Coeur d’Alene opens applications for $272,696 community grant program

Coeur d’Alene has opened another round of Community Development Block Grant applications with $272,696 available in the city’s Plan Year 2026 allocation, a pot of federal money aimed at projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents and neighborhoods. The grant is open to for-profit organizations, nonprofits and businesses that meet the program’s eligibility rules, making it one of the few city-backed funding channels that can reach both service providers and developers working on small-scale local needs.

Of the new allocation, about $60,020 will be available in Plan Year 2026 Community Opportunity Grant funding, including $4,863 in remaining Plan Year 2022 grant funds that can be reallocated. The city says eligible work falls into three main categories: public facilities, public services and low- and moderate-income affordable housing, including both for-sale and for-rent products. Public service projects are capped at $20,904, a limit that keeps the awards focused on modest programs rather than large operating budgets.

That matters in Coeur d’Alene because CDBG dollars often fill gaps that ordinary nonprofit and business budgets cannot cover, from neighborhood-scale improvements to services for lower-income households. If the city does not receive strong applications, the consequence is not just unused federal money. It is the loss of a chance to push forward the kind of targeted work that can be difficult to finance through local fundraising alone, whether that means a public facility upgrade, a service for vulnerable residents or an affordable housing project with a narrow margin.

The city is organizing the round well before the spending period begins. Plan Year 2026 runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2027, and applicants have until May 29, 2026, at 5 p.m. to submit materials by email to SherrieB@cdaid.org or in person at Coeur d’Alene City Hall, 710 E. Mullan Ave. A workshop is set for May 7 at 2 p.m. in Ron Edinger Conference Room #6 at City Hall, where applicants can learn how the program works; people needing accommodations are asked to contact Community Development Specialist Sherrie Badertscher at least 24 hours ahead of time at 208-769-2382.

The 2026 allocation is also smaller than the $296,418 Coeur d’Alene said it would receive in CDBG funds in 2024, a reminder that the size of the local grant pool can change from year to year. Idaho Commerce describes the state’s CDBG program as supporting Idaho cities and counties with needed public infrastructure and facilities, and Coeur d’Alene’s latest application round keeps that federal pipeline moving into the neighborhoods that qualify.