In this context:
• An “establishment grant” is VA funding to create a new state, territorial, or tribal Veterans cemetery from the ground up. Under VA’s regulations, “establishment” covers site selection, development planning, grading/contouring, landscaping, and construction needed to turn a tract of land into an operational cemetery (VA can pay up to 100% of eligible development costs, but not the land itself).
• An “expansion grant” is VA funding to add new burial space or facilities to an existing state Veterans cemetery so it can continue to serve Veterans (for example, adding more burial sections, pre‑placed crypts, columbaria, or support buildings). Expansion and “improvement” grants modify or upgrade an operating cemetery rather than creating a new one.
Alaska’s Interior Alaska Veterans Cemetery grant in the article is an example of an establishment grant; most of the other listed awards are expansion/improvement grants for existing cemeteries.
VA’s State, Tribal, and Territory Veterans Cemetery Grants are structured as reimbursement construction grants:
• States/tribes generally pay costs up front. The program’s assistance listing states that “Funds are released as work is completed and approved… This is a reimbursement grant,” and funds must be used within three years of award.
• Payments are drawn down periodically. After construction work is completed and inspected against the approved plans and budget, the state/tribal grantee submits an SF‑271 Outlay Report and Request for Reimbursement for Construction Programs (and a final reimbursement request through the federal payment system). VA then transfers funds electronically for the eligible portion of costs.
• Documentation required. To get to the reimbursement stage, grantees must have submitted and had approved: the standard federal grant forms (SF‑424 series), environmental reviews, design drawings and specs, bid advertisements and tabulations, certifications on labor standards, drug‑free workplace, lobbying, debarment, and a signed Memorandum of Agreement with VA. During and after construction they must provide outlay reports, performance reports, and a final project close‑out package, as laid out in VA Form 40‑0895‑14 and VA grant instructions.
So in practice, the state or tribal government fronts design and construction costs, then recovers them from VA as it documents completed, eligible work.
Funding decisions are made inside VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA), specifically the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program (VCGP) / State Cemetery Grants Service, using a statutory and regulatory framework:
• Who decides. VCGP staff review pre‑applications submitted via Grants.gov, work with states/tribes on full applications, and produce an annual Priority List of State, Territory and Tribal Government Construction Grant Pre‑applications. NCA leadership and VA’s senior leadership then approve grants from this list, subject to the yearly appropriation.
• Core criteria (from statute, 38 U.S.C. 2408, and regulations, 38 CFR part 39, plus VA guidance): – Whether the project will establish, expand, or improve a state/tribal Veterans cemetery that meets VA’s design and operating standards. – Veteran population and burial access: VA uses a prioritization system “based on veteran population data” to maintain and improve access to burial for more Veterans and eligible family members (so projects serving large or under‑served Veteran populations rank higher). – Readiness/shovel‑readiness: completeness of environmental reviews, master plan, design documents, and proof the state/tribe can operate and maintain the cemetery to VA standards. – Nature of the project: whether it adds needed gravesites or core facilities (chapel, administration, maintenance, roads, crypts/columbaria) that are “necessary for the functioning of the cemetery.”
Only after a project ranks high enough on the priority list and Congress has appropriated sufficient funds does VA issue the grant award.
• An outer burial receptacle (OBR) is a rigid outer container that holds a casket in the ground—such as a graveliner or burial vault. VA’s regulation defines an OBR as “a graveliner, burial vault, or other similar type of container for a casket.” These are placed in the grave before or around the casket to keep the grave from collapsing or sinking and to help keep headstones level, which lowers long‑term maintenance costs and improves safety and appearance.
• A pre‑placed crypt is an outer burial receptacle that has been installed in the ground in advance in a grid pattern, then covered with soil and sod. At the time of burial, cemetery staff remove the soil lid, place the casket into the crypt, and reseal and cover it. Pre‑placing crypts allows very efficient, dense use of land and keeps the lawn surface more stable and uniform than individual vaults installed at each burial.
Using OBRs and pre‑placed crypts typically increases up‑front construction cost but reduces long‑term maintenance costs (less grave sinking, less re‑leveling of markers) and can increase the number of gravesites per acre, which stretches limited cemetery land.
The Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) already includes Veterans buried in VA‑grant‑funded state, tribal and territory Veterans cemeteries.
Family members can check memorialization by:
VLM’s own description confirms that it covers Veterans in VA‑funded state, tribal and territory cemeteries as well as national and other qualifying cemeteries.
Timelines vary widely by project size and readiness, but public VA grant guidance shows typical stages:
• Pre‑application and planning (often 1–3+ years): States/tribes develop a master plan, complete environmental reviews, design drawings, and certifications before VA will place a project on its priority list.
• From grant award to end of construction (commonly ~2–4 years): The State Cemetery Grants checklist and assistance listing state that grant funds must generally be used within three years, and funds are “released as work is completed and approved” for this reimbursement grant. Complex new‑cemetery builds or major expansions can take several construction seasons but are expected to be substantially completed within that 3‑year window to use all grant funds.
• Close‑out: After construction, the grantee submits final outlay and performance reports and requests a final grant review; once VA accepts the project, the grant is closed.
So from first planning through final completion, many establishment or expansion projects span roughly 3–7 years, but the VA‑funded construction phase after grant award is typically up to about three years under current guidance.
• Who runs state Veterans cemeteries. These cemeteries are owned and operated by states, territories, or tribal governments, even when VA helps build them through grants.
• Baseline eligibility. VA requires state‑grant‑funded cemeteries to be operated solely for the interment of “Veterans (as defined in 38 CFR part 39.2), and their eligible family members”. VA’s national‑cemetery rules say that, in general, Veterans are eligible if they did not receive a dishonorable discharge, and certain family members (spouses, surviving spouses, and dependent children) are also eligible.
• How state rules may differ. Within that federal framework, each state/tribal cemetery sets its own detailed eligibility policies. Many mirror VA national‑cemetery criteria but add: – State residency requirements (for example, Veteran must have been a legal resident of that state at death or at time of entry into service). – Possible fees for spouses or dependents, even when the Veteran’s burial is at no charge. – Additional documentation rules.
VA national cemeteries all follow one uniform eligibility standard nationwide; state cemeteries are generally similar but can be either stricter or more flexible, so families must check the specific cemetery or state Veterans affairs office for exact rules.