Grant and Funding Programs

The Community Development Action Grant (CDAG) Program, which most recently has funded projects to support the production of workforce and affordable housing, has now been consolidated into the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, a new one-stop shop at EOHED for municipalities and other eligible applicants seeking public infrastructure funding to support these and other economic development projects. For more information about this program, please go to: MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

The Community Development Block Grant Program is a federally funded, competitive grant program designed to address revitalization efforts and the needs of low- and moderate-income residents by supporting housing, community and economic development activities in small cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated $9.1 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to Massachusetts for distribution through the Massachusetts Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The money will be granted to non-entitlement cities and towns.

The CITC is designed to enable local residents and stakeholders to work with and through community development corporations (CDCs) to partner with nonprofit, public, and private entities to improve economic opportunities for low and moderate income households and other residents in urban, rural, and suburban communities across the Commonwealth.  

The Community Services Block Grant is a federally funded, poverty reduction program that was created to promote and provide an array of services and activities to encourage self-sufficiency and to make permanent improvements in the lives of low-income families and individuals.

The Economic Development Fund, a component of the Massachusetts Community Development Block Grant Program, provides funding for projects that create and/or retain jobs, improve the local and/or regional tax base, or otherwise enhance the quality of life in the community. EDF gives priority to assistance for physical improvements and mixed-use projects supporting downtown and commercial center development.

Resources and tools are available to help Gateway Cities actively participate in, and contribute to, the Commonwealth’s overall economic success and to take advantage of their distinctive ability to be desirable locations for innovators, entrepreneurs and businesses and places where people with choices choose to live.

The Individual Development Account is a state funded pilot program that provides funds for low to moderate income wage earners to reach self sufficiency and ultimately achieve homeownership.

The primary mission of the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative is to make downtown revitalization an integral part of community development in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.

Neighborhood Housing Services Program assists residents and public/private entities to reinvest in urban neighborhoods in Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Quincy, and Springfield by rehabilitating housing and making it affordable for low and moderate-income families.

NSP1 is a $54.8 million grant program from the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) awarded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to Massachusetts and four of its cities. These NSP funds are to be used primarily for the acquisition and rehabilitation of abandoned and foreclosed properties. NSP2 is a competitive grant program from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) awarded by federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Peer-To-Peer Technical Assistance Program provides small grants to municipalities for short-term problem solving or technical assistance projects.