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 Grant Deadline Description Funding Amount Sort ascending Geography Website
NSF Coastal SEES NSF

NSF’s Coastal SEES program focuses on the sustainability of coastal systems, which include barrier islands, mudflats, beaches, estuaries, cities, towns, recreational areas, maritime facilities, continental seas and shelves, and the overlying atmosphere. The Coastal SEES program, in short, seeks to 1) advance understanding of fundamental, interconnected processes in coastal systems, 2) improve capabilities for predictingfuture coastal system states and impacts, and 3) identify pathways for research to be translated to policy and management domains, enhancing coastal resiliency.

Categories: Coastal, Research

$800,000-$2,000,000 Northweest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, Alaska, National, Coastal Link
Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants Department of Commerce

Deadline passed as of january 11, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. This funding opportunity is soliciting applications intended to support coral reef conservation projects in shallow water coral reef ecosystems, including reefs at mesophotic depths, in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and coral-dominated banks in the U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Funding opportunity # NOAA-NOS-OCM-2017-2005011.

Categories: climate change, fisheries, marine, management, conservation, reef,

$80,000 International (US Territories) Link
FY 2021 Energizing Insular Communities Grant Program DOI

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: 6/30/2021. The Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) is requesting proposals for its Energizing Insular Communities (EIC) Program which provides grant funding for sustainable energy strategies that mitigate climate change, reduce reliance and expenditures on imported fuels, develop and utilize domestic energy sources, and improve the performance of energy infrastructure and overall energy efficiency in the territories.

Categories: Energy efficiency, energy infrastructure, sustainability, climate change, rural

$8,500,000 National Link
Columbia River Basin Restoration Funding Assistance Program- Tribal Program Implementation EPA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: January 31, 2023. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (EPA), is issuing a Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible Columbia River Basin tribal governments to improve water quality in the Columbia River Basin, through specific actions to reduce toxics, and/or increase public education and outreach. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP) will assist tribes as they implement the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan and the Lower Columbia River Estuary Plan - Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and conduct activities to support EPA national goals for the Columbia River Basin. Learn more here.

Categories: water quality, monitoring, public education, restoration, management, Columbia River Basin, pollution, toxins

$750,000 - $2,000,000 Columbia River Basin Link
Rocky Mountain Section Grants GSA

Deadline passed as of March 1, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. Funding available for undergraduate Earth Science research. Special consideration for projects focused on the Rocky Mountain region. Student must be a member of the GSA.

Categories: geology, climate science, student, scholarship,

$750 Rocky Mountain Region, and Midwest Link
Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants NOAA

Past deadline: May 15, 2019. The principal objective of the NMFS Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration solicitation is to support habitat restoration projects that use an ecosystem-based approach to foster species recovery and increase populations under NOAA’s jurisdiction. Successful proposals will: 1) identify a habitat-based issue/concern limiting the recovery or sustainability of one or more species targeted by the proposed restoration action; 2) describe in detail the actions and on-the-ground habitat restoration project(s) to be undertaken to resolve the issue/concern and; 3) describe the project(s)’ expected outcomes and measurable impact on the project’s target species and their ecosystem. Proposals may include: restoration feasibility and/or design; implementation; or a combination.

Categories: restoration, coastal and marine habitat, ecosystems, species recovery, endangered species, sustainability, fisheries

$75,0000-$150,000 Coasts 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
Zoonotic Disease Grant Program U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: April 20, 2023. The Zoonotic Disease Initiative is a grant program focused on wildlife disease prevention and preparedness. Authorized under the American Rescue Plan (2021, H.R. 1319, Section 6003.3), the Initiative will provide $9 million in available funding to states, Tribes and territories to strengthen early detection, rapid response and science-based management research to address wildlife disease outbreaks before they cross the barrier from animals to humans and become pandemics. The highest priority for the funding is to increase organizational readiness and ensure a network of state, Tribal and territorial wildlife managers across the nation are prepared for zoonotic disease outbreaks. Strengthening partner capacity for wildlife health monitoring will allow for the early detection of diseases. Learn more and apply here. Grants for Tribes are open through NOFO F23AS00139. For more information, please contact Anna-Marie York at anna-marie_york@fws.gov.

