What is Community Project Funding?

In 2021, Congress resurrected a process previously known as earmarks, or funds set aside for a particular program or project. Referred to today as Community Project Funding (CPFs), the process has proven to be an effective way for Members of Congress to request direct funding for projects that benefit the communities they represent regardless of party affiliation. Each Member of Congress can select 15 projects for submission to the Appropriations Committee.

{A sample request for Community Project Funding: Seeking $500,000 to support a substance abuse treatment initiative in City, State.}

As Congress begins the annual appropriations process for the upcoming fiscal year (typically sometime in the beginning of March), the Appropriations committee will issue guidance for CPFs, which includes various requirements and restrictions. See FY25 guidance here.

Generally, Members may request funding for State or local government grantees and for eligible non-profits. (For-profit entities are ineligible.) However, eligibility requirements can vary depending on decisions made by House Leadership. For example, in FY24 appropriations requests could be made to the Labor-Health and Human Services (L-HHS) Appropriations account, but in FY25 this account was not eligible for CPF requests.

Ok so, how do you apply?

The application process varies for each Member of Congress. If you are unsure whether your project meets the eligibility requirements, I recommend checking the previous years' guidance on the House Appropriations Committee website for a general idea, rather than waiting for the deadlines to be announced. Successful projects will include written support from various local stakeholders, a written description of how the project is tied to a federal authorization law, and a clear description of of how the funds will be spent.

Starting from March 1st, it will be necessary for you to consistently monitor the Member's website, where they will publish application guidelines promptly upon receiving them from the Appropriations committee. Due to the possibility of changes mentioned above, the office personnel are unable to provide precise instructions until they have received them.

**Secret from Hill Staffer - Final FY 25 instructions were given to Members with only a 2 week notice before the deadline!

Many offices will provide a portal for applications to be submitted, but if it is not listed, feel free to call the office and ask how they would like your request to be submitted. Members are required to post the projects selected and submitted to the Appropriations Committee for final approval. See here for shameless plug for my former boss, Rep. Judy Chu and the projects selected for California’s 28th district for FY2025.

Once projects are chosen and endorsed by the appropriate committees, they undergo the appropriations process, in which funding is divided into 12 bills, ratified by both chambers, and ultimately signed off by the President. Regrettably, passing each bill individually requires an enormous amount of work and, in practice, all 12 bills are rarely enacted on time. Instead, continuing resolutions are used to buy more time.

A Continuing Resolution, lovingly known as a CR, is a temporary spending bill that allows the federal government operations to continue when an agreement on final appropriations cannot be reached by Congress. However, it only covers initiatives funded in the previous fiscal year.  Without final appropriations or a CR there could be a lapse in funding that results in a government shutdown.

Because CPFs are new spending initiatives, they are not included in a CR. So, if you are tracking a project that was selected and included in one of the 12 appropriations bills, you want to follow the status of that specific bill.