Funding

The Tribal Climate Change Funding Guide is intended to provide up-to-date information on grants, programs and plans that may assist tribes in addressing climate change through a broad range of sectors. We will update this guide regularly, so please check back often. If you have questions or updates for this guide, email: kathy@uoregon.edu. Please note that for entries that are accepting applications continuously, the grant deadline column will list "12/31/2024" as the grant deadline. This ensures that those grants will appear immediately after those grants with a set deadline.

Title Organization Sort descending Grant Deadline Description Funding Amount Geography Website
Clean Water Indian Set-Aside Program Environmental Protection Agency, Indian Health Service (IHS) 12/31/2024

Submissions accepted on a rolling basis. The Clean Water Indian Set-Aside Grant Program (CWISA) provides funding to Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages for wastewater infrastructure. The CWISA program is administered in cooperation with the Indian Health Service (IHS). The CWISA program provides funding for wastewater infrastructure to American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages. Funds may be used for planning, design, and construction of wastewater collection and treatment systems. The CWISA program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in cooperation with the Indian Health Service (IHS) Sanitation Facilities Construction program. To be considered for CWISA program funding, tribes must identify their wastewater needs to the IHS Sanitation Deficiency System. EPA uses the IHS Sanitation Deficiency System priority lists to identify and select projects for CWISA program funding.

Categories: waste water infrastructure, monitoring, infrastructure

Varies National Link
The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program EPA

Past Deadline: 5/7/2021. The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working on or planning to work on projects to address local environmental and/or public health issues in their communities. The program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical service providers, academia, etc.) to develop solutions that will significantly address environmental and/or public health issue(s) at the local level. Additionally, the EJCPS Program requires selected applicants, or recipients, to use the EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model as part of their projects. The model aims to address local environmental and/or public health issues in a collaborative manner with various stakeholders such as communities, industry, academic institutions, and others. Case Studies highlight some of the successful and effective strategies of previous projects.

Categories: environmental justice, health issues, environment, collaborative projects

$160,000 Inernational Link
Puget Sound Action Agenda – Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead EPA

Deadline Passed. Most recent deadline: March 31, 2023. This RFA announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible applicants that are interested in acting as the Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead. The overall goal is to establish an innovative and collaborative riparian conservation program that provides financial incentives for landowners to set aside and restore riparian areas important for salmon recovery, while successfully implementing approaches to climate resiliency and riparian conservation that become a robust and sustainable program.

Categories: riparian ecosystem, conservation, climate resiliency, salmon, flooding, erosion

Up to $30,000,000 Puget Sound, Washington Link
The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program EPA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 30, 2023. The new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) Program is a competition to select multiple Grantmakers around the nation to reduce barriers to the federal grants application process communities face and increase the efficiency of the awards process for environmental justice grants. Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities, all in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Apply on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=346337

Categories: competition, environmental justice, community, IRA

Up to $50,000,000 National, US territories Link
Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products EPA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 20, 2023. The purpose of the Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice Through Safer and more Sustainable Products is to provide pollution prevention (P2) technical assistance to businesses (e.g., information, training, expert advice) in order to improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by increasing the supply, demand and use of safer and more sustainable products, such as those that are certified by EPA’s Safer Choice program, or those that conform to EPA’s Recommendations for Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing (Recommendations).

Categories: BIL, pollution, air quality, technical assistance, health

$100,000 to $800,000 for individual projects; up to $1.2 million for multi-state or multi-tribal projects National, US territories Link
Clean School Bus Rebates EPA

Deadline Passed. Most Recent Deadline January 31, 2024. EPA’s new Clean School Bus Program is providing at least $500 million in funding to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models. Beginning September 2023 through January 2024, EPA will be hosting a series of webinars on who is eligible, who is prioritized, and how to apply for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebates.

Categories: Clean energy, transportation, zero-emission, education

Varies. National Link
Building the Capacity of Tribes to Address the Health Impacts of Climate Change EPA

Deadline passed as of July 15, 2016. Deadline for 2016 unkown. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals to enable tribal climate change and health impacts curriculum development and training, web communications, and outreach.