Categories: Wildlife disease prevention, wildlife health, science-based management, monitoring

$75,000 - $775,000 National Link
National Estuary Program Coastal Watersheds Grant Program Restore Americas Estuaries

Deadline: 06/07/2021. The National Estuary Program (NEP) Coastal Watersheds Grant (CWG) Program is a nationally competitive grants program designed to support projects that address urgent and challenging issues threatening the well-being of coastal and estuarine areas within determined estuaries of national significance. Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) will be administering the NEP CWG Program in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a pass-through entity with funding provided under Cooperative Agreement 83967501. The goals of the CWG Program are to: Address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the ecological and economic well-being of coastal areas and estuaries; Achieve on-the-ground or tangible quantifiable improvements in coastal and estuarine habitats conditions and the health of living resources; Apply new or innovative approaches, practices, methods, or techniques for preventing, treating, and removing pollution entering estuaries; Establish or improve sustainable local capacity to protect and restore coastal watersheds and their living resources; and Support and expand promising approaches for watershed resilience and adaptation.

Categories: coastal watersheds, habitat, flooding

$75,000 - $250,000 special boundaries see link Link
Region 10 Indian Environmental General Assistance Program EPA

Recent Deadline: 1/29/2021 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 - $125,000 per year. Tribes with large reservations may request a higher level of funding. Northwest, Alaska Link
Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities NOAA

Most recent deadline was September 30, 2022. The principal objective of this solicitation is to support $10 million of opportunities for underserved communities, tribes, and/or tribal entities to meaningfully engage in coastal habitat restoration activities. Through this funding opportunity, NOAA intends to support capacity building and restoration project activities that have the greatest potential to lead to habitat restoration that enhances resilience of underserved communities in marine, estuarine, coastal, and Great Lakes areas. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Coastal habitat restoration, capacity building, equity, environmental justice

$75,000 - $1,000,000 National Link
Availability of Disaster Relief Microgrants NCAI

Deadline Passed 10/31/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. Natural disasters have become more frequent in Indian Country over the past several years. Tribal nations and their citizens have endured tremendous loss of life, livelihood, and property. However, the federal government has restricted the avenues for tribal nations to access disaster relief funds. Even when tribal nations access disaster relief funds often they are not flexible enough to meet all of the tribal nation’s needs on the ground. The NCAI Disaster Relief Microgrants are shaped to flexibly cover the needs of tribal nations and/or tribal citizens (who live near their nations) that have been impacted by recent natural disasters such as, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, severe storms, severe winds, blizzards, etc. 

Categories: natural disasters, impacts, refleif funds

$70,000 total
Individual grants capped at $10,000
National Link
Oregon Domestic Well Safety Program (DWSP) DWSP, Oregon Local Public Health Authorities

Deadline passed as of December 12, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. This request for proposals (RFP) is intended to increase the capacity of Oregon Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs) and tribal public health authorities, particularly those that have identified domestic wells and water security as local priorities through county hazard assessments*. The Oregon Health Authority's (OHA) Domestic Well Safety Program (DWSP) intends to provide grants to support outreach efforts identified by LPHAs in their proposals to this RFP. In working with LPHAs, the DWSP will help plan and deliver outreach and interventions to communities of concern, as identified by LPHAs.

Categories: water safety, water health, access, infrastructure

$7,500 Oregon Link
Agriculture Innovation Center Grant Program USDA, Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Deadline Passed. Most recent deadline: March 6, 2023. The primary objective of the program is to provide grants to Agriculture Innovation Centers that will provide technical assistance to agricultural producers to market value-added agricultural products.

Categories: agriculture, innovation, technical assistance, production

$600,000-$1,000,000 National Link
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program USDA

Past Deadline: May 16, 2019. Beginning farmer education for adult and young audiences in the United States can generally be traced back to the advent of the 1862 and 1890 Morrill Land-Grant Acts. But, for the first time, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234, Section 7410) appropriated $75 million for FY 2009 to FY 2012 to develop and offer education, training, outreach and mentoring programs to enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers. The Agriculture Act of 2014 provided an additional $20 million per year for 2014 through 2018. The reasons for the renewed interest in beginning farmer and rancher programs are as follows: the rising average age of U.S. farmers; the 8% projected decrease in the number of farmers and ranchers between 2008 and 2018; and the growing recognition that new programs are needed to address the needs of the next generation of beginning farmers and ranchers. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill) reauthorized the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and provides mandatory funds for which supports education, mentoring, and technical assistance initiatives for beginning farmers and ranchers.

