Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking

VA is required to ensure compliance with all applicable statutes, regulations, and Executive Orders when evaluating and awarding grants. In accordance with Executive Order 14332, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking, aside from the evaluation criteria published in this announcement, VA has discretion to remove from consideration any applicant VA deems does not clearly advance the President's or VA's priorities.

• VA will not fund activities that use racial preference for eligibility criteria or promote gender ideology.
• VA will not fund activities that promote or facilitate violations of immigration laws or are sources of waste, fraud, or abuse.
• VA will not tolerate activity or conduct by grant recipients that constitute acts of moral turpitude, are scandalous, or bring the recipient, the project funded by this grant, or VA into public disrepute, contempt, or ridicule.

These grants support the President's priority to increase the excellence of and options for care, benefits, and services for veterans, as demonstrated in Executive Order 14332.

Since 1980, the Veterans' Cemetery Grants Program (VCGP) has awarded 525 grants totaling over $1.187 billion that states (47), tribes (14) and 3 territories (Guam, Saipan, and Puerto Rico) used to establish, expand, improve, operate, or maintain a total of 124 Veterans cemeteries. In 2025, VA grant funded cemeteries interred 43,705 Veterans and eligible family members, which was more than 25% of the total annual interments in all national, state, territory, and tribal cemeteries (174,398). In 2025, VCGP established 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 March 2026.  Once completed, this cemetery will provide access to 19,923 Veterans that were previously unserved. 

This listing solicits FY 2026 pre-applications for the development of grant funded projects included in VCGP’s FY 2027 priority list. 

• Grants may be used only to establish, expand, or improve Veterans cemeteries that are owned and operated by states, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribal governments on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, the tribal organization or counties that meet the eligibility of 38 USC 2408.
• 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. All iron, steel, and construction materials used in VA-funded projects must be produced or manufactured in the U.S., and all manufactured products used in the project must be produced in the U.S. (cost of the components of the U.S. manufactured product must be greater than 65% of the total cost of all components). 

Cemeteries must be operated solely for the interment of Veterans (as defined in 38 CFR 39.2), and their eligible family members (see 38 CFR 39.10). Additionally, because of a recent change in the law, a grantee cemetery may also inter the individuals defined in 38 U.S.C. 2408(i)(2), who are ineligible for burial in a US-DVA National Cemetery. More information about this new authority can be found on the NCA Notices webpage, accessible using this link: https://www.cem.va.gov/policies/notices.asp 

The administration, operation, and maintenance of a US-DVA grant funded cemetery is solely the responsibility of the state, territory, or tribal government. 

As part of Veterans’ Burial Benefits, US-DVA can provide a "plot allowance" of up to $1,002 for expenses incurred in the burial of certain eligible Veterans.