Transportation Grants for Nonprofits

The United States invests much less per capita on infrastructure than other developed nations. This is especially true when it comes to infrastructure, with American cities overwhelmingly designed for use by cars, rather than people. This means that America is generally highly unsafe for your average pedestrian, suffers from more severe traffic congestion due to everyone trying to use the same transit mode (the highway) at once, and causes far more pollution than if it focused on more energy efficient modes of transport.

There are a wide range of nonprofit organizations that are striving to shake up the transportation model for America. They’re only able to do this, of course, through the generous funding provided by transportation grants. These grants can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including the development of local transit infrastructure, funding transit passes for underserved populations, and helping expand transportation options for those with disabilities or limited mobility.

These transportation grants have a varied origin. Traditionally, grants come from the DOT or various state or local transportation departments. In particular, these kinds of grants often come from local government programs, or local private, corporate or community foundations.

When preparing a transportation grant proposal, it's important to collect extensive local data on where the transportation gaps are. This type of proposal can really benefit from visuals - maps that actually draw out transportation gaps, and pictures can better illustrate areas where city design is difficult for pedestrians and those with mobility issues to navigate. You should draw on the data provided by local transit authorities and government reports to be able to clearly highlight where local transit is lacking - and where your nonprofit can make a real difference.

If you need further tutorials on how to write great transportation grants, make sure to check out our overview on grantwriting. You can also find tons of great transport grant opportunities above, all ready for applications.