Why Are Renovation Grants So Hard to Find?

The question is: where can you find grants for renovation, repairs, and construction? While many businesses were forced to close their doors due to the COVID pandemic, some owners are taking the initiative during this time to improve the work facilities. However, with public donations lacking, it has been a struggle for some organizations to allot the necessary budget. But, if you have the time and patience, you might be able to find a grant that covers part of the overall cost!

Knowing What To Look For

If you’ve been searching for a while, you’ll know that many grants have their own eligibility requirements for who can apply. Furthermore, grants also have their own expectations of how the funding is to be spent. You may have come across the phrase “grants may not be used for the following” — to see ‘renovations’ is listed as one of the ineligible uses of funds. It can be frustrating, especially when some other components are a match.

So should you apply anyway and hope the funder will be lenient? This is a solid NO! Grantmakers are very specific with who and what they will fund. A lot of time goes into making the criteria. So, if you don’t match, then don’t apply! You’re not only wasting their time but also your time.

Sometimes, certain projects and expenses are ineligible for a reason! For example: due to a federal rule, child care service grants can’t be used for major construction or renovations. Which explains a lot if you’ve been looking and never found a grant in that area!

Changing Your Thinking

So where do you look when it comes to grants for renovation, repairs, and construction? Well, it’s not so much ‘where‘ but ‘how‘! Locating grants also may take some ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. For example:

An archery range was needing to make some repairs and renovations.
They were looking at the category ‘Sports & Recreation’ – but nothing seemed to align with their needs.
In the end, do you know where they found a grant?
Their winning grant was actually found in the Travel & Tourism category.
The archery range secured a $6,000 tourism revitalization grant for the exterior of their building – since it was in a historic downtown district.

So, it really depends on how broad you can think when it comes to grant seeking! As mentioned earlier, it does take patience and time. However, you could discover a grant that helps to fund your project.

Below, We’ve Listed 20 Renovation Grants Currently Accepting Applications:

Canada

• Grants to youth-serving charities to address and prevent youth homelessness.
• Grants to Alberta registered charities for capital projects serving in the areas of health and wellness, income, and education. 

USA

• Grants to nonprofits and agencies in multiple States for health, education, environment, and community services.
• Grants to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas Nonprofits for capital projects.

California

• Grants to nonprofits, schools, and agencies to benefit Native Americans, youth, and rural communities.
• Grants to Southern California nonprofits to support youth sports, activities and programs.

Colorado

• Grants to Colorado nonprofits and agencies for capital projects benefiting local residents.

Michigan

• Grants to Michigan nonprofits and individuals for local gardening and horticulture projects.

Minnesota

• In-kind services to Minnesota nonprofits for the renovation and beautification of community spaces.

Mississippi

• Grants to Mississippi local governments for economic development projects.

New York

• Grants to New York City nonprofits to serve the youth in economically disadvantaged areas.
• Grants to Schoharie County individuals and businesses for home and building repair projects.

North Dakota

• Grants to North Dakota nonprofits and agencies for community and youth programming.
• Grants to North Dakota nonprofits, schools, and agencies for community betterment.

Ohio

• Grants to Ohio nonprofits to address the needs of local children and youth.
• Grants to Ohio agencies for historical preservation projects.

Oklahoma

• Grants to for-profit businesses in the city of Enid for business development.

Pennsylvania

• Grants to Philadelphia nonprofits to benefit senior citizens and underserved children.

Rhode Island

• Grants to Rhode Island nonprofits and agencies for capital projects that address organizational needs.

South Dakota

• Grants to organizations and businesses in City of Brookings to improve tourism facilities.

Texas

• Grants to nonprofits in the Waco-McLennan County area for capital projects.

Wisconsin

• Awards to Wisconsin businesses for exceptional projects in the field of real estate.

Discovering More Funding

Grants are few and far between, but they are out there. In addition, new grants are being continuously added on a regular basis — sometimes discovering it can just come down to timing! Meanwhile, I’ve found that most grants for renovations and repairs can be found in the GrantWatch.com category: Capital Funding.

Note: It does take time to open up each grant and read the criteria to see if ‘renovations’ are eligible. But remember: don’t be discouraged if you don’t succeed the first time! Keep checking back on a regular basis, and try thinking outside the box by browsing through other categories.