About RuralFunding.org
Improving access to federal grant information for rural communities.
Our Approach
Our Mission
Rural America is diverse — economically, geographically, and culturally. Yet federal programs are often siloed across agencies and difficult to navigate at the community level.
- Increase transparency in federal funding
- Improve access to opportunity information
- Highlight local funding flows
- Empower rural leaders with better data
When communities can clearly see opportunities and funding patterns, they are better positioned to compete, collaborate, and advocate.
How We Find Grants
We pull open federal grant opportunities daily from the Grants.gov API using three complementary search strategies:
- Assistance Listing search — We monitor over 50 specific federal program codes drawn from the Brookings Institution's Rural Federal Program Database
- Keyword search — Broad searches for terms like "rural development," "tribal," "small town," and related phrases to catch opportunities outside the curated list
- Agency search — All posted opportunities from key rural-focused agencies including USDA Rural Development, EDA, BIA, HRSA, and the Forest Service
Each opportunity is classified into a rural tier (Rural Exclusive, Rural Priority, Rural Eligible, or Not Rural Targeted) based on the issuing agency, program keywords, and whether it matches a monitored assistance listing.
Data Sources
Rural Funding brings together multiple federal data sources:
Relevance Scoring
When you select a county, each grant receives a relevance score (0–100+) based on two factors:
Base Score: Rural Tier Match
We compare the grant's rural targeting level to your county's RUCC band:
| Rural Tier | Rural (RUCC 7–9) | Adjacent (RUCC 4–6) | Metro (RUCC 1–3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Exclusive | 100 | 60 | 10 |
| Rural Priority | 90 | 70 | 20 |
| Rural Eligible | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Not Rural Targeted | 10 | 30 | 70 |
Census-Based Bonus Points (+10–15 each)
When county conditions align with program focus:
- High poverty (>20%) → economic development grants
- Low broadband (<70%) → broadband/connectivity programs
- Low income (<$45k) → housing/infrastructure programs
- High unemployment (>7%) → workforce/employment grants
- Native American population (>5%) → tribal/BIA programs (+15)
Relevance scores are estimates — final eligibility decisions are always determined by the issuing federal agency. We prioritize transparency and explainability over black-box ranking.
An Initiative of Rural Progress
RuralFunding.org is an initiative of Rural Progress, a national nonprofit working to ensure rural communities have the resources, voice, and federal partnership they need to thrive.
Our team has helped secure and influence billions of dollars in federal investment for rural communities. We believe rural America deserves modern policy, strong local leadership, and equitable access to opportunity.
If you want to help expand federal funding and strengthen rural communities nationwide, we'd love to hear from you.
Get Involved →RuralFunding.org is an independent platform dedicated to improving access to federal grant information for rural communities. We do not award grants or influence funding decisions. We organize publicly available data to make federal programs more navigable and understandable at the county level.