Applicants are invited to apply for the Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grants.
Donor Name: Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA)
State: Iowa
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/26/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant program supports the use of publicly available, online information and rural community efforts to interpret publicly available hard data to implement changes through development codes, local ordinances, and housing incentives specific to individual community needs.
In partnership with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach’s Rural Housing Readiness Assessment workshops, program funding will empower communities to assess the current development environment and enact changes resulting in the creation of policies and procedures attractive to potential developers.
The program, defined in the Iowa Administrative Code, is administered by the Center for Rural Revitalization, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative task force and ISU Extension and Outreach.
Funding Information
Grant recipients will be awarded $20,000.
Grant Period
2 years
Uses of Funds
The Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant program provides funding for housing assessment
data collection and the ISU Extension and Outreach Rural Housing Readiness Assessment workshop.
Funds may be used to fulfill that process at the discretion of the grant recipient but must contribute to the completion of the housing assessment report, workshop or implementation of the workshop outcomes within the contract period.
Eligibility Criteria
- Local city and county governments, as well as federally recognized tribal governments physically located in Iowa, are eligible. The government must exist in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer that is not contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or more. Countywide projects must be located in one of the 88 least populous counties in Iowa.
- Eligible Project Requirements
- Requirements for Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant awards include, but are not limited to:
- Applicant must demonstrate the capacity for grants administration.
- Application must demonstrate the feasibility of completing the proposed activities with the funds
requested and within the contract period. - Application must identify and describe any other sources of funding for the proposed activities.
- Applicant must provide required 1:1/2 cash match.
- Applications must agree to contract with ISU Extension and Outreach for the facilitated Rural Housing Readiness Assessment workshop.
- Applications must identify any additional partner organizations that will be utilized in data collection or implementation processes.
- Requirements for Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Grant awards include, but are not limited to:
For more information, visit IEDA.
