Last fall, the National League of Cities (NLC) and Local Infrastructure Hub launched a series of bootcamps designed to help small and mid-sized local governments take advantage of the grant opportunities available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Hundreds of communities took advantage of these free trainings – and now more are on the way!
In January 2023, NLC and the Local Infrastructure Hub kicked off another five new bootcamps to provide resources and training for communities interested in securing federal grant funds to address sustainable infrastructure needs. Five months later in June 2023, another five bootcamps were added.
Beginning September 11, 2023 and on October 2, 2023, the following bootcamps will educate participants on:
- Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities
- Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program ($100 Million
- The Flood mitigation assistance (FMA) Program
- Rebuilding american Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (Raise) grant Program
- climate action bootcamp
- the digital equity act competitive grant Program
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities ($1 billion):

Assists communities as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. The program aims to shift the federal focus away from reactive disaster spending and instead focusing efforts on proactive investment in community resilience.
Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program ($100 million )

Helps communities with demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems to improve transportation efficiency and safety. Projects might include systems integration, innovative aviation, smart grid, and/or traffic signals. By building data and technology capacity at the local level, municipalities can improve residents’ quality of life and encourage innovation.
The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program ($800 million)

Helps to reconnect neighborhoods divided by infrastructure. Cities, towns, and villages can use funds to address local infrastructure projects such as removing, replacing, or retrofitting highways and freeways. This grant program supports equitable transportation planning and will allow residents to become more active in the infrastructure projects that negatively impact them and their surrounding environment.
Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program ($7.5 billion over five years)

Provides investments in road, rail, transit, and port projects to enhance freight and passenger transportation networks. These projects will ultimately strengthen supply chains, reduce bottlenecks, and make local communities safer and more efficient for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Projects might include the development of master plans, zero emissions plans, reducing conflicts in residential areas between freight and traffic, development of port planning, and risk assessments.
Climate Action Bootcamp

This unique bootcamp program will provide an overview of climate action planning and federal funding opportunities for projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in communities. For cities that don’t already have a climate action plan, the bootcamp will guide officials through along the process, including community engagement and establishing a baseline of emissions. The bootcamp will also support cities in putting their plans into action by identifying and developing projects around clean energy, electric vehicles, and building efficiency to help meet local climate action goals. The bootcamp will provide an overview of federal grant programs and tax credits under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to help fund and finance local climate projects, as well as specifically support cities that are part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program to develop a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of a state or regional effort.
The Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Program ($1.25 billion)

Supports local government efforts to achieve digital equity and promote digital inclusion and broader access to internet. The program seeks to address the divide between those who have internet access and those who do not, a divide that hinders an equitable economy. These projects might include expanded access to internet and digital network technology for broadband services, training programs for workforce development programs, and/or necessary upgrades to public access computing centers.
Bootcamps are designed to help communities develop competitive funding applications for federal grants with an emphasis on helping traditionally underserved small and mid-sized cities and towns. With at least 30 courses available in this two-year project, each of the courses will run for an average of four months, with live learning sessions taught by subject matter experts, along with coaching sessions, office hours, and opportunities for peer learning. Participating cities should plan to devote several hours of active participation to the program each month and will be guided through the process of how to execute a community engagement strategy, ground applications in data, assemble a budget, and ultimately write winning grant applications that are tailored to specific grant opportunities.
Upon program completion, participating local governments will be able to submit compelling grant application packages that are grounded in data, feature detailed project plans, and include relevant policy objectives.
To learn more about the offerings of each course, please visit localinfrastructure.org/application-bootcamp.
To register, city officials can submit an interest form online starting today. Space is limited in the program, and preference will be given to early enrollees.
These technical trainings are being led by the National League of Cities (NLC) with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Ballmer Group, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, and The Kresge Foundation. Bootcamp participants span the United States, most of which hold city staff positions and some of which serve as mayor for their respective community.