November 2025 Funding Trends
November began with the effects of the 43-day federal shutdown still rippling across agencies, but by mid-month a bipartisan deal reopened government, released delayed awards, and set a mixed FY26 funding environment. A continuing resolution now carries most federal agencies at FY25 levels through January 30, 2026, while three full FY26 appropriations bills (Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction) are fully enacted. This created a split environment where some programs advanced immediately, and others remained cautious pending full FY26 negotiations.
Key Federal & State Funding Developments in November
- Post-Shutdown Budget Deal
Congress passed a package on November 12 that ended the shutdown and enacted three FY26 appropriations bills, allowing USDA RD, the VA, and Legislative Branch programs to begin FY26 level grant cycles while most other agencies continue under a Continuing Resolution. - HUD FY25 Continuum of Care (CoC) & YHDP NOFO Released - Major Shift
HUD released the FY25 CoC and Youth Homeless Demonstration Program NOFO ($3.9B). Permanent housing is capped at 30% of CoC funding for the first time ever, with funding shifting to a more competitive Tier 2 scoring ensuring that funding is allocated more equitably among COCs. The $3.9B is expected to award around 7,000 grantees in designated high performing communities. - USDOT FY26 BUILD - National Infrastructure Investments NOFO
USDOT released the FY26 NOFO, signaling that infrastructure funding pipelines remain steady despite budget uncertainty. DOT has made $1.5 billion available to support urban and rural areas to improve safety, connectivity, and innovations in surface transportation infrastructure projects. - State Level Disaster Resilience: Hurricane Helene Mitigation Grants
North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene Flood Mitigation Grant Program with $20M available, closed November 28 with grant awards projected to come out in January 2026. FEMA has already provided more than $11 billion to Floridian communities and residents to assist with debris removal and temporary housing. - Local Opioid Settlement Funding Rounds Expand
Counties and cities increasingly launched grant competitions using opioid settlement funds. Palm Beach County (closed November 12) and McKinney, TX (closed November 28) among them.
Useful Grant Education
Gov1: FEMA Adds Two Major Preparedness and Resiliency Grant Programs https://www.gov1.com/gov-grants-help/fema-adds-two-major-preparedness-and-resiliency-grant-programs
FireRescue1: What FEMA reform should look like for the fire service https://www.firerescue1.com/emergency-management/what-fema-reform-should-look-like-for-the-fire-service
Police1: Funding readiness for major events: Strengthening your grant strategy https://www.police1.com/police-grants/webinar-funding-readiness-for-major-events-strengthening-your-grant-strategy
NLC: Direct Federal Funding and Other Supports for Cities and Towns Federal Budget Tracker - National League of Cities
November 2025 Trend Spotlight
- COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) 2025 awarded 211 awards totaling $74,785,459. Nearly 44,045 schools and more than 2,054,311 students will benefit from the funded projects. The COPS Office received 1,609 applications from jurisdictions in 49 states and the territories.
- COPS Hiring Program (CHP) 2025 funded $161,330,965 to 228 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to support the hiring of 1,155 full-time officers and deputies (of whom 73 are school resource officers). The COPS Office received 615 CHP applications during the open NOFO period from law enforcement agencies in nearly every state, requesting a total of 2,353 officers for $285,888,054 in federal funds.
- Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) FY24 awarded 1,678 departments a total of $291.6 million to utilize on vehicles, training and equipment.
- Staffing For Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) FY24 awards totaled $324 million dollars that went to funding staffing at 207 stations throughout all states.
- Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) FY24 made 62 FP&S awards totaling $32.4 million.
- Federal Funding Environment The mix of FY26 bills and Continuing Resolutions continues to delay some NOFOs, accelerate others, and creates uncertainty for FY26 cycles.
- Housing & Homelessness Policy Pivot HUD’s Continuum of Care NOFO fundamentally shifts funding away from long-term housing solutions toward transitional and emergency interventions.
- Infrastructure Discretionary Funds Moving Forward Despite the shutdown, transportation-related programs are largely maintaining their release schedules.
- Advocacy & Compliance Resources Becoming Essential Groups like National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) continue to spotlight how policy and NOFO changes will have huge effects on eligibility and performance expectations for FY26 funding cycles.
- Final FY 2026 appropriations bills: Once full-year appropriations are passed for all agencies, there will be a clearer insight into long-term funding levels and program adjustments.
- New and updated NOFOs: Agencies may compress timelines or modify program requirements to make up for lost time, so tracking deadlines will be critical.
Public-Safety vs. Non-Public-Safety Grants
Grant Program | Sector | Focus | Key Nov/Dec Dates |
| DHS FY26 Counter-UAS Grant Program | Public Safety | Drone threat mitigation; major event security | Due Dec 5 |
| DHS FY25 FIFA World Cup Security Grants | Public Safety | Preparedness and law enforcement support for 2026 host jurisdictions | Due Dec 5 |
| Walmart Foundation Spark Good Local Grant | Public Safety | Supports local organizations that meet the needs of the community | Due Dec 31 |
| Motorola Solutions Foundation Grant | Public Safety | Technology and programming for first responder communities | Due Jan 22 |
| HUD FY25 CoC & YHDP Grants | Non-Public Safety | Homelessness services, youth housing programs | Due Jan 14 |
| USDOT FY26 BUILD Grants | Non-Public Safety | Transportation infrastructure development | Due Feb 24 |
| ED FIPSE Special Projects | Non-Public Safety | Student success and higher-ed innovation | Due Dec 3 |
Quick Application Links
HUD - FY25 Continuum of Care (CoC) & YHDP Grants
Closes January 14, 2026 FY 2025 CoC Competition YHDP Grants NOFO Overview
USDOT - FY26 National Infrastructure Investments (BUILD)
Closes February 24, 2026 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program | US Department of Transportation
FY2026 Interoperable Radio Grant Program
Closes January 15, 2026 FY2026 Interoperable Radio Grant Program | Wisconsin Office of Emergency Communications
North Carolina Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG)
Closes December 31, 2025 Funding Database: Emergency Management Performance | NC Resilience Exchange
Missouri Department of Public Safety Volunteer Fire Department (VFDG)
Closes December 15, 2025 Missouri Department of Public Safety | Missouri Blue Shield Grant Program (MBSGP)
Motorola Solutions Foundation Grants
Closes January 22, 2026 Foundation: Annual Grant Cycle - Motorola Solutions
Wireless State Police Public Safety Answering Point Grant Application
Closes December 30, 2025 Apply for the Wireless State Police PSAP Grant | Mass.gov