Categories: ranchers, Farm Bill, outreach, programs food

$600,000- $50,000 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
Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative Coastal Systems FY17 DOI

Deadline passed as of July 20,2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. Our mission is to promote coordination, dissemination and development of applied science to inform landscape level conservation, including terrestrial-marine linkages in the face of a changing climate and related stressors. Congress provides seed funding for our LCC through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service administers these funds through financial assistance on a competitive basis for projects, studies, and events that advance the scientific and public community's understanding of large-scale changes in landscape characteristics and the impacts of these changes on important species.

Categories: climate change, adaptation, mitigation, public, community, wildlife, biodiversity, sustainability, conservation, landscape, policy, management

$60,000-$90,000. Alaska, Alaska CSC Link
Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program USDA, NIFA

Deadline Passed 11/01/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. This program was designed to assist 1994 Land-Grant Institutions (Tribal Colleges) in building institutional research capacity through applied projects that address student educational needs and meet community, reservation or regional challenges. 

Categories: Research, Education, Land, Natural Resources, curriculum, higher education

$60,000-$500,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National. Midwest, Alaska Link
Columbia River Basin Restoration Funding Assistance Program - Middle and Upper Columbia EPA

Deadline Passed 12/20/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (EPA), is issuing a Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible entities to improve water quality in the Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin, through specific actions to reduce toxics, increase monitoring, and/or increase public education and outreach. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP) will assist tribal, state and local governments; nongovernmental entities, and others as they implement the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan and the Lower Columbia River Estuary Plan - Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and conduct activities to support EPA national goals for the Columbia River Basin.

Categories: water quality, public education, outreach, restoration, management, Columbia river basin

$60,000-$200,000 Columbia River Basin Link
Tribal Colleges Extension Program USDA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 14, 2022. The purpose of the Tribal Colleges Extension Program (TCEP) is to enable 1994 institutions to deliver science-based, culturally relevant extension education programs designed to address public needs and improve quality of life. The TCEP is intended to be a component of the applicant 1994 institution's land-grant roadmap or strategic planning process. To the extent practicable, priorities should reflect NIFA's national critical needs areas: 1) Development of sustainable energy; 2) Increased global food security; 3) Adaptation of agriculture and natural resources to global climate change; 4) Reduction of childhood and adolescent obesity; and 5) Improved food safety. Learn more and apply here. Download the RFA here.

Categories: Education, agriculture, training, development, research, technology, development, tribal youth, food security, community

$60,000 - $200,000 National Link
Pollution Prevention Information Network Grant Program (PPIN) EPA

RFP Closed for FY 2016. The PPIN grant program funds grants/cooperative agreements that support a national network of P2 information centers that coordinate training and information resources across the nation to minimize any duplication of effort among state programs. The centers offer training and promote new P2 technologies.

Categories: Pollution, Mitigation

$60,000 - $110,000 National Link
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Childhood Obesity Prevention Challenge Area USDA, NIFA

Deadline passed as of August 19, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. This Challenge Area Focuses on the societal challenge to end obesity among children, the number one nutrition-related problem in the US. Food is an integral part of the process that leads to obesity and USDA has a unique responsibility for the food system in the United States. This program is designed to achieve the long-term outcome of reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents 2-19 years. The Childhood Obesity Prevention Program supports Multi-function Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension Projects and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants.

Categories: Health, Children's Health, Obesity

$6,000,000 total program funding Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
Native Youth and Culture Fund First Nations Development Institute

Deadline Passed as of 3/08/2018. Deadline for 2019 Unknown. We are pleased to announce this 2018 Request for Proposals (RFP) for projects that focus on youth and incorporate culture and tradition to address social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, mental health or other social issues. Specifically, we are seeking projects that focus on one or more of these four priority areas: Preserving, strengthening or renewing cultural and/or spiritual practices, beliefs and values. Engaging both youth and elders in activities that demonstrate methods for documenting traditional knowledge, practices and/or beliefs, where culturally appropriate. Increasing youth leadership and their capacity to lead through integrated educational or mentoring programs. Increasing access to and sharing of cultural customs and beliefs through the use of appropriate technologies (traditional and/or modern), as a means of reviving or preserving tribal language, arts, history or other culturally relevant topics.

