NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS:

NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS

Commonwealth Financing Authority: Public School Facility Improvement Grant

Who May Apply: School entities, defined as a school district or an area career and technical school.

Use: Facility improvement projects, including but not limited to roof repair/replacement, heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, plumbing systems, window repair/replacement, health and safety upgrades, and accessibility projects.
Funds: $200 million in total funding is available. Grant requests shall not exceed $5 million per eligible improvement project. School entities may submit more than one application, but no school entity shall receive more than 20% of the total funding available.

Application Deadline: A 10-day application window will open on July 27, 2026, and close on August 7, 2026. There will not be an additional funding round in fiscal year 2026-27.

More information: CFA Website

Department of Environmental Protection: WIIN 2107: Voluntary School and Childcare Lead testing and Reduction Grant

Who May Apply: Childcare facilities and schools located in Pennsylvania with lead in drinking water sample results within 36 months of the application date showing water fixtures exceeding the remediation trigger level of 5 ppb (parts per billion).

Use: Reduction activities may include purchasing and installing hydration stations, point-of-use devices designed to remove lead or replacement of faucets. The primary goal of this grant program is to reduce children's exposure to lead in drinking water.
Funds: Funding under this grant has been appropriated under 1464(d) of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Funding provided will be up to $3,000 per hydration station per 100 students in one building. Up to $30,000 may be awarded per building/childcare facility or $100,000 per school district.

Application Deadline: Applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule a pre-application meeting to discuss their lead reduction plans to ensure they meet applicable program criteria. Meetings can be scheduled by emailing RA-EPWIINLEAD@pa.gov.  

More information: DEP Website

Commonwealth Financing Authority: Solar for Schools Program

Who May Apply: A school district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school, charter school, cyber charter school, regional charter school, a chartered school for the education of the deaf or blind, a community college, the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Use: Purchase and installation of equipment for a solar energy project, energy storage costs related to the storage of electricity, engineering, design, and inspection costs, site preparation for ground mounted systems, or any other cost associated with a solar energy project.
Funds: $25 million in state funding is available.

Application Deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are depleted.

More information: DCED Website

Commission on Crime and Delinquency: 2026 First Chance Trust Fund

Who May Apply: Eligibility for these funds is open to any school district identified as having statistically higher high school dropout and incarceration rates based on data from the PA Department of Education and the PA Department of Corrections. Please refer to Appendix A for a full listing of eligible school districts.

Use: Direct financial support to eligible students via scholarship, administrative support directly related to the administration of student scholarships and connecting at-risk youth with community-based organizations, or community-based organization (CBO) direct programming support.
Funds: A total of $3.3 million in state funding is being made available to support this initiative. PCCD anticipates awarding up to $150,000 per grantee for an initial two-year project period.

Application Deadline: August 11, 2026

More information: PCCD Website

Department of Agriculture: Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program

Who May Apply: Family farm corporations, family farm partnerships, farm enterprises, nonprofit education institutions

Use: Reduce operating expenses through practices that are ecologically beneficial, improve soil quality and fertility, improve water quality, and reduce or eliminate the need for the purchase of off-farm inputs, such as chemical or synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides.

Funds: Grants may not exceed $25,000 except as provided in this subsection. An additional amount of up to $25,000 may be granted if the grantee matches that additional amount dollar for dollar so that an individual grant may not exceed $50,000 in one calendar year.

Application Deadline: August 28, 2026

More information: PDA Website

Department of Transportation: Career and Technical Education Grant

Who May Apply: Public, private, and cyber schools, career and technical centers, youth development centers, and institutions of higher learning

Use:  To develop and implement new technical training curriculum or to expand existing technical training curriculum and/or delivery, relevant to the heavy highway industry
Funds: The total amount of direct grant reimbursement funding available under this program is $12 million. PennDOT intends to award a single individual grant up to $500,000 per eligible applicant. An additional $3 million is available, up to $10,000 per student, in supportive services through PennDOT’s Supportive Services Center

Application Deadline: September 1, 2026

More information: PennDOT Website

Department of Environmental Protection: Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants

Who May Apply: School districts; Municipal authorities; Political subdivisions; Incorporated nonprofit entities; Corporations; Limited Liability Companies; Partnerships

Use: To improve Pennsylvania’s air quality and reduce consumption of imported oil through the use of homegrown alternative fuels that will help the Commonwealth’s economy and environment
Funds: Up to $5,000,000 is available via the Utilities Gross Receipts Tax.

Application Deadline: October 7, 2026

More information: DEP Website