Grant Opportunities for Towns Under 50,000

From the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership

The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is encouraging towns with 50,000 people or less to apply for a grant of up to $50,000 to fund projects to build, rebuild, or refresh community spaces that help foster local connections in your Route 66 community. For example, you could implement tech upgrades at your library, refresh a local park, or break ground on a new place where neighbors can connect. 

In partnership with Main Street America and Smart Growth America, the T-Mobile Hometown Grant program provides grants of up to $50,000 to help build stronger, more prosperous small towns and rural communities! Since the program's start, T-Mobile has given more than $7.8 million dollars to kickstart over 75 community development projects across 41 states. Grant applications and public nominations will be accepted now through Friday, June 30, 2023.

Visit https://www.tmobile.com/brand/hometown-grants for information on how to apply. 

Hometown Grants are given every quarter to up to 25 small towns. Apply for funding to support a community project of your choice, like revitalizing or repurposing a historic structure, creating a downtown asset or destination, or improving a space where friends and neighbors gather. Projects that add to a sense of place or could lead to further investment are of particular interest.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Senior Field Director Amy Webb suggests, “While it’s more about fostering local connections than getting communities ready for visitors, there might be some Historic Route 66 places/projects that could be a good fit.”