2026 Pre-App Civic and Community Center Financing Fund (CCCFF)

Description The Civic and Community Center Financing Fund (CCCFF) grants are awarded and administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) to encourage and foster quality of life in our communities. Nebraska municipalities, including rural cities and villages, and tribal governments may apply for CCCFF grants. These grants are awarded on a competitive basis to construct and/or improve community facilities such as libraries, recreation and wellness centers, gathering spaces, convention centers, town squares, and cultural centers. Projects may include the conversion, rehabilitation, or reuse of historic buildings. The program may also be used for preliminary planning related to the development or rehabilitation of eligible projects. A CCCFF grant cannot account for more than 50% of a project’s total costs. Minimum local cost-share is 1:1. Refer to Application Program Guidelines for Grant Award Floor and Award Ceiling. Amounts available depend on the balance of the fund, type of applicant, and type of grant as defined in the authorizing statutes.

Community Development resources are available to eligible projects that foster growth and contribute to quality of life, placemaking, and community betterment.

For program guidelines please refer to: https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/cccff

Eligible applicants and facility types, review criteria, priority, and maximum and minimum grant amounts are defined in the Act. Under section 13-2705, a recipient can only receive one grant of each type (planning or construction) in any two-year period; applicants seeking assistance for a historic building or district must be approved by the Nebraska State Historical Society prior to an award; and any eligible facility for which a grant of assistance under section 13-2704.01 is made shall not be sold for at least five years following the award of such grant of assistance. Ineligible are the cities of Omaha and Lincoln or other municipalities that have received assistance under the Convention Center Facility Financing Assistance Act. Additionally, projects receiving state assistance via the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act, which includes facilities in Ralston and Kearney, may not also receive state assistance via CCCFF. For more information on the eligibility of applicants or projects, please consult the Application Guidelines. Not all project costs may be eligible, including any costs incurred prior to award and those related to facility staffing, programming, marketing, advertising, fundraising, and portable furnishings or equipment. For more information on ineligible costs, refer to the Application Guidelines. In-kind match is allowable up to 50% of the required 100% in total cost-share requirements. Applicants should not assume their specific in-kind contributions are eligible at the time of application. Successful applicants seeking to use in-kind to meet matching requirements can expect additional direction from DED following their application's notice of award.

Resources: General and Program specific user guides and videos can be found at https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/amplifund/. Statewide Relay System: Individuals, who are hearing and/or speech impaired and have a TTY, may contact the Department through the Statewide Relay System by calling (800) 833-7352 (TTY) or (800) 833-0920 (voice). The relay operator should be asked to call DED at (800) 426-6505 or (402) 471-3111.