Rural Utilities Service · Department of Agriculture
Solid Waste Management Grant Program
Key facts
- Deadline
- Due Dec 31, 2026 · 85 days left
- Award size
- Up to $1M
- Total available
- $4M · about 40 awards
- Match ?
- Not required · Work out your budget and match
- Who can apply
- Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
- Where
- Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee
How this fits you
- Available in Henry County (nationwide program)
- No match required
- Past Tennessee awards on file: 3
Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.
Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/f1c7907e-1cba-461c-83a8-b3ce3f4fae16 · Printed from grantme.click/grants/73b10a4d-5a85-44aa-bc2f-8a1468cca9df
View on Grants.gov Add deadline to my calendar
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About this grant
Funds may be used to:
(a) Provide technical assistance and/or training to reduce the solid waste stream through reduction, recycling, and reuse.
(b) Provide training to enhance operator skills in maintaining and operating active landfills.
(c) Provide technical assistance and/or training for operators of landfills which are closed or will be closed in the near future with the development/implementation of closure plans, future land use plans, safety and maintenance planning, and closure scheduling within permit requirements.
(d) Evaluate current landfill conditions to determine the threats to water resources.
(e) Pay the expenses associated with providing the technical assistance and/or training authorized in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section.
Grant funds may not be used to:
(a) Duplicate current services or replace or substitute support normally provided by other means, such as those performed by an association's consultant in developing a project, including feasibility, design, and cost estimates.
(b) Fund political or lobbying activities.
(c) Purchase real estate or vehicles, improve or renovate office space, or repair and maintain privately owned property.
(d) Pay the costs for construction, improvement, rehabilitation, modification, or operation and maintenance of water, wastewater, and solid waste disposal facilities.
(e) Construct or furnish a building.
(f) Intervene in the Federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings.
(g) Sue the Federal Government or any other government entities.
(h) Pay for any other costs that are not allowable under 2 CFR part 200, as adopted by USDA through 2 CFR part 400.
(i) Make contributions or donations to others.
(j) Fund projects that duplicate technical assistance given to implement action plans under the National Forest-Dependent Rural Communities Economic Diversification Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6613). Applicants cannot receive both grants made under this part and grants that the Forest Service makes to implement the action plans for five continuous years from the date of grant approval by the Forest Service.
(1) The Forest Service helps rural communities that are dependent upon national forest resources diversify existing industries and economies. It establishes rural forestry and economic diversification action teams that prepare technical assistance plans for these rural communities to...
Who can apply, from the official notice
An organization is eligible to receive a SWM grant if it: a) is a private, non-profit organization that has tax-exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A nonprofit organization is defined as any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that:(i) Is operated primarily for scientific, education, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest.(ii) Is not organized primarily for profit.(iii) Uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations.(2) Public bodies.(3) Federally acknowledged or State-recognized Native American tribe or group.(4) Academic institutions.(b) Entities must be legally established and located within a state as defined in § 1775.2.(c) Organizations must be incorporated by December 31 of the year the application period occurs to be eligible for funds.(d) Private businesses, Federal agencies, and individuals are ineligible for these grants.(e) Applicants must also have the proven ability; background; experience, as evidenced by the organization's satisfactory completion of project(s) similar to those proposed; legal authority; and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a regional basis to associations as provided in § 1775.63. To meet the requirement of actual capacity, an applicant must either:(1) Have the necessary resources to provide technical assistance and/or training to associations in rural areas through its staff, or(2) Be assisted by an affiliate or member organization which has such background and experience and which agrees, in writing, that it will provide the assistance, or(3)Click to open paragraph tools Contract with a nonaffiliated organization for not more than 49 percent of the grant to provide the proposed assistance.
Your schedule, working back from the deadline
- Oct7
Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov - Dec10
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters. - Dec24
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft. - Dec29
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog - Dec31
Deadline
From the funder.
Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.
Writing the need statement? Henry County facts with citations.
What the official notice requires
Pulled from the official notice FY27_SWMG_NOFO.pdf (16 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.
