OVERVIEW
By this order, the Department invites proposals from communities and/or consortia of communities interested in obtaining a federal grant under the Small Community Air Service Development Program (Small Community Program) to address air service and airfare problems in
their communities.
Proposals should be submitted in the above-referenced docket no later than June 6, 200 8. Applicants must submit an Application for Federal Domestic Assistance (SF424), a standard federal government grant application form, at www.grants.gov and include their proposals as an attachment to the SF42 4. An application will not be deemed complete until and unless all required materials are filed by the June 6 deadline.
(See Appendix C for additional information on filing form SF42 4. ) Communities are reminded to register with Grants.gov early in the application period since the registration process can take up to 10 days to complete.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
The Small Community Program was established under the Wendell H.
Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), P.L.
106-181, and reauthorized under the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, P.L.
108-176 (Vision 100).
The program is designed to provide financial assistance to small communities to help them enhance their air service.
The Department provides this assistance in the form of financial grants that are disbursed on a reimbursable basis.
Under the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2008 (P.L.
110-161), the Department received $10 million to carry out the Small Community Program.
The program is limited to a maximum of 40 grant awards, with a maximum of four grants per State, in each year the program is funded.
There are no limits on the amounts of individual awards, and the amounts awarded will vary depending upon the features and merits of the proposals selected.
Over the past six years, the Department?s individual grants have ranged from $20,000 to nearly $ 1. 6 million.
Authorized grant projects may include activities that extend over a multi-year period under a single grant award; however, grant funds are to be used in a timely manner.
Generally speaking, individual grant awards have not exceeded a three-to-four-year period.