Categories: Curriculum Development, Climate Impacts, Training, Outreach, Climate Education, Capacity Building

$600,000 total funding available National Link
TRIBAL WASTE MANAGEMENT CAPACITY BUILDING TRAINING GRANT EPA

2017 deadline: June 15, 2017. Unknown for 2018. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities that will provide training, peer-to-peer technical assistance and travel scholarships to federally-recognized tribes in support of waste management capacity building on tribal lands. The recipient will conduct three training courses that will assist tribes in the development and implementation of sustainable waste management programs. The training will focus on implementing an Integrated Waste Management Plan (IWMP) through waste diversion programs such as recycling, composting, et al. The training courses should include tribal speakers that have developed and implemented successful waste diversion programs. In addition, the recipient will offer travel scholarships to support the trainings as well as provide travel scholarships to financially assist tribes that voluntarily participate in the EPA’s National Tribal Waste Management Peer Matching Program.

Categories: pollution, human hazard, sustainability, conservation, planning, policy, management, waste, sanitation, infrastructure

Up to $200,000. National Link
Environmental Justice Small Grants Program EPA

Deadline extended: 6/1/2021. The EJSG program awards grants that support community-driven projects designed to engage, educate, and empower communities to better understand local environmental and public health issues and develop strategies for addressing those issues, building consensus in the community, and setting community priorities.  The EJSG program will award approximately $2.8 million nationwide for this competitive opportunity. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 56 grants ( about 5 per EPA region) of up to $50,000 each.  These grants are for one-year projects. This opportunity places special emphasis on projects focusing on COVID-19 impacts, as well as climate and disaster resiliency.  Additionally, EPA is emphasizing projects addressing diesel pollution in underserved communities living near ports and railyards as part of EPA’s Ports Initiative.  Finally, to promote equitable accessibility to EPA grant funding and to assist small entities, approximately half of the total available funding under this announcement is intended to be reserved for small non-profit organizations as defined in the announcement.

Categories: community-based organizations, underserved communities, environmental issues, health issues, environmental justice

up to $50,000 United States Link
EPA Brownfields Technical Assistance, Training, and Research EPA

Applications Accecpted Year-Round. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program helps communities, states, tribes and others understand risks associated with contaminated or potentially contaminated properties, called brownfields, and learn how to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse them. EPA funds three organizations—Kansas State University (KSU), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR)—to serve as independent sources of technical assistance. Each of these TABs has an extensive network of partners, contractors and other contacts that provides services across the country. They help communities tackle a variety of challenges related to identifying, assessing, cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields. The technical assistance comes at no cost to communities. This makes the TAB program a great resource for small, underserved, rural and other communities that might otherwise struggle to address their brownfields.

Categories: Planning, Brownfields, Environmental Pollutants, Human Health, Infrastructure, Cleanup, Assessment, Urban Restoration

up to $200,000 per applicant National Link
RESTORE Estuary Program EPA

Deadline passed as of August 1, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals to develop and stand-up a place-based estuary program encompassing one or more of the following bays in Florida’s northwest panhandle region: Perdido Bay, Pensacola Bay, Escambia Bay, Choctawhatchee Bay, St. Andrews Bay and Apalachicola Bay.

Categories: restoration, conservation, adaptation, mitigation, management, planning, policy, habitat, population, biodiversity,

