Apply for funding through the Community Transit Grant Program for an operating or mobility management project to expand mobility.
Donor Name: Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/01/2024
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Traditionally, they use Federal Transit Administration Section 5310 funds to fund the Community Transit Grant Program operating and mobility management awards. However, this year, they have an additional funding stream available. The FY25 state budget includes $4 million to expand the Community Transit Grant Program to enhance mobility for older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals. Thanks very much to the legislature for providing these funds through the Education and Transportation Fund that is funded through the Fair Share amendment.
The federal and state funding differ in two important ways:
- Local match requirements. The federal funding requires a local match of 50% for operating projects and 20% for mobility management projects. The state funding does not require any local match.
- Scope. The federal funding must be used for projects that are specifically designed to meet the needs of seniors and people with disabilities. The state funding allows us to also fund projects serving low-income riders.
To be eligible under the new category of serving low-income communities, an applicant may either:
- Attest that their organization’s core mission is to serve low-income people
- Demonstrate a partnership with at least one organization whose mission is focused on serving low-income individuals. Please include a letter of support from this/these organization(s) that states their mission and the role they will play in this project.
Revenue Categories
For awards funded with FTA Section 5310 funding, the following categories of cash revenue can be used as local match:
- Local government appropriations
- Local dedicated tax revenues
- Private donations
- Net income generated from advertising and concessions
- Organization contracts such as human service program funding
- State funding, such as formula grants from the Executive Office of Elder Affairs
- Non-DOT federal funds.
Evaluation Criteria
Once the application passes the threshold review, MassDOT forward the application to a team of external reviewers who assess:
- The need for the project and the benefit the proposed project will have
- The project design and plan
- Proposed monitoring and evaluation of the project
- Budget, local match, and sustainability
- The extent to which the project is coordinated with other local agencies and transportation Services.
For more information, visit MassDOT.
