The Montana Department of Commerce, Community MT Division, is accepting applications for the Fall 2026 Montana Emergency Tourism Assistance Program (METAP), a state-funded program supporting tourism-related emergency service projects in rural Montana.
Funding
The program has $500,000 available statewide. Individual applicants may request up to $50,000 and may receive one grant per cycle. Awards are reimbursement-based.
Eligible applicants
Eligible applicants include rural incorporated cities and towns, rural counties, rural consolidated governments, rural Tribal governments, and entities that provide emergency services or emergency response units to rural areas. The program defines emergency services to include public or private safety agencies providing law enforcement, firefighting, ambulance, or medical services. The controlling guidelines exclude specified urban communities from the program’s rural definition.
Eligible projects
Eligible uses include ambulances, police vehicles, firefighting vehicles and equipment, hospital and emergency-response equipment, search-and-rescue supplies and equipment, and other tourism-related emergency service projects approved by Commerce. Operating and maintenance expenses, grant administration or management, research, financing or debt costs, and pre-award costs are not eligible.
Deadline and submission
Priority applications are accepted from September 14, 2026 through October 28, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. The controlling Commerce materials do not state a deadline time zone, so none is inferred here. Applications received after the priority deadline may be reviewed if funds remain available. Applications are submitted through the Montana Grants and Loans Portal; electronic submission is preferred, with mail or hand delivery allowed under the program’s stated procedures.
Application requirements
Applications require applicant and contact information, a project narrative, project type, a detailed budget with project-cost estimates, an implementation schedule, and signed certification. Funded projects must be completed by December 31, 2027 unless Commerce approves a one-time extension. The controlling guidelines reviewed do not state a mandatory cost-share requirement.
Atlas fit: 90/100. Strong alignment with rural EMS, hospital/emergency-response, fire, law-enforcement, and search-and-rescue equipment. N9+ fit is conditional and should only be considered when a specific applicant can document a credible emergency-response use and allowability. Ordinary initial outreach must not introduce or sell N9+.