The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is soliciting applications for grants under the 2026 Delta Workforce Grant Program (DWP).
Donor Name: Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/15/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The DWP is an initiative designed to build long-term community capacity and increase economic competitiveness by providing grants to support workforce training and education programs throughout the lower Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions. DWP supports projects and initiatives that create a more vibrant economic future for the Delta region by expanding opportunities to recruit, train, and retain a diverse and local workforce; aligning workforce and economic development strategies; creating sustainable talent pipelines; establishing or enhancing locally/regionally significant sector-based partnerships; and supporting enhanced workforce productivity through investments in innovative programming or services.
The DRA was established in 2000 as a formal framework for joint federal-state collaboration to promote and encourage the economic development of the lower Mississippi River and Alabama Black Belt regions. To fulfill this purpose, DRA invests in projects supporting transportation infrastructure, basic public infrastructure, workforce training and business development. DRA works to create jobs, build communities, and improve the lives of those that reside in the region. DRA’s region encompasses 255 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
This program is designed to support evidence-based projects that:
- Develop or enhance cross-system partnerships by aligning economic development, workforce training, education, and other strategies to advance local or regional
- Deliver specific workforce services meeting identified local or regional needs, including the development or expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs, on-the-job training models, and other work-based learning approaches, among others,
- Create or expand workforce training programs that are skills based and valued in the labor market,
- Develop recruiting and hiring practices, such as skills-based hiring, and educational practices, such as issuance of credit for prior learning, that leverage the talents of existing workers, and
- Support the acquisition or development of curriculum and/or equipment, ensuring the
delivery of quality, innovative training and workforce services
Goals
- Invest in Public Infrastructure
- Nurture Local Workforce Ecosystems
- Promote Business Growth and Entrepreneurship
- Support Community Placemaking and Capacity-Building
Objectives
- Supporting Industry-Led Workforce Training
- Building Collaborative Talent Pipelines
- Supporting or Enhancing Industry Clusters
- Accelerating Local or Regional Economic Development.
Funding Information
- Total Funds Available: $4 Million
- Grant Award Minimum: $50,000
- Grant Award Maximum: $300,000.
Grant Period
The period of performance for awards made under this program will be no more than 24 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Local governments, including counties, parishes, cities, towns, villages, including special purpose districts or consortia engaged in economic and/or community development activities
- Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations
- Regional development organizations
- Economic development organizations.
- Workforce investment boards
- Unions/labor organizations
- Community-based organizations
- Faith-based organizations
- Institutions of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education
- Trade or Technical schools
- Federally Recognized Tribes.
For more information, visit ADECA.