Varies. Florida Link
EPA Healthy Communities Grant Program--Northeast EPA

The Healthy Communities Grant Program is EPA New England’s main competitive grant program to work directly with communities to reduce environmental risks, protect and improve human health and improve the quality of life. The Healthy Communities Grant Program will achieve this through identifying and funding projects that: 1) Target resources to benefit communities at risk [areas at risk from climate change impacts, areas impacted by stormwater run-off, environmental justice areas of potential concern, urban areas and sensitive populations (e.g. children, elderly, tribes, and others at increased risk)]; 2) Assess, understand, and reduce environmental and human health risks; 3) Increase collaboration through community-based projects; 4) Build institutional and community capacity to understand and solve environmental and human health problems; 5) Advance emergency preparedness and resilience; 6) Achieve measurable environmental and human health benefits. In order to qualify as eligible projects under the Healthy Communities Grant Program, proposted projects must take place within New England states and must meet several criteria including: (1) Be located in and/or directly benefit one or more of the Target Investment Areas; and (2) Identify how the proposed project will achieve measurable environmental and/or public health results in one or more of the Target Program Areas

Categories: Human Health, Risk Mitigation

$25,000 ceiling Northeast Link
EPA Region 7 Wetland Program Development Grants EPA

Wetland Program Development Grants provide eligible applicants an opportunity to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution. All proposals submitted under this RFP must be for projects that build or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs.

Categories: Wetland Conservation, Water Pollution

Varies Midwest Link
EPA's Office of Water supports the National Tribal Water Council (NTWC) EPA

Deadline passed as of August 11, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. EPA's Office of Water supports the National Tribal Water Council (NTWC), composed of tribal governmental representatives, to increase communications, promote sharing of technical information and best management practices for Indian country, raise awareness of tribes on priority water issues, and facilitate tribal input on actions to protect water quality and provide safe drinking water in tribal communities. EPA supports the efforts of the National Tribal Water Council through a multi-year cooperative agreement to a recipient who manages and supports the operations of the Council, and assists in developing and completing products in coordination with the NTWC. Eligible recipients interested in managing the NTWC under this cooperative agreement may apply by submitting applications to EPA for this competitive process.

Categories: intertribal, water health, water rights, water management

Total award $1,100,000. National Link
Region 9 Indian Environmental General Assistance Program EPA

Most recent deadline: 1/14/2021. EPA provides GAP financial and technical assistance to tribal governments and intertribal consortia to assist tribes in planning, developing, and establishing the capacity to implement federal environmental programs administered by the EPA and to assist in implementation of tribal solid and hazardous waste programs in accordance with applicable provisions of law, including the Solid Waste Disposal Act (commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA). As described in the GAP Guiding Principles, this support promotes tribal government efforts to develop core environmental program capacities (administrative, financial management, information management, environmental baseline needs assessment, public education/communication, legal, and technical/analytical) and baseline capacities for media-specific programs (e.g., ambient air quality, water quality, managing waste, and other EPA-administered statutory programs).

Categories: Adaptation, Regulatory, Environmental Justice, Natural Resources, Conservation, Health

$75,000 for first-time applicants. Total Funding will be determined after EPA receives its full budget from Congress. Pacific Southwest Link
Drivers and Environmental Impacts of Energy Transitions in Underserved Communities EPA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: April 28, 2022. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing community-engaged research that will address the drivers and environmental impacts of energy transitions in underserved communities. For purposes of this competition and the evaluation of applications, “underserved communities” refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, including people of color, low income, rural, tribal, indigenous, and other populations that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Energy transitions, community-engaged research, underserved communities, environmental justice

Up to a total of $1,125,000 per regular award, and up to a total of $650,000 per early career award, including direct and indirect costs, with a maximum duration of four years. National Link
National Indoor Environments Program: Reducing Public Exposure to Indoor Pollutants EPA

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities for demonstration, training, outreach and/or education cooperative agreements that will have a national scale impact to reduce exposure to indoor air contaminants and yield measurable environmental outcomes.

