Illinois Grant News | June 2026

Notices of Funding Opportunities and Awards

Featured Funding Opportunity

Washington, D.C. | May 28 2026 | Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA955026S0001) | AFOSR plans, coordinates, and executes the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) basic research program in response to technical guidance from AFRL and requirements of the Air Force. Additionally, the office fosters, supports, and conducts research within Air Force, university, and industry laboratories; and ensures transition of research results to support U.S. Air Force needs. The focus of AFOSR is on research areas that offer significant and comprehensive benefits to our national war fighting and peacekeeping capabilities. These areas are organized and managed in two scientific Departments: Engineering and Information Science (RTA), Physical and Biological Sciences (RTB), and our international offices (EAORD, SOARD, and AOARD). The research activities managed within each Department are summarized in this section.

AFOSR receives Congressionally appropriated funding to support broad-based scientific and engineering research with the potential to profoundly impact future US Air Force and Space Force capabilities. This general Broad Agency Announcement outlines the U.S. Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program to solicit proposals for basic research. Approximately $200 million is anticipated to be available for support of actions awarded under this announcement, subject to the availability of funds. Research proposals typically are funded between $100,000 and $300,000 per year. Most of our awards are three (3) years in duration. Awards may be proposed for not more than five (5) years. NOTE: AFOSR will not consider any request for exception above $10,000,000.

Estimated Awards: 9,999. Total Funding: $200,000,000. Award Ceiling: $10,000,000. Closing Date: Open until superseded.

Funding Opportunities

Washington, D.C. | June 15 2026 | Technical Assistance and Training for Rural, Small and Tribal Municipalities and Wastewater Treatment Systems (EPA-OW-OWM-26-01) | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 104(b)(8) to provide Technical Assistance and Training for Rural, Small and Tribal Municipalities and Wastewater Treatment Systems. The program supports small, rural, and Tribal communities’ efforts to identify water challenges, develop plans, build technical, financial, and managerial capacity, comply with CWA requirements, and access water infrastructure funding. Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity under the Clean Water Act, EPA will achieve greater protection of public health and the environment through an increase in trained water sector personnel, access to funding and financing for wastewater treatment facilities, and Clean Water Act compliance. This action advances the Administration’s priorities, including to Make America Healthy Again, by improving water quality and reducing exposure risks, and enabling responsible economic growth for small, rural, and tribal communities through improved wastewater infrastructure. In partnership with States, Tribes, and local governments and grounded in sound science and the law, EPA will deliver cleaner water, stronger infrastructure, and long-term environmental stewardship for all Americans. Estimated Awards: 12. Total Funding: $25,500,000. Award Ceiling: $3,000,000. Closing Date: August 14 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 11 2026 | ​Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention – Transition to Practice Program (NEPQR-TPP) (HRSA-26-086) | The Nurse Education, Pracitce, Quality and Retention – Transition to Practice Program (NEPQR-TPP) aims to increase the nursing workforce and address the nursing shortage in rural and medically underserved communities, by supporting innovative educational and clinical training opportunities. Estimated Awards: 12. Total Funding: $12,000,000. Award Ceiling: $1,000,000. Closing Date: August 11  2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 12 2026 | Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Space Technology Artemis Research (M-STAR) (NNH26ZHA002C-MSTAR) | The Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Space Technology Artemis Research (M-STAR) opportunity is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiative through its Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM). It is designed to strengthen the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in the future of space exploration. Estimated Awards: 12. Total Funding: $12,000,000. Award Ceiling: $1,000,000. Closing Date: August 11  2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 11 2026 | FY2025 Historic Preservation Fund – Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grants (P25AS00500) | In 1988, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Preservation grant program was established to document, preserve, and stabilize historic structures on HBCU campuses. Historic resources on campuses of accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places either individually or as contributing to a National Register or National Historic Landmark historic district are eligible for this program. Projects must meet major program selection criteria and all work must follow the Secretary of the Interior”s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation. Projects may also fund survey, nomination, and preservation planning for historic HBCU campuses. Estimated Awards: 16. Total Funding: $11,000,000. Award Ceiling: $750,000. Closing Date: July 28 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 10 2026 | Youth Homelessness NOFO for FY2024 and FY2025 (CPD-2600-DC-0035) | The Youth Homelessness NOFO provides competitive awards to eligible applicants under two different programs-Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) grants- Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 14.277Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)- ALN 14.276Under the YHSI grants, HUD will make awards to selected communities to support them in establishing and implementing a response system for youth homelessness or for improving their existing response system. HUD will select approximately 49 communities for YHSI grants.Under the YHDP, HUD will provide funding to communities to implement housing and supportive services projects. HUD anticipates selecting between 26 and 50 communities, with a priority for communities with substantial rural populations in up to sixteen locations.Separate from this NOFO, technical assistance will be available to assist selected communities implement and improve their YHSI and YHDP projects. HUD expects communities to fully participate in any evaluation activities conducted by HUD beginning no earlier than the award announcement.See Section III for additional information about this NOFO. Estimated Awards: 73. Total Funding: $190,000,000. Award Ceiling: $15,000,000. Closing Date: August 10 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 9 2026 | FY26 COPS School Violence Prevention Program (O-COPS-2026-172540) | The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by supporting the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources. This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the FY26 School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP). This funding opportunity seeks to provide competitive funding directly to states, units of local government, Indian tribes, and their public agencies to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the recipient’s jurisdiction through evidence-based school safety programs. The COPS Office anticipates that up to $73,000,000 will be available for up to $500,000 per award, with approximately 200 awards anticipated. A local cost share (matching funds) of at least 25 percent in the form of cash is required unless a match waiver is requested and approved, and the period of performance duration will be 36 months, with a period of performance start date of 10/1/26. Estimated Awards: 200. Total Funding: $730,000,000. Award Ceiling: $500,000. Closing Date: August 4 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 9 2026 | FY26 COPS Hiring Program (O-COPS-2026-172611) | The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and supporting the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources. The purpose of CHP is to fund law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career sworn law enforcement officers/deputies in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Anticipated outcomes of CHP awards include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities. Estimated Awards: 250. Total Funding: $157,594,000. Award Ceiling: $6,250,000. Closing Date: July 23 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 8 2026 | Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU) (W911NF26S0085) | This solicitation invites applications (also referred to as “proposals”) for basic research projects. The proposals must align with the research areas of interest to the DoW (which includes the USW(R&E) and the Agencies) and enhance the education of students in areas of STEM that align with the DoW research interests. Information about these areas of interest (including websites) is  discussed below. The USW(R&E) Critical Technology Area descriptions are at https://www.cto.mil/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-One-Pager-Option-Nov2025.pdf. The critical technology priorities rely on innovation and workforce talent. The critical technology areas are: Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI); Biomanufacturing (BIO);  Contested Logistics Technologies (LOG); Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance (Q-BID); Scaled Directed Energy (SCADE); [and] Scaled Hypersonics (SHY). Basic research projects in research areas of interest to the Agencies are presented in their respective Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs). Estimated Awards: Not specified (30+). Total Funding: $60,000,000. Award Ceiling: $2,000,000. Closing Date: August 11 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 2 2026 | FY26 COPS Technology and Equipment Program )(O-COPS-2026-172583) | This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the FY26 Technology and Equipment Program (TEP). This noncompetitive, invitational, funding opportunity provides funding to state, territorial, local, Tribal, and other entities designated under the heading “Community Oriented Policing Services, Technology and Equipment Community Projects / COPS Law Enforcement Technology and Equipment” in the Congressional Joint Explanatory Statement – Division C, which is incorporated by reference into Public Law 119-74, to develop and acquire effective law enforcement equipment, technologies and interoperable communications that assist in responding to and preventing crime and expand the implementation of community policing. Equipment funded under this program should meet any applicable requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Office of Law Enforcement Standards. Estimated Awards: 437. Total Funding: $401,406,387. Award Ceiling: $20,000,000. Closing Date: July 16 2026.

