Funding

Deadline unknown for FY 2017. The North Face Explore Fund provides $500,000 annually in grants to nonprofit organizations working in powerful and creative ways to encourage participants to experience outdoor activities and develop an enduring appreciation of the outdoors. Since its founding in 2010, the Explore Fund has provided more than 400 grants to nonprofit organizations that serve thousands of people in communities around the country. The Explore Fund reflects a significant commitment by The North Face to introduce more people to the joy of exploring the outdoors and the natural world.

Tomkat does not accept proposals, but they can be reached by email. This fund is strongly and vocally in support of clean energy development and sustainable living. Aside from energy, Steyer and wife Taylor (get it, Tomkat), are also invested in healthy foods and sustainable food systems, going so far as to start their own ranch. They also back some education stuff and more run-of-the-mill environmentalism, but their biggest giving to date has gone to energy and climate. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Offi ce of Indian Energy is now accepting applications for the third round of
its Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) Renewable Energy Project Development Assistance
Program. Through START, Tribes can get customized technical assistance for furthering the development of
community- and commercial-scale renewable energy projects. Applications are due May 1, 2015; up to fi ve
projects will be selected in June 2015.

Deadline Passed as of 2/09/2018. Deadline for 2019 Unknown. Natural disasters have become increasingly damaging and problematic to transportation systems in many locations within the United States, affecting the performance of the transportation network and straining state and Federal funding for repair and maintenance. Addressing this critical issue is included in the U.S. Department of Transportation Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2018 -2021, which includes development of new tools to improve transportation infrastructure durability and resilience as a priority innovation area. It also states that infrastructure should be made resilient and durable to withstand extreme weather events. This pilot program will assist U.S. DOT and FHWA in achieving these strategic objectives, reducing future maintenance costs over the full life-cycle of transportation assets.

Most recent deadline: 01/15/2021. Tribal Wetland Program Development Grants (WPDGs) assist tribal governments and intertribal consortia to develop or refine tribal programs which protect, manage, and restore wetlands. The primary focus of these grants is to develop/refine tribal wetland programs. The goals of EPA’s wetland program include increasing the quantity and quality of wetlands in the U.S. by conserving and restoring wetland acreage and improving wetland condition. In pursuing these goals, EPA seeks to develop the capacity of all levels of government to develop and refine effective, comprehensive programs for wetland protection and management.

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: 2/19/2021. EPA Region 9 anticipates awarding approximately 30 grants to federally-recognized tribes within the Region 9 geographic area for funding tribal air pollution control programs, air quality education and assessment projects, and the development of tribal air program capacity.

Deadline Passed 09/30/2019. Deadline Unkown for 2020. The Coastal Program is a voluntary, community-based program that provides technical and financial assistance through cooperative agreements to coastal communities, conservation partners, and landowners to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat on public and private lands. Coastal Program staff coordinates with project partners, stakeholders and other Service programs to identify geographic focus areas and develop habitat conservation priorities within these focus areas. Geographic focus areas are where the Coastal Program directs resources to conserve habitat for Federal trust species. Regional staff develop five-year strategic work plans based on the conservation priorities and the geographic focus areas that guides the work of the program. Projects are developed in collaboration with partners, and with substantial involvement from Service field staff. Projects must advance the missions of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and the Coastal Program, and be based on sound scientific biological principles. Projects must also support the financial assistance priorities of Department of the Interior, specifically Priorities 1, 3, 8. See website for more details.

Deadline passed as of January 13, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The Forest Service is authorized to provide financial assistance grants to local governments, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations (including land trusts) to establish community forests that provide defined benefits...Project will focus on private forest lands that are threatened by conversion to nonforest uses, are not lands held in trust by the United States, and can provide defined community benefits and allow public access and/or Forest Lands that are at least five acres in size, suitable to sustain natural vegetation, and at least 75 percent forested. Forests are determined by both the presence of trees and the absence of non-forest uses.

Most recent deadline: 1/14/2021. The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research, education and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives.

Deadline passed. Deadline for 2022 unknown. The Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice in 2020 announced its new Tribal Resilience Initiative (TRI). Special consideration will be given to applications to support hiring of scholars (1) whose work addresses the severe water access challenges that face Native American and Indigenous communities, especially those facing Native American communities within Arizona; and (2) to scholars who have significant expertise or experience that relates to tribal customs and governance, and to traditional knowledge, and ways of approaching resilience challenges of Native American and Indigenous communities that respect both. The Haury Program will award up to ten one-time grants in Spring of 2021 to support the recruitment of scholars whose teaching, scholarship, or outreach centers on matters relevant to Native American and Indigenous resilience. Each one-time award will be for $18,000 to be used to support the position, or to support a research assistant for the awardee.

Deadline unknown for 2017. As a result of the Interstate Highway program that began in the 1950s, the U.S. had a well-developed network of routes —air, rail, and road— that linked every state and connected the country as never before. However, we see today that the infrastructure that brought massive expansion also divided neighborhoods. Residents were often cut off from newly formed social and economic centers and left with limited mobility and transportation options. The Ladders of Opportunity EVERY PLACE COUNTS DESIGN CHALLENGE seeks to raise awareness about bifurcated neighborhoods, identify innovative practices to reconnect communities, and inform the transportation life cycle. Community Teams led by local and tribal government officials will compete to receive on-site technical assistance in a 2-day design session with DOT and experts in the field . - See more at: https://www.transportation.gov/opportunity/challenge#sthash.KqzUUEEW.WIQ....

DOT is making available funding to develop innovative programs and activities in public transportation that address the human resources needs of public transportation operators, as well as build pathways to long-term careers in the public transportation industry. DOT is giving additional consideration to proposals that advance training related to maintenance of alternative energy, energy efficiency, or zero emission vehicles and facilities used in public transportation, as well as submissions that are geographically diverse, target areas with high rates of unemployment, and address current or projected workforce shortages in areas that require technical expertise.

Deadline Passed 11/27/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. Congress established the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) with Title IV of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (PDF, 40 KB) and reauthorized it in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Section 8629 (the Farm Bill). The purpose of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program is to encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes and:

• encourage ecological, economic, and social sustainability;
• leverage local resources with national and private resources;
• facilitate the reduction of wildfire management costs, including through re-establishing natural fire regimes and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire;
• demonstrate the degree to which various ecological restoration techniques achieve ecological and watershed health objectives; and,
• encourage utilization of forest restoration by-products to offset treatment costs, to benefit local rural economies, to and improve forest health.

On behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is soliciting proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects. Congress has appropriated limited funds to USACE for implementation of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Program. Eligible projects must provide ecosystem benefits, have scientific merit, be technically feasible, be able to adapt to the impacts associated with climate change, and be cost-effective.