Rural Health Facility Capital Improvement Grant Program

The Rural Health Facility Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a Texas Department of Agriculture State Office of Rural Health grant program funded through the Permanent Fund for Rural Health Facility Capital Improvement, which was established from the State of Texas tobacco settlement. The program supports rural public and nonprofit hospitals in Texas by funding capital improvements to existing facilities, construction of new health facilities, and purchase of capital equipment. The underlying endowment set aside $50 million for hospitals in rural counties as defined by Texas Government Code Section 487.301, and the program is governed by Texas Government Code Chapter 487, Subchapter H, and Texas Administrative Code Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 30, Subchapter B, Division 5. Eligible applicants are public and nonprofit hospitals located in rural counties. A public hospital must be licensed under Chapter 241 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, owned or operated by a municipality, county, municipality and county, hospital district, or hospital authority, provide inpatient or outpatient services, and operate using government funding or public money. Rural county means a county with a population of 150,000 or less or a qualifying non-urbanized geographic area in a county with a population greater than 150,000. A hospital that received a Community Hospital Capital Improvement Fund grant from the Department of State Health Services may not also receive a CIP grant. Award amounts may not exceed $100,000. Applicants must commit a minimum match equal to 10% of the CIP funds requested, and the match must support the same proposed project activities as the grant request. CIP funding is generally provided on a cost-reimbursement basis, although TDA may approve a one-time advance payment of up to 25% of the grant award when justified by working capital needs. If a grant recipient’s match falls below the required level, TDA may proportionally reduce the grant award. Allowable uses include life safety code violation corrections, patient care projects involving nonexpendable personal property with a unit cost over $10,000 and a useful life of more than one year, construction, repairs, remodeling, maintenance, and certain non-medical service contracts such as design, engineering, supervising, and surveying expenses related to hospital acquisition, construction, or improvements. CIP funds may not be used for operating expenses, debt retirement, recruitment or retention of providers, travel, personnel time, consumables, land, indirect expenses, refinancing, entertainment, charitable or political contributions, depreciation, undocumented expenses, or other expenses outside the approved project budget. Applications must be submitted electronically through TDA-GO. Applicants must create or verify TDA-GO access before applying, and new user registration must be completed 48 to 72 hours before submission because last-minute or same-day registrations are not guaranteed. The application requires contact information, eligibility criteria, application questions, a project description, project personnel, a budget table, required vendor or contractor quotes or estimates, any relevant project documents, and certification by the authorized official. Vendor and contractor quotes must be current, dated, on acceptable vendor documentation when applicable, and uploaded with the application. Purchase or requisition orders are not acceptable as quotes. Applications must be received by Tuesday, June 2, 2026, before 5:00 p.m. Central Time. Late, incomplete, emailed, mailed, faxed, or improperly supplemented applications will not be accepted. TDA will conduct an administrative review, and complete eligible applications will be competitively reviewed and scored based on project type, financial indicators, and prior CIP funding history. Life safety code violation projects receive the highest project-type score when properly documented, and facilities not awarded in the previous three CIP cycles receive the highest prior-funding score. Awards are anticipated in July 2026 or as soon thereafter as practical. The anticipated project start date is August 1, 2026, and projects must be completed by July 31, 2027. Grant recipients must carry out the approved scope of work, maintain adequate records and accounting controls, use funds only for authorized purposes, submit reimbursement documentation, and file a Project Completion Report no later than 60 days after the project or grant agreement ends. Grant Management contact is Nicole Caston, Grants Specialist, at (512) 463-7178 or Grants@TexasAgriculture.gov. Technical assistance is available through the State Office of Rural Health at SORHTX@TexasAgriculture.gov.

Start TDA-GO access early because last-minute registrations are not guaranteed. Upload required quotes or estimates with the application, ensure they are dated within 6 months of the deadline, and confirm any expiration date is after the deadline. Do not use purchase or requisition orders as quotes. Select the project type representing the majority of requested funds and keep the project narrative and budget narrative consistent. Provide agency documentation for life safety code violations to receive scoring credit.