The Community Engagement Cluster and the Office of Grants Management are soliciting grant applications under the County’s 2026 Emerging Business Districts Grants Program, which aims to establish Business Improvement Districts or Urban District Corporations within Montgomery County by subsidizing the formation and support of non-profit commercial district management entities to conduct place making, place management, branding, and economic development activities in a designated neighborhood.
Donor Name: Montgomery County Government
State: Maryland
County: Montgomery County (MD)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/02/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Funding Information
A total of $300,000 will be made available to fund awards between $100,000 and $300,000 for up to 12 months.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants and their proposed projects must meet all of the following Programmatic Eligibility requirements to be considered for funding.
- Applicants may only submit one application per organization under this NOFO;
- Proposed expenses must be for a new activity, expansion of existing activities, or a combination of both. County funding cannot be used to supplant other funding for already planned activities.
Organization Eligibility Criteria
- The organization must have a Federal 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6) tax-exempt status or be a collaboration between two or more entities with at least one having this status;
- Organizations that were funded under this program last year are eligible to apply. If submitting a multi-year application, please note that FY26 counts as Year 1. As such, they may submit applications that request funding for up to two more years.
- Existing BIDS and UDCs are NOT eligible to apply for this Grant Program.
Montgomery County Eligibility Conditions:
- The organization must be currently registered and in Good Standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT);
- The organization’s principal place of business must be located in Montgomery County; if it is a national or regional organization, it must have a location in Montgomery County through which it provides related services;
- All activities and expenditures under this Grant Program must be provided in Montgomery County, and be exclusively for Montgomery County residents; and
- All successful applications must clearly state the following and activities and expenditures funded through this grant program must:
- Be provided free of charge (this includes a prohibition on requesting donations and use of County resources for fundraising);
- Not be provided in promotion of a particular religion, political party, etc. or with a requirement of service or program attendance; and
- Be open and available to all Montgomery County residents, regardless of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibility, genetic status, presence of children, or source of income.
- Current Montgomery County contract or grant award winners must be in performance compliance and current on all reporting obligations for other awards and those reports must reflect substantial progress towards the goals of their awards.
For more information, visit Montgomery County Government.