Categories: native youth, elders, culture, tradition, social issues, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, mental health, education, tribal language, traditional knowledge

$5000-$20,000 National Link
NCAI Business Stabilization Grant

Deadline passed. Application window will be open until funds are exhausted. With generous support from Google.org, NCAI is issuing business stabilization grants in the amount of $5,000 each to a total of 28 selected Native-owned small businesses that have been severely impacted by the curtailing of commercial activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Awarded applicants can use the funds to address their most urgent needs to stabilize and strengthen their businesses, such as (but not limited to): making monthly payments on small business loans that have lapsed due to declining business revenues; keeping employees employed; paying their vendors; and/or purchasing equipment/software to transition or grow their businesses online. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Rolling application process; application window will remain open until all funds are exhausted.

Categories: COVID-19, business stabilization

$5000 Link
NOAA Planet Stewards Funding Opportunity NOAA

Deadline: 06/06/2021. NOAA Planet Stewards is now providing up to $5,000 to support educators' (elementary through college) efforts to implement hands-on action-based stewardship projects that conserve, restore, and protect human communities and natural resources from environmental challenges.

Categories: Marine debris
Habitat conservation and restoration
Carbon footprint reduction
Carbon sequestration

$5000 National Link
ECOSOLUTION GRANT Captain PLanet Foundation

Deadline passed as of January 31, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. ecoSolution Grants are intended to support solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes. ecoSolution Grants are available to educators working with youth in the United States (international projects are by invitation only).

Categories: climate impacts, adaptaion, mitigation, solution, youth, student

$500-2500. United States Link
ECOTECH GRANTS Captain Planet Foundation

Deadline passed as of December 30, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. ecoSolution Grants (previously called “Small Grants”) have been the defining basis of Captain Planet Foundation’s work over the last 25 years. In that time, we’ve funded over 2,100 projects that have impacted 1.2 million youth around the world – actively fulfilling our mission to build the next generation of environmental stewards and change-agents. ecoSolution Grants are intended to support solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes.

Categories: technology, climate impacts, environmental education, conservation, management, climate science

$500-2500. United States Link
Keepers of the Earth Fund Cultural Survival

Last deadline: 10/27/2017. Cultural Survival is pleased to announce the Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) call for Applications. The KOEF is a small grants fund that supports Indigenous values-based community development. Applications will be viewed with an eye toward innovation, Indigenous values woven into the design of the project, and projects addressing real-time development needs. The connection between Indigenous values and the proposed project should be clearly articulated. The primary purpose of the Keepers of the Earth Fund is to empower grassroots Indigenous communities in establishing their rights and retaining their traditional values. We seek to fund projects that work in collaboration with others for the larger community as opposed to working alone. We encourage partnerships and networking, capacity building for results, and strategic approaches to Indigenous development.

Categories: grassroots, innovation, community development, indigenous values

$500-$5,000 International Link
Friends Research Fund Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: May 12, 2023. The Friends Research Fund annually awards individual grants ranging from $500 - $3000 to undergraduate and graduate students for faculty-supervised projects that enhance the understanding, appreciation, preservation, and/or protection of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Students have an opportunity to share their findings with the public at the annual Monument Research Symposium.

Categories: student grant, research, environment

$500-$3000 Oregon, California Link
Land Defenders and Water Protectors Seventh Generation for Fund for Indigenous Peoples, Inc.

Deadline Passed 10/11/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples is inviting proposals for the Land Defenders and Water Protectors Program: supporting Indigenous community-based organizations protecting Earth’s natural systems and ability to nurture and sustain life. Upholding Indigenous territorial sovereignty and self-determination, Native land stewardship practices, and the defense of sacred lands, waters and species. Potential projects may include:Peaceful direct actions and frontline organizingSacred site protectionEnvironmental education and issue advocacyIndigenous appropriate and traditional technologies

Categories: land, water, conservation, indigenous, community-based, sovereignty, stewardship, defense

$500-$10,000 National Link