At the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission, we work closely with our member governments and community partners to secure resources that strengthen our region. Understanding these new changes will be critical for staying competitive in the evolving federal funding landscape.
Key Changes to Federal Grantmaking
- Increased Political Oversight: Each federal agency must now designate a senior presidential appointee to review funding opportunities and discretionary awards.
- Grant programs must align with administration policy priorities and the national interest as defined by the White House.
What this means: Applications will be judged not just on technical merit, but also on how well they support federal policy priorities.
Restrictions on Certain Activities
Discretionary grants cannot fund programs that:
- Use racial preferences or race-based selection criteria.
- Challenge the concept of a male-female sex binary or promote gender ideology programs.
- Facilitate or support illegal immigration.
- Promote activities deemed inconsistent with “American values” or that compromise public safety.
What this means: Programs centered on DEI, gender identity, or immigration services will no longer be eligible for discretionary federal funding.
Preference for Efficient and Broad Distribution of Funds
- Agencies are instructed to favor organizations with lower indirect costs (administrative/overhead rates).
- Funding should be spread across a wider range of recipients, not concentrated among a few repeat awardees.
- For research, emphasis will be placed on institutions that produce rigorous, reproducible results, rather than relying on reputation alone.
What this means: Smaller nonprofits, community-based organizations, and local governments may gain a competitive edge over large institutions with higher overhead costs.
Stronger Accountability and Evaluation
- Grant proposals must include clear benchmarks for success and measurable outcomes.
- Scientific research proposals must commit to “Gold Standard Science,” emphasizing reproducibility and rigor.
- Agencies must review awards annually for progress and alignment with agency priorities.
What this means: Applicants will need strong evaluation plans and measurable performance indicators to remain competitive.
Grant Termination for Convenience
- All discretionary grants must include provisions allowing the federal government to terminate funding at any time if a project no longer aligns with agency priorities or the national interest.
- Agencies must update existing awards to include this authority.
What this means: Even awarded grants carry greater risk. Local governments and nonprofits should avoid over-reliance on a single federal grant stream and have contingency plans in place.
Administration’s Current Grantmaking Priorities
Based on the Executive Order, the administration has outlined the following key priorities for federal funding:
- Alignment with the President’s policy agenda and the national interest.
- Avoidance of funding programs tied to DEI, critical race theory, gender ideology, or immigration services.
- Cost efficiency, with preference given to organizations that maintain low administrative overhead.
- Broad distribution of funds across a diverse range of recipients, not just large or repeat institutions.
- Strong commitment to accountability, measurable outcomes, and Gold Standard Science.
- Plain language applications designed to reduce complexity and lower barriers to entry.
- Enhanced interagency coordination to eliminate duplicative funding opportunities.
What This Means for Southwest Georgia
For local governments, nonprofits, and educational partners in our region, this executive order means both new opportunities and new challenges:
- Projects tied to public safety, economic development, housing, infrastructure, and rural development are more likely to align with administration priorities.
- Organizations with low overhead costs and strong accountability systems will be well-positioned to compete.
- Programs previously focused on DEI, immigration, or gender initiatives will need to reassess funding strategies.
- Federal funds may be less stable due to expanded termination clauses, making funding diversification more important than ever.
To stay competitive, grant applications must be
aligned with national priorities, fiscally lean, results-driven, and clearly measurable.
Southwest Georgia Regional Commission Receives 2026 Excellence in Regional Transportation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations
Five Southwest Georgia Communities Awarded CHIP Housing Grants
Southwest Georgia Regional Commission Staff Participate in 2026 GARC Economic Development Conference
SWGRC Staff Attend HUD Healthy Homes Program Manager Training
Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) Now Accepting Applications for 2026 Cycle
RRP Lead-Based Paint Certification Training Coming to Camilla
Miller County Transit Development Plan (TDP) in Development
The Southwest Georgia Regional Commission is currently developing a Transit Development Plan (TDP) for Lee County. This effort aims to strengthen coordination and collaboration while supporting local planning and informational needs. The plan is funded through a planning grant from GDOT (5304) and is intended to serve as a guiding resource for the county and its municipalities. This plan is prepared with data compiled from several sources, including U.S. Census Bureau data, American Community Survey results, the community’s most recent Comprehensive Plan, GDOT’s adopted Regional Transit Development Plan, GDOT’s Statewide Transit Plan, community input survey results, community websites, and Southwest Georgia Regional Transit trip data. Lee County, its municipalities, and GDOT, will be encouraged to use this plan to help inform future decisions related to rural public transit services. Community Input Meetings Two meetings are scheduled for Friday, May 8, 2026: 9:30 AM-10:30 AM at the Leesburg Library 1:00 PM-2:00 PM at the Oakland Library Download the flyer which includes a QR code for easy access to the survey. The survey does not have to be completed at the scheduled meetings. The survey can be completed at any time, and a direct link to the survey is also provided here . Additionally, I encourage anyone to reach out to me by phone if they do not have internet access or cannot attend the meeting using the contact information below: Amanda Nava-Estill Director of Transportation (229) 552-3552 x108
BJA FY25 De-escalation and Crisis Response Training Program This funding opportunity supports state, local, and tribal governments, law enforcement agencies, correctional facilities, probation and parole departments, and sheriff’s departments in developing, implementing, or expanding de-escalation and crisis response training programs that improve law enforcement responses to and outcomes for individuals in crisis who have behavioral health conditions, intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DDs), physical disabilities, and/or traumatic brain injuries. Eligible Applicants: State governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other units of local government, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education with on-campus police departments, public or state-controlled hospitals with on-campus police departments (see NOFO for full details). Application Deadlines: May 27 11:59PM EST for submission to Grants.Gov and June 3, 8:59PM EST for submission to JustGrants. --- BJA FY25 Rural Law Enforcement Violent Crime Reduction Initiative This funding opportunity seeks to support local law enforcement in rural jurisdictions to prevent, respond to, and reduce violent crime. The goal is to equip rural law enforcement agencies and prosectors’ offices with the resources necessary to implement a violent crime reduction strategy to solve a specific violent crime challenge. Eligible Applicants: State governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other units of local government (see NOFO for full details). Application Deadlines: May 27, 11:59PM EST for submission to Grants.Gov and June 3, 8:59PM EST for submission to JustGrants. --- OJJDP FY25 Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention Program This funding opportunity supports the implementation of intervention and suppression strategies to reduce youth gang crime and violence and promote public safety. These strategies will help to prevent youth from joining gangs, discontinue involvement in gangs, and prevent and reduce additional youth gang violence. Eligible Applicants: State governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other units of local government (see NOFO for full details). Application Deadlines: May 21, 11:59PM EST for submission to Grants.Gov and June 1, 8:59PM EST for submission to JustGrants.
Bainbridge, GA October 28-29, 2026 In-Person: 2-day conference The DCA Office of Planning, in partnership with the Georgia Planning Association, offers a series of classes called the Community Planning Institute to Georgia’s planning commissioners, elected officials and local government staff. The Institute provides information about planning for land use, growth and development. This is especially helpful for those communities that will be updating their local comprehensive plan in the coming year. Registration opens in June. $300
