Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC)

Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is sponsored by New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA). A federal-state partnership for economic and community development in New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Maine. BEA administers the program within New Hampshire and works with eligible communities and organizations.

Grants and Opportunities | Northern Border Regional Commission Careers & Contracting Opportunities Please go to the NBRC R esources Page for Grants Management Information. To register or submit pre-applications and applications, please visit NBRC’s Grants Management System (GMS). 2026 NBRC Program Timeline View key funding round dates for the Catalyst, Forest Economy, and Timber for Transit programs.

2026 Grant Programs User Manual The CATALYST PROGRAM stimulates economic growth and inspires partnerships that improve rural economic vitality across the four-state NBRC region.

The Catalyst Program supports a broad range of economic development initiatives that modernize and expand water and wastewater systems; revitalize transportation infrastructure; establish workforce development programs and facilities; grow outdoor recreation infrastructure and economies; and construct new childcare and healthcare facilities.

The FOREST ECONOMY PROGRAM supports the forest-based economy and assists in the industry’s evolution to include new technologies and viable business models across the 4-state NBRC region.

The Forest Economy Program is distinct from other programs in two important ways: 1) the Forest Economy Program emphasizes the potential for impact across the entire NBRC region; and 2) Infrastructure projects (defined by Congress in NBRC’s authorizing language to be inclusive of transportation, water and wastewater, telecommunications, and energy) must directly support the forest industry.

The TIMBER FOR TRANSIT PROGRAM advances the use of domestic forest products in transportation infrastructure projects across Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont to showcase the capabilities of wood in these applications.

Highly competitive projects will demonstrate and widely promote the utility of high value forest products (e.g. glued laminated timber, cross laminated timber, composite materials, etc.) in transportation infrastructure.

PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES The WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE ( WORC ) , provides grant funds to support workforce development activities that prepare workers for good jobs in high-demand occupations in rural communities. NBRC partners with the Department of Labor to provide grantees with technical assistance to promote successful projects and strong outcomes for workers and businesses.

NBRC State Program Managers are not the primary support for applicants to the WORC program. Interested applicants are invited to submit questions to NBRC’s technical assistance provider, Chamberlin/Dunn* at mc@chamberlindunn. com or nd@chamberlindunn.

com . Detailed information on the WORC opportunity can be found here Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative | U.S. Department of Labor (dol. gov) .

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Partnership addresses persistent health access issues in rural and economically distressed communities across the Northern Border region. NBRC brings regional development expertise and a mandate to strengthen economic vitality, while HRSA contributes technical expertise and federal dollars for improving access to health services.

Together, we coordinate investments—such as workforce development, training pipelines, and capacity-building projects—to expand behavioral health, primary care, and other critical services. Information regarding past, current, and future HRSA-NBRC partnership programs can be found on the HRSA Partnership page .

The RECREATION ECONOMY FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE ( RERC ) is managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Community Revitalization. RERC is a planning assistance program which helps communities identify strategies to grow their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their Main Streets. NBRC State Program Managers are not the primary support for applicants to the RERC program.

NBRC’s J-1 VISA PROGRAM reduces the healthcare provider shortage and promotes equitable healthcare access in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Under NBRC’s program, requests for waivers must be sponsored by a state within the NBRC’s region and complements each State’s already existing Conrad 30 waiver programs.

NBRC’s LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (LDD) PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM builds capacity of LDDs to serve applicants to NBRC programs, with special attention to underrepresented and disadvantaged communities. The NBRC Federal-State partnership is aided by a group of regional organizations called Local Development Districts (LDDs) that assist the NBRC in its outreach activities and administer NBRC investments for grantees.

LDDs are either an already existing federally designated Economic Development District, as certified by the US Economic Development Administration, or an organization similar in nature to a regional planning commission. STATE CAPACITY GRANTS are non-competitive and available to the states of ME, NH, NY and VT.

To better focus NBRC funds, the Commission can assist Member States to develop comprehensive economic and infrastructure development plans for their NBRC counties. Plans are to reflect the goals, objectives, and priorities within NBRC's economic and infrastructure plan. This is done in collaboration with Local Development Districts, local governments, higher education centers, and the public.

NBRC recommends interested applicants complete the Project Interest Form before meeting with their State Program Manager or submitting a pre-application. The information in this form allows the program manager to maximize the opportunity for feedback and funding program suggestions during project development meetings. This is not a required and this is not the pre-application.