG) established under 54 U.S.C. §308103(b), be owned by state or local government entities (e.g., state or local battlefield parks), OR owned by a nonprofit organization and located within the boundaries of battlefields listed in the Survey Reports.

Deadline: January 8, 2026

Eligible Applicants: City or township governments; county governments; public and state controlled institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); state governments; private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Estimated Total Program Funding: $3 million

Award Ceiling: $750,000

Award Floor: $30,000

Contact: Jim Modrick

Email: STLPG@nps.gov

Links to Additional Information: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/c0c86c55-258c-46d6-b414-a9f56c029b8e

https://files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunities/c0c86c55-258c-46d6-b414-a9f56c029b8e/attachments/09947f36- e055-4786-a876-7fa059d78b71/P25AS00475_ABPP_BARE_NOFO_2025-0909_jem.pdf

https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/360540

Private Grants:

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), Farmer Grants

Northeast SARE offers grants to farmers to explore new concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques. Farmer Grant projects address issues that affect farming with long-term sustainability in mind.

Deadline: December 9, 2025, 5 p.m.

Eligible Applicants Must: be led by a farmer who meets Northeast SARE’s definition of a farm collaborate with a technical advisor have a project that impacts both the farmer project leader and other farms in the region explore an innovative practice and/or introduce an existing practice to a new audience of farmers include outreach activities, or sharing of project impacts and results, to farmers beyond the project team and project participants align with proposal criteria

Award Amounts: Range from $5,000-$30,000

Email: northeastsare@uvm.edu

Links to Additional Information: http://www.northeastsare.org/FarmerGrant

https://northeast.sare.org/about/northeast-sare-staff/

https://files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunities/d4d0a9a8-8cbb-4110-9d81-e8946a520d22/attachments/04649241- 18e0-48d1-a91d-6667c70a55ba/Foa_Content_of_F25AS00282_FINAL.pdf

https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/360456

Hiring Our Heroes’ Small Business Grants

These grants honor the achievements of veteran- and military spouse-owned small businesses, highlighting their impact and contributions to local communities and America’s economic growth. The program will award five such businesses with a one-time cash grant to be used to grow and support their business.

Deadline: December 15, 2025

Eligible Applicants Must: be a legal resident of and currently reside in the contiguous 48 states, Alaska and/or Hawaii be a for-profit business owned by a veteran or military spouse (at least 51% or more ownership) with 3 to 20 employees, including the owner(s), all full or part-time employees, and independent (1099) contractors have less than $5 million in annual revenue and must be located in an economically vulnerable community or can otherwise demonstrate financial need

Number of Awards: 5

Award Amounts: Four awards - $10,000, one award of $25,000

Contact Link: https://www.hiringourheroes.org/contact/

Links to Additional Information: https://www.hiringourheroes.org/small-business-grant/

https://www.hiringourheroes.org/small-business-grant/small-business-grant-program-application/

Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood Grants

The foundation’s goal is to provide seed money to implement those imaginative proposals that exhibit the greatest chance of improving the lives of young children on a national scale. Because of the foundation’s limited funding capability, it seeks to maximize a grant’s potential impact. The foundation provides funding in the following areas: parenting education, early childhood welfare and early childhood education and play.

Letter of Inquiry Deadline: January 31, 2026

Each Letter of Inquiry Should Include: the organization’s official name, website address and contact information, a brief (250 word maximum) summary of the organization’s mission and recent program history, the organization’s 501(c) (3) tax exempt status letter from the IRS and its federal tax ID #, the total amount of the organization’s annual budget, the total amount of the grant request, an indication of the amount and type of support being requested from all sources, title of the project and a narrative description (1,000 words or less) of the issue (s) or need (s) to be addressed by the proposal, the work to be performed and the anticipated outcome a description of how the proposal fits the foundation’s program guidelines and a description of how the project and/or research is innovative in nature.

Award Amounts: Vary

Contact: Amanda Liedtka

Email: info@earlychildhoodfoundation.org

Links to Additional Information: https://earlychildhoodfoundation.org/#program-guidelines

https://earlychildhoodfoundation.org/grants/

Scholar Awards:

Path to Pro Scholarship

These scholarships are dedicated to educating more people in the skilled trades and helping them find careers in the home improvement industry through the Path to Pro program.