Categories: Air Pollution, public health

Up to $200,000 annually for up to 3 years Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, Midwest, US territories Link
Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program EPA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: February 15, 2023. The EPA is seeking applications proposing projects that inform the public about new or existing residential or community recycling programs; provide information about the recycled materials that are accepted as part of a residential or community recycling program that provides for the separate collection of residential solid waste from recycled material; and increases collection rates and decreases contamination in residential and community recycling programs. Projects will improve consumer recycling education with the goal of achieving separate collection of recycled material across the nation, maximizing the efficient reuse of materials, and identifying strategies that otherwise result in an increase in volume of recyclable materials. The EPA also recognizes and encourages applications that demonstrate evidence-based messaging and strategies associated with effective communication campaigns designed to increase prevention, reuse, repair, remanufacture, recycling, anaerobic digestion, and composting in communities and/or decrease contamination in the recycling stream. This approach to community-informed messaging goes beyond education only by emphasizing researching the audience, building trust, and reducing audience barriers while emphasizing benefits for desired action.In addition, the EPA is seeking applications for recycling education and outreach projects that address environmental justice concerns and focus predominantly on addressing the disproportionate and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts, resulting from industrial, governmental, commercial and/or other actions that have affected and/or currently affect people/communities of color, low income, tribal, and indigenous populations, and if applicable, other vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing medical conditions. Apply here.

Categories: education, public health, social justice, recycling, waste management, BIL

up to $2,000,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Coastal, Alaska Link
EPA Region 3 Wetlands Program Development Grants EPA

Deadline unknown for 2017. Wetland Program Development Grants (WPDGs) provide eligible applicants an opportunity to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution. All proposals submitted under this RFP must be for projects that build or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs. Implementation of wetland protection programs is not an eligible project under this announcement

Categories: Conservation, Wetlands

$200,000-900,000 Northeast, Southeast Link
EPA Pollution Prevention Grant Program EPA

Pollution Prevention (P2) Grants provide technical assistance to businesses in order to help them develop and adopt source reduction practices (also known as “pollution prevention” or “P2”). P2 means reducing or eliminating pollutants from entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. In keeping with the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, EPA is encouraging P2 because implementing these approaches can result in reductions in toxic pollutants, the use of water, energy and other raw materials, while also lowering business costs. P2 grants are awarded to States, colleges and universities (recognized as instrumentalities of the state), and federally-recognized tribes and intertribal consortia.

Categories: Pollution Prevention, Conservation, Efficiency, Greenhouse Gas Reduction

$40,000-$500,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, Midwest Link
Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia EPA

Deadline passed. Latest deadline: April 4, 2023. SWIFR Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia will provide funds for tribes and intertribal consortia to develop or update plans focused on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management; establish, increase, or expand materials management infrastructure, utilize funds for equipment and construction related costs as part of their implementation plans, and identify, establish, or improve end-markets for the use of recycled materials.  Materials and waste streams within scope of this funding opportunity include: municipal solid waste, including plastics, organics, paper, metal, glass, etc. and construction and demolition debris. In addition, materials and waste streams considered include the management pathways of source reduction, reuse, sending materials to material recovery facilities, composting, industrial uses (e.g., rendering, anaerobic digestion), and feeding animals. Apply here.

Categories: waste management, food waste, waste diversion, recycling, composting, public health, BIL

Up to $1,500,000 National Link
Clean Diesel Tribal Grants EPA

Deadline Passed 04/03/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality is soliciting applications nationwide for Tribal projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions and diesel emissions exposure, particularly from fleets located in areas designated as having poor air quality. EPA anticipates $2 million will be awarded to eligible Tribal applicants.

Categories: air quality, fuel, diesel, reductions,

$2 million dispersed among applicants National Link
Urban Waters Small Grants EPA

EPA’s Urban Waters Program helps local residents and their organizations, particularly those in underserved communities, restore their urban waters in ways that also benefit community and economic revitalization. One of the ways the Urban Waters Program is accomplishing this mission is through the Urban Waters Small Grants Program. This program recognizes that healthy and accessible urban waters can help grow local businesses and enhance educational, recreational, social, and employment opportunities in nearby communities.

