Alaska Designated Legislative (DL) Grants

Alaska Designated Legislative Grants

Supports legislatively designated capital grants for named Alaska municipalities and community recipients.

The Alaska Designated Legislative (DL) Grant program provides capital funding to communities and organizations through appropriations embedded in the state's annual Capital Bill. Administered by DCCED's Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA), DL grants are not competitive in the conventional sense: communities do not apply directly to DCRA but instead work with their state senators and representatives to request inclusion of a specific capital project in the Capital Bill. The Governor must sign the appropriation into law before any grant agreement can be executed. The three recipient categories are municipalities, named recipients, and unincorporated communities. Because award amounts are set as individual legislative line items, no standard grant ceiling or floor exists.

Once an appropriation is enacted, DCRA notifies named grantees and requests a package of documentation to execute the grant agreement: a Scope of Work, a budget narrative, and a signatory authority form. Funds are cost-reimbursable — grantees pay project expenses first and then seek reimbursement from DCRA. Grants typically allow five years for expenditure, with a possible one-year extension available to projects demonstrating significant progress. Nonprofits, universities, and research organizations may receive awards if named in the Capital Bill, while for-profit businesses and private individuals are not eligible recipient categories.

For organizations seeking FY2026 funding, the relevant appropriations would have been included in the FY2026 Capital Bill, which passed the Alaska Legislature in mid-2025 and required gubernatorial approval. Any organization not already named in the FY2026 bill that wishes to pursue DL funding in a future fiscal year should engage their state legislators well before the legislative session begins, as the window to request inclusion in the Capital Bill closes before the session convenes. DCRA's last published update to the DL Grants program page was February 4, 2025.