Community Resources
How can the Department of Commerce help you?
Grant Programs Available:
- Housing Grants
- Planning Grants
- Emergency Grants
- Public Facilities Grants
- Coal Impact Grants
- Tourism & Recreation Grants
Applying for Grants, Target Rates and Census Info, Hard Rock Mining Impacts:
- Applying for Grants
- Target Rates and Census Info
- Hard Rock Mining Impacts
Land Use, Planning, and Subdivision Laws and Technical Assistance:
Finance Information:
- The Montana Finance Information Center website contains links to virtually all of the common state, federal, and local business finance programs and technical assistance providers.
Grant Programs for Government Infrastructure for Businesses, Loans or Job Training:
- The Montana Board of Investments has the Infrastructure Loan Program that can assist communities and businesses with infrastructure improvements. With sufficient job creation the program can become essentially a grant.
- The Commerce Community Development Block Grant Economic Development Program can be accessed by applying through your local government for job training, loans and infrastructure improvements.
- The new Economic Development Trust Fund can provide grants and loans through local governments to assist businesses with a variety of needs including infrastructure improvements.
- The Commerce Finance Information Center has links to virtually every major state, federal, and local finance and technical assistance program.
One-On-One Assistance for Communities Working on Major Business Expansion Projects:
- Technical Assistance for businesses can be accessed through the Certified Regional Development Corporations (CRDC) around the state.
Loan and Grant Programs for Hospitals, Medical Centers, Correctional and other Public Facilities:
- The Commerce Community Development Block Grant - Economic Development (CDBG-ED) Program can be accessed by applying through your local community for job training, loans and infrastructure improvements.
- The CDBG – Public Facilities program can also make grants for these types of public facilities. The requirements differ from the Economic Development component, so both programs should be contacted.
- The Montana Facility Finance Authority is the primary issuer of municipal bonds for Montana's health care organizations, continuing care residential programs and community service providers. Created in 1983 to provide not-for-profit health care providers with access to low-cost capital, the Authority's statutory powers have been expanded to beyond the traditional health care arena to the point where the legislature changed its title from the Montana Health Facility Authority to the present title. The majority of the Authority's financings have been completed on behalf of acute care hospitals; however, we have also provided capital for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, retirement facilities, outpatient centers, homes for persons with developmental or mental disabilities, chemical dependency centers and pre-release centers. Many other facilities are also eligible for the Authority financing programs.
Resources Available for Housing Opportunities in my Community:
People/Community Statistics:
- Profiles for use in community based decisions such as local government, school districts, and non-profits including population, age, gender, race, education, income, poverty, housing unit, and households. Also available are current population, housing, income, health insurance, and poverty estimates.
- Census 2000
- Estimates
- Historical Population Data
- Population Projections
- Customer Service Training
Downtown Business District Revitalization:
- The Montana Main Street Program provides resources, referals, and direct assistance to communities. Website is in development for the Montana Main Street Program