Grants / Department of Veterans Affairs / VA National Cemetery Administration

VA-NCA-VCGP-2025: Veterans Cemetery Grants

Closed Closed July 1, 2025 Opportunity VA-NCA-VCGP-2025 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of VA National Cemetery Administration notices from 2025.

• Award ceiling$60.0 million
• Total funding$60.0 million
• Expected awards30
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to state and local governments and tribes.

• State governments
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

U.S. Territories are eligible to apply.

More grants for state and local governments, tribes.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Veterans Cemetery Grants Program awards averaged $3.6 million; this notice allows up to $60.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (100% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

Since 1980, the Veterans' Cemetery Grants Program (VCGP) has awarded grants totaling over $1.1 billion that states (46), tribes (14) and 3 territories (Guam, Saipan, and Puerto Rico) used to establish, expand, improve, operate, or maintain a total of 122 Veterans cemeteries. In 2024, VCGP cemeteries interred more than 42,720 Veterans and eligible family members, which is approximately 24% of the total annual interments in all national, state, territory, and tribal cemeteries (176,965). In 2025, the program will open two new state cemeteries, the New York State Veterans Cemetery - Finger Lakes in New York and the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Grand Island in Nebraska, bringing the total to 124 VCGP funded Veterans cemeteries. These two cemeteries will provide burial options to an additional 24,907 unserved Veterans and their eligible family members. Additionally, VCGP’s 125th grant-funded state Veterans’ cemetery in Lubbock, Texas is planned to open in December 2025. Once completed, this cemetery will provide access to 19,923 Veterans that were previously unserved. This listing is to solicit FY25 pre-applications for the development of grant funded projects included in the FY26 priority list. Grants may be used only to establish, expand, or improve Veterans cemeteries that are owned and operated by a state, territory or tribal government on trust land. Federal Financial Assistance is granted only to states, U.S. territories and federally recognized tribal governments, not to private organizations, cities, or other government agencies. The US Department of Veteran Affairs (US-DVA) provides up to 100 percent of the development cost for an approved project. US-DVA can only provide operating equipment for the establishment of new cemeteries. US-DVA cannot pay for land acquisition. Cemeteries funded under the grant program must conform to the standards and guidelines pertaining to site selection, planning and construction prescribed by US-DVA. Cemeteries must comply with Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) requirements in Title IX, Sections 70901 – 70952, Public Law, 117-58 that ensure all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials are produced in the United States. Cemeteries must certify that they will use grant funds for projects that meet BABAA domestic content procurement preferences.

Category: Community Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.