Washington, D.C. | June 1 2026 | FY 2026 Continuum of Care Competition and Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Grants NOFO (CPD-2600-DC-0025) | The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to:promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness;provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, States, Indian Tribes or Tribally Designated Housing Entities [as defined in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103) (TDHEs)], and local governments to quickly rehouse individuals and families experiencing homelessness, persons experiencing trauma or a lack of safety related to, or fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and youth experiencing homelessness while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness;promote access to, and effective utilization of, mainstream programs and programs funded with State or local resources; andoptimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.The goal of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is to support the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness and sharing that experience with and mobilizing communities around the country toward the same end. The population to be served by the demonstration program is youth ages 24 and younger who are experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied and pregnant or parenting youth. Estimated Awards: 7000. Total Funding: $4,040,000,000. Award Ceiling: $25,000,000. Closing Date: August 26  2026.

Grant Awards

Washington, D.C. | June 10 2026 | Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $22 Million for Cleaner Water in Chicago | U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the City of Chicago’s Department of Water Management will receive $22,119,933 in grant funding to help get lead out of the city’s drinking water by supporting approximately 650 lead service line replacements in the Austin neighborhood. This comes after the Senators announced over $316 million for clean water funding in Illinois last month, including $295,551,000 for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to boost Illinois’ Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and $21,335,000 through EPA’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant program to help address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in Illinois communities. This funding is made possible through Duckworth’s clean drinking water provisions in the historic 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which represent the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in history.

Springfield, Illinois | June 5 2026 | IDNR awards grants to 73 volunteer fire departments across Illinois  | The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has awarded $495,000 in federal grants to 73 volunteer fire departments across the state to help with purchasing new equipment or paying for fire training. The Volunteer Fire Capacity (VFC) grant program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The program provides matching funds to aid fire departments in the purchase of new equipment and helps fund training. Funding is passed through IDNR to local fire departments and fire training academies. The 73 grantees provide fire protection to about 250,000 Illinois residents, primarily in rural areas of Illinois.

Chicago, Illinois | June 3 2026 | City launches grant program to help emerging theater companies | Chicago’s cultural department announced a new grant program Wednesday aimed at helping emerging theater organizations strengthen their infrastructure and build audiences. The program, Next Stage Chicago, will provide a maximum of $50,000 to up to eight nonprofit theater companies that have been in business for at least three years but no more than 10. Cultural commissioner Kenya Merritt said the $400,000 program is an investment in organizations that are “essential to the vitality of Chicago’s neighborhoods.”

Washington, D.C. | June 2 2026 | Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $69 Million In Health Care Grants For Illinois | U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $69,081,227 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to Illinois institutions. About $67.7 million of this funding was awarded through the Health Resources & Services Administration’s (HRSA) Health Center Program (H80), which offers federal funding for health centers that treat medically underserved communities. The other $1.4 million in grant funding will go toward supporting rural health care programs, addiction treatment, and community-based dental programs.

Chicago, Illinois | June 1 2026 |  Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Department of Housing Announce Homegrown Purchase Assistance Program |Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Housing (DOH) announced the HomeGrown Purchase Assistance Program, a new initiative designed to help eligible homebuyers achieve homeownership by providing assistance for down payments and closing costs. Funded with $21 million from Mayor Johnson’s $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond, the HomeGrown Program was created to address the growing affordability challenges facing low and moderate-income level families in today’s housing market.  

Post will be updated until the end of the month | Most recent update: June 16 2026.

Information is provided as a courtesy | See the original notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) for application eligibility and requirements.