Registrations you need first (3)
Grants.gov · p. 2
“Make sure you have the most recent copy of Adobe Reader installed on your computer and that it is compatible with Grants.gov software.” Open page 2
Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 2
“Remember to input the correct UEI number on the SF-424 cover page.” Open page 2
SAM.gov · p. 7
“See Section 4.3 of this Notice for information pertaining to the creation of the Unique Entity Identifier through the System for Award Management, which is required to complete this review. 3.2 Cost Sharing or M atchin g There are no cost sharing or matching…” Open page 7
Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist
What to submit
Form SF-424 · p. 2
“Remember to input the correct UEI number on the SF-424 cover page.” Open page 2
Timeline or schedule of completion · p. 4
“To be considered for administrative points, the applicant’s work plan must include a separate section titled, “Administrative Points” that provides information detailing how the project proposal will support the key priorities. 1.2 Purpose of the P rogram…” Open page 4
Audit or financial statements · p. 14
“Further, all grantees must submit an audit or financial information covering the defined period of performance as outlined in 7 CFR 1775.21, Audit or financial statements, and the Grant Agreement. 7.0 FEDERAL AWARD AGENCY CONTACTS For general questions about…” Open page 14
Length limits
Page limit (see quote): 50 pages max · p. 7
“The total application package, including all addendums except financial audits, must be no more than 50 pages.” Open page 7
Page limit (see quote): 20 pages max · p. 7
“The proposal alone must be no more than 20 pages as further defined in the FY 2027 SWM Application Processing Guide and clearly identify language that supports priority scoring elements.” Open page 7
Cost share or match
Cost share / match · p. 12
“Demonstrated commitment of non-federal resources 10- 24.99% of total budget. 10 points Between 1-9.99% of non-federal resources. 5 points No matching funds or in-kind support 0 points 13 Sustainability:” Open page 12
Dates in the notice
October 1, 2026 · p. 1
“October 1, 2026 Application Due Date:” Open page 1
December 31, 2026 · p. 8
“If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Agency is ready to make an award, the Agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal…” Open page 8
Mistakes that get applications rejected (6)
Missing a required part: Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. · p. 2
“Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.” Open page 2
Missing a required part: If any authorizing or organizational documents are missing, the application will NOT be considered for funding. · p. 7
“If any authorizing or organizational documents are missing, the application will NOT be considered for funding.” Open page 7
Not an eligible applicant: Proposals with any ineligible components will not be considered for funding. · p. 7
“Proposals with any ineligible components will not be considered for funding.” Open page 7
Missing a required part: Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. 4.3 Unique Entity Identifier and... · p. 8
“Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. 4.3 Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (a) Prior to application submission, each applicant must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) in…” Open page 8
Missing a required part: Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. · p. 8
“Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.” Open page 8
Missing a required part: (a) Incomplete or ineligible applications as of the deadline for submission will not be considered. · p. 13
“(a) Incomplete or ineligible applications as of the deadline for submission will not be considered.” Open page 13
Who in Tennessee has won this program
3 awards to Tennessee groups in 1 county since 2024 · 0 in Henry County. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Memphis | Memphis, Shelby County | $237K | 2025 |
| University of Memphis | Memphis, Shelby County | $210K | 2025 |
| University of Memphis | Memphis, Shelby County | $193K | 2025 |
Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.
About the federal program
Solid Waste Management Grants
Program number 10.762 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service · Project grant
How applications are judged
Grant funds will be directed to those applicants who; (1) Have demonstrated ability to provide technical assistance on a regional basis to rural communities; (2) propose to assist small, low income communities; (3) propose to serve multi-State, regional or nationwide areas; (4) the extent to which the proposed project is cost effective; and (5) meet the objectives of RUS Water and Waste Disposal Program.
Match
None required (federal program listing).
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal year 2025: Provided hands-on technical assistance and training on solid waste resilience planning and management. Help low-income rural and Tribal communities provide environmentally sound waste disposal programs, including alternative disposal such as composting. Programs to enhance economic development and sustainability by providing technical assistance to strengthen solid waste reduction and recycling programs.