Urban Agenda Grant Program

Urban Agenda is a competitive grant program that funds community-driven responses to community-defined economic opportunities

Through the Urban Agenda Grant Program, the Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) funds projects or programs that build leadership, collaboration, and capacity within Massachusetts cities and towns. Successful applications come from a group of local organizations working together in a single city, town, or neighborhood

Program Information

The Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) is pleased to announce that the FY2025 round is now open.

The Urban Agenda Grant Program is part of the Community One Stop for Growth, a single application portal and collaborative review process of community and economic development grant programs that make targeted investments based on a Development Continuum. Access to this program is now exclusively available through the One Stop. Learn more about the One Stop.

The Executive Office of Economic Development recognizes that urban centers face unique economic and quality of life challenges, and that the path to success lies in tapping into the unique local assets that they already possess, rather than in one-size-fits-all directives from government. Urban Agenda is focused on supporting economic vitality and cultivating stronger urban neighborhoods across the entire Commonwealth. 

The program is designed to support community economic development that is grounded in collaboration and local leadership development. Generally, applicants should base their project proposal on locally significant economic opportunities. The key is that the project be in direct response to a need or opportunity that the community group has identified and deemed important. 

The primary funding priorities of the program, based on the development continuum outlined in the Community One Stop for Growth, will be Community Activation and Placemaking, specifically Equitable Workforce and Business Development Programming. Project categories include 1) Entrepreneurship, Small Business Development and Technical Assistance, 2) Workforce Development, Training Initiatives, and Job Pipelines, and 3) Community Organizing and Leadership Development.   

Lead applicants can be either Massachusetts municipal governments or nonprofit organizations. The lead applicant manages the grant funds and is responsible for grant reporting on behalf of the coalition.  

The lead applicant must show that they are working as part of an active collaboration – that is, that they have at least one partner in the community (and preferably several) all working together on the project. Ideally, these coalitions will include partners from the private and public sectors as well as community groups. Active and collaborative coalitions that receive support from this program are deeper and broader than a mere referral or financial relationship between partners. 

 

How to Apply / Key Dates

Information on how to apply to the Urban Agenda Program can be found at mass.gov/onestop.

For Specific Program Rules see the Guidelines:

FY25 Urban Agenda Program Guidelines

Application Deadline: June 5, 2024 @ 11:59PM

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