The Confidence Collective

As part of its continued efforts to grow Rhode Island's green economy, DEM has partnered with the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources to administer the RI Agricultural Energy Grant Program that provides grant awards of up to $20,000 for eligible energy efficiency and renewable energy projects at RI Farms. This funding helps local farmers "green" their operations and benefit from the related energy and cost savings through energy efficiency projects and by transitioning to renewable power.

New Jersey Re-assigning In State Employees (NJ RISE) is a new program to incentivize businesses to re-assign New Jersey residents who are working in another state to a New Jersey location. The $10 million NJ RISE Program will provide grants to companies to relocate its New Jersey-resident employees, ensuring a residents’ income taxes stay in New Jersey, which will help increase tax revenue. NJ RISE’s goal is to increase New Jersey’s Gross Income Tax Withholdings by encouraging eligible businesses to re-assign their out of state New Jersey resident employees to New Jersey by issuing an incentive based upon on the employee’s withholdings. The NJ RISE Program is a pilot program that will provide grants to businesses principally located out of state that re-assign New Jersey residents currently assigned to work in a state that employs the “convenience of employer” income taxation rule to work in a New Jersey location. The grant is equal to the amount of New Jersey Gross Income Tax withholdings of the re-assigned resident employees during one tax year of the business, not to exceed $500,000 in the aggregate per business. The sum of all grants approved will not exceed $10 million per State fiscal year. States such as Delaware, Nebraska, and New York use “convenience of employer” where an employee who resides out of state is taxed based on the employer’s assigned location. For example, if a New Jersey-resident works in a state with “convenience of employer” (State A) three days a week and from home the other two days, the employee will be taxed by State A for all five days, because the work done from home in New Jersey was at the convenience of the employer.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit grant applications to support research on the discovery and development of interventions to prevent and/or treat substance use disorders (SUDs) and overdose, including medications and medical devices to treat co-morbid SUDs. This includes preclinical and clinical research studies that will have high impact and quickly yield the necessary results to advance candidate interventions closer to regulatory approval or clinical adoption.

The DBIA Dairy Grants provide dairy farms and dairy manufacturing and processing businesses across 11 Midwestern states with reimbursement grants of up to $150,000 to support value-added projects, business diversification, and industry-wide initiatives. Administered by the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service, the program serves for-profit dairy businesses based in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Funding is offered through two grant tracks. -The Dairy Business Builder Grant: Awards reimbursements of up to $150,000 to small-to-medium farmers and processors for projects focused on dairy farm diversification, the creation of value-added products (such as cheese, yogurt, and beverages), enhancement of dairy by-products, or expansion of dairy export programs. -The Dairy Industry Impact Grant: Awards up to $100,000 for projects in targeted topic areas (e.g. dairy exporting and sustainability) that have the potential to positively impact the dairy industry as a whole. Applicants may apply to both grant programs in the same cycle if they have two separate qualifying projects, and may receive awards from both. Grants are issued as reimbursements after eligible project expenses have been incurred and documented; recipients have 12 months from the date of award to complete spending and submit reimbursement requests. Since launching in 2020, DBIA has distributed nearly $24 million across more than 290 awards to dairy farmers and processors throughout the region.

The Façade Improvement Program offers a 50/50 reimbursement grant to developers, business owners, and tax-generating, income-producing commercial property owners in Oxford, AL seeking to enhance the exterior appearance of their buildings. Structured into three tiers, the program provides funding on a per-address, per-year basis. Eligible improvements include work on the front, rear, and sides of a building, as well as exterior doors, windows, shutters, gates, and other architectural or decorative elements that contribute to the overall façade. The program’s mission is to stimulate revitalization and attract private-sector investment by proactively addressing deteriorating property conditions and encouraging enhancements that boost the economic vitality of the area.