New Report from GCC | Unlocking Equitable Access to Grants: Options for Federal Policymakers to Improve Matching Fund Requirements
May 9, 2024
As federal policymakers award grant funds to implement climate, clean energy, transportation, and other programs, they have opportunities to remove barriers to the equitable distribution of federal resources. Non-federal match funding requirements – mandates that require grant recipients to contribute financial or other resources for a certain percentage of the project cost in order to qualify for federal funding – are one substantial administrative and financial barrier that limits the ability of overburdened communities to benefit from federal funding programs. As a result, non-federal match requirements can be a formidable obstacle to achieving the goals of federal grant programs intended to benefit overburdened communities.
In Unlocking Equitable Access to Grants: Options for Federal Policymakers to Improve Matching Fund Requirements, published today with an accompanying Summary for Policymakers, researchers at the Georgetown Climate Center explore ways that these requirements pose a considerable challenge for already burdened communities applying to federal programs, and opportunities for officials in the White House and federal agencies to lessen this barrier, including through six recommendations:
- Explore opportunities under existing statutory authority to reduce or waive non-federal match requirements;
- Update agency grant navigators and resources to increase awareness of match requirements and agency flexibility;
- Streamline the non-federal match requirement waiver application process;
- Include support for non-federal match requirements in technical assistance to federal grant applicants;
- Engage with congressional appropriators regarding statutory requirements for non-federal match requirements; and
- Update Justice40 Guidance to provide direction to agencies regarding non-federal match requirements.
By making changes to grant processes and requirements, federal agencies can remove barriers to overburdened communities and increase equitable access to federal funding, advancing the objectives of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative and promoting its goal of fostering environmental justice.