Categories: Water, urban communities, community revitalization

Up to $60,000 per award Unknown Link
Systems-Based Research for Evaluating Ecological Impacts of Manufactured Chemicals EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR), and Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) research programs is funding grants with the goal of applying systems-based approaches for identifying, addressing, and reducing uncertainties from limited exposure data and stressor-response relationships.EPA is seeking applications focusing on integrated, transdisciplinary research that would advance scientific understanding of potential for impacts to ecosystem wellbeing associated with the use of manufactured chemicals.Specifically, the RFA solicits proposals for systems-based research to develop and apply innovative metrics and modeling approaches to improve evaluation of ecological resilience and impact analyses, and to support environmental sustainability. Successful proposals will translate emerging and advanced methods, data, and computational tools to address complexity of these systems and distill drivers of adverse outcomes to ecological organisms and populations.

Categories: Research, Chemical Pollution

Up to $800,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Alaska, National Link
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) EPA

Deadline Passed 07/31/2018. Deadline Unknown for 2019. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA) established the WIFIA program, a federal credit program administered by EPA for eligible water and wastewater infrastructure projects.

Categories: wastewater, infrastructure, energy efficiency, drinking water, drought prevention, mitigation

$5,000,000-$20,000,000 National Link
Local Foods, Local Places EPA

Past Deadline: November 13, 2020. The Local Foods, Local Places program will provide selected communities planning assistance that centers around a two-day community workshop. At the workshop, a team of experts will help community members develop an implementable action plan that promotes local food and neighborhood revitalization. Eligible applicants include local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit institutions and organizations proposing to work in a neighborhood, town, or city of any size anywhere in the United States. We expect that many of the communities we select will be economically challenged and in the early phases of their efforts to promote local foods and community revitalization.

Categories: Economic development, accessibility, farmers, infrastructure development

Unknown National Link
National Center for Sustainable Water Infrastructure Modeling Research (USEPA) EPA

The US Environmental Protection Agency, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking initial applications proposing the creation of a National Center for Sustainable Water Infrastructure Modeling Research that facilitates technology transfer of open source water infrastructure models and shares green infrastructure tools and research advancements with local communities and stakeholders.

Categories: Research, Water, Infrastructure

Up to $4 million Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southesat, National, Alaska Link
EPA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act Grant EPA

RFP closed for 2016. The EPA is seeking applications for a noncompetitive $50 million grant program to establish and enhance state and tribal response programs. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 128(a) response program grants are funded with State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) appropriations. Generally, these response programs address the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields sites with actual or perceived contamination.

Categories: Response program, assessment, redevelopment, cleanup

EPA will consider funding requests up to a maximum of $1.0 million per state or tribe for FY2015. National Link
Fiscal Year 2014 Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program (USEPA) EPA

The EPA is funding SRA grants and/or cooperative agreements to fund projects supporting pollution prevention/source reduction and resource conservation. The five goals of the grant program are: 1. Reduce the generation of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions to mitigate climate change; 2. Reduce the manufacture and use of hazardous substances to improve human and ecological health; 3. Reduce the use of water and conserve other natural resources to protect ecosystems; 4. Create business efficiencies that derive economic benefits and improve environmental performance while addressing goals 1, 2, or 3; and 5. Institutionalize and integrate pollution prevention practices by way of technical services, policies, and initiatives while addressing goals 1, 2 or 3.

Categories: GHG Emissions Reduction, Hazardous Waste Reduction, Water Conservation, Business Efficiency, Sustainble Business, Pollution Prevention

$10,000-$147,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southesat, National, Alaska Link
Tribal Support for Participation in the National Environmental Information Exchange Network EPA

Deadline Passed 02/22/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible organizations to provide the outreach and technical assistance necessary to increase tribal participation in the National Environmental Exchange Network (EN), which is an element of E-Enterprise for the Environment (EE). The EN is an Internet-based system used by state, tribal and territorial partners to securely share environmental and health information with one another and EPA. The objective of the cooperative agreement is to strengthen the data and information technology (IT) management skills of tribes so they can fully participate in innovative technology efforts of the EN, and incorporate data schema, software, and services developed by EN partnerships into their environmental management programs.

Categories: technical assistance, information exchange, environment, health, information technology, management

up to $1,500,000 National Link