Deadline: December 31, 2025

Eligible Applicants Must: be a high school senior, high school graduate or have a GED equivalent,

plan to enroll, or be enrolled, in an approved trade-related program at an accredited two-year school (technical/vocational school or college) in the U.S. not be an employee or dependent of an employee of The Home Depot. Employees of The Home Depot and their dependents are eligible to apply for a scholarship from The Homer Fund for carpentry, electrical, HVAC, plumbing or construction management

Award Amounts: $2,500

Number of Awards: 125

Email: scholarships@skillpointefoundation.org

Link to Additional Information: https://corporate.homedepot.com/page/path-pro

Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards

This foundation awards up to 15 Jewish teens with $36,000 each for their leadership efforts to change the world. From the environment to social justice to access to education and beyond, these young people are tackling big challenges in their communities and having a tremendous impact.

Deadline: January 8, 2026

Eligible Applicants Must: be 15-19 years old by January 8, 2026 identify as Jewish be a resident of the U.S.

volunteer without any compensation serve in a leadership role on one project or initiative that embodies the values of tikkun olam – repairing the world

Award Amounts: $36,000

Number of Awards: 15

Email: dillerteenawards@sfjcf.org

Links to Additional Information: https://dillerteenawards.org/about-the-awards/

https://dillerteenawards.org/apply/

C-Span StudentCam National Video Documentary Competition Scholarships

This national video documentary competition encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation. In this coming bicentennial year, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, students in grades 6-12 are invited to create a short (5:00-6:00 minute) video documentary on either a historical or contemporary topic that relates to the competition theme:

America’s 250th Anniversary

Exploring the American Story through the Declaration of Independence

Students are asked to create a 5- to 6-minute documentary that explores the enduring impact of the Declaration of Independence by examining:

(1) its influence on a key moment from America’s 250-year history

or

(2) how the values stated in the foundational document touch on a contemporary issue impacting you or your community

Deadline: January 20, 2026

Competition Requirements: open to all students in grades 6-12

students may compete individually or in groups of up to three members

documentaries must contain clips of C-Span video that relate to the chosen topic

to thoroughly explore a variety of viewpoints, including those that may oppose the filmmakers’ point of view

film should be five to six minutes in length

entries must include either end credits or a works cited list

Award Amounts: Vary from $125 - $5,000

Number of Awards: 150

Email: educate@c-span.org

Link to Additional lnformation: https://www.studentcam.org/

Pat Tillman College Scholarships

The Pat Tillman Scholar Program provides educational scholarships and leadership development for active-duty service members, veterans and spouses. This program covers tuition, books and living expenses for full-time students.

Applications Open: December 1, 2025

Eligible Applicants Must: be a veteran and active-duty military service members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces including the National Guard who have served in both pre-and post-9/11 era

be current spouses of veterans or active service members, including surviving spouses

be a full-time* student pursuing one of the following degrees at a public or private, U.S.-based, accredited institution for the upcoming fall/spring academic year: a full-time undergraduate degree (No certificates or associate degree)

a full-time graduate or professional degree (No certificates or associate degree)

you do not need to attend a University Partners school to apply. See video in regard to the University Partners vs at-large process for more information

Award Amounts: Are determined on an individual basis that is intended to meet each scholar’s unique need

Number of Awards: 60

Email: scholarhips@pattillmanfoundation.org

Links to Additional Information: https://pattillmanfoundation.org/

https://pattillmanfoundation.org/apply/

https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/non_va_resources.asp

Jackie Robinson College Scholarships

These generous four-year scholarships and comprehensive support services are offered to highly motivated college students with financial needs to ensure their success and further develop their leadership potential.

Deadline: January 7, 2026

Eligible Applicants Must: be a graduating high school senior

be a United States citizen

submit evidence of financial need

demonstrate a record of academic excellence

demonstrate leadership potential and a dedication to community service

plan to attend an accredited and approved four-year college/university within the U.S. or affiliated with a U.S.-based college or university

have not accrued more than 25% of credits needed to graduate from college

Award Amounts: Up to $35,000 over four years

Number of Awards: Approximately 60

Email: connect@jackierobinson.org

Links to Additional Information: https://jackierobinson.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/scholarship-app-opp2-1.pdf

https://connect.jackierobinson.org/apply/?sr=669d9644-a6bd-498f-9f76-c1f7ad4dd1cf