Earlier this week, Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced two competing funds are now available to communities with populations under 20,000. A total of up to $400,000 has been allocated to the Rural Innovation Grant program and the Rural Housing Assessment Grant program for current Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 through FY 2022. The Rural Innovation Grant program provides up to $300,000 to support creative, non-traditional ideas that focus on current issues and challenges faced by rural communities. These are to be associated with the themes of community investment, growth and connection. The Rural Housing Assessment Grant program provides up to $100,000 to support the use of publicly available online information through the “Profile of Iowa” tool. This includes efforts to interpret the data presented with supplemental information as well as to implement through changes to development codes, local ordinances and housing incentives specific to their community needs. This is in partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “The Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa initiative has been instrumental in advancing projects that are essential for growing our rural communities, like expanding broadband and creating affordable housing,” Reynolds says. “The Rural Innovation Grant Program and the Rural Housing Assessment Grant Program will spark innovation in small communities across Iowa, providing the next generation of rural leaders additional tools for success.” Links for more information and applications can be found below.