Through Friday, March 31, senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey will be accepting preliminary requests for Congressionally-Directed Spending (CDS) for Massachusetts-based projects in the FY2026 federal budget. See below for communication from their offices:
Good afternoon:
On behalf of Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, I am happy to share that our Senate offices are now accepting preliminary requests for Massachusetts-based projects for Fiscal Year 2026 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) items as well as programmatic funding and language requests. The requests must be submitted by Monday, March 31st, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET. Please read this entire email in full before submitting applications. Receiving funding through FY26 CDS could be unlikely, and we encourage anyone interested in applying to understand the parameters of this process before preparing an application.
Senators Markey and Warren use a joint application for all CDS requests. You only need to apply through one office’s portal, and your application will automatically be received and personally reviewed by both offices. Each office has a separate portal for programmatic and bill language requests.
The portals to apply can be found here:
Senator Markey: https://www.markey.senate.gov/fy-2026-appropriations-requests
Senator Warren: https://www.warren.senate.gov/fy2026-appropriations-requests
As you likely know, CDS is designed to provide one-time funding to high-impact, community-based projects in Massachusetts. Generally speaking, this is funding for a specific project in a specific location. CDS requests are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and historically only tribal, state, and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive CDS funding.
A specific list of the CDS accounts and eligibility requirements for last year’s FY25 process is available here. Please note that the final FY26 guidance will likely differ from the FY25 guidance, and you may need to adjust your FY26 request in light of the final FY26 guidance. We will update our websites and forms accordingly when the FY26 guidance is available.
While funding projects through CDS is a federal funding option, applicants should also pursue other sources of funding. CDS is not a long-term option to stabilize an organization’s budget. Instead, it should be used for one-time projects that can be seen to completion with help from this funding, or to help establish new initiatives that will draw from funding sources other than CDS in the long-term. CDS funding is awarded only when an appropriations bill passes both chambers of Congress, and therefore is most suitable for projects that will be underway 1-2 years from now.
Our offices do not yet have formal guidance from the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding the timeline and criteria for the FY26 process including whether CDS will be accepted. However, in order to give applicants sufficient time to prepare CDS requests, Senators Warren and Markey are opening the FY26 request portal on a provisional basis. The FY26 CDS Applicant Form is subject to change pending final guidance from the Senate Appropriations Committee. This guidance will include a list of the types of projects and entities that are eligible for CDS in FY26. Our application portals will be updated when guidance becomes available.
Unfortunately, due to nuanced eligibility criteria and limited available funds, many requests will not be able to move forward, and not all projects that advance in the process will ultimately receive funding. There is no guarantee at this stage that CDS requests will ultimately be included in the FY26 spending bills.
If CDS requests are ultimately included, it could be an 18-month long process, or longer, from the time of request to when your organization receives an award. We encourage applicants to keep these caveats in mind as they consider whether to apply and when preparing their applications for funding.
If you submitted a project for FY25 that has been included in one of the Senate’s FY25 Appropriations bills, please get in touch with staff about reapplying for FY26 if you have not already. Prior requests do not automatically carry over. Questions may be directed to appropriations@warren.senate.gov or appropriations@markey.senate.gov.
Thank you for your work on behalf of the people of our state – we remain committed partners in this effort. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. We look forward to reviewing your applications.
-From the Offices of Senator Markey and Senator Warren
