Funding

Letter of Interest Application Window: July 10-September 29, 2023. The goal of the PACE Program is to support clean, affordable energy growth across America. The PACE Program provides loans to eligible entities, with varying levels of loan forgiveness, for Projects that generate and/or store electricity from Renewable Energy Resource. The Agency encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:• Assisting rural communities to recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure;• Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD funded projects; and• Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.There are three different categories for application, one of which provides up to 60 percent total loan forgiveness if the project serves areas with Tribal populations of 60 percent or greater, are owned by a Tribal government, or are in a Substantially Underserved Trust Area.

Categories: IRA, renewable energy, pollution, economic support

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 15, 2022. Sea Grant and the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP) announced a new funding opportunity for collaborative projects to integrate research, its application, and community engagement in thematic areas of long-term coastal evolution, extreme storms, and human and ecosystem health. Proposals should address the needs or gaps that have been identified by or are evident from USCRP-funded projects, to move research project findings toward application through service delivery and decision support for coastal community decision-makers, planners, and other coastal stakeholders. It is anticipated that approximately $4,000,000 will be available to fund 10-20 projects at up to $150,000 over two years (Tier 1) or up to $500,000 over four years (Tier 2). Matching funds will not be required for this competition. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Research, community engagement, coastal communities, climate change, ecosystem health

Columbia River Restoration Fundz. Applications Due: December 31, 2024. Amelia Marchand with the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation shared information about the Columbia River Restoration Fund, a program within Seeding Justice, which is a non-competitive funding for Tribal Nations of the Columbia River Basin. https://www.seedingjustice.org/columbia-river-restoration-fund/. Funding priorities include: Uphold Columbia River Basin Tribes’ sovereignty and leadership in watershed restoration, protection and conservation efforts in the Basin; Strengthen advocacy, organizing, and coalition building efforts that empower and support all Basin communities to access, protect, and restore the River and its watershed; and Expand culturally-rooted ways of caring for and engaging with the Basin through hands-on programs and experiences. For more info or proposal support, contact: amelia.m@thepnwlf.org 

Deadline Passed 12/19/2017. Deadline for 2018 Unknown.The new Fertile Ground Grant Program funds tribes, Native advocates, Native youth, and Native-led organizations to create sustainable community health improvements through nutrition and food sovereignty efforts. The grants of up to $35,000 will provide support for:Native-led convenings to identify community health prioritiesAdvocacy and policy strategies that address improving health outcomesAccess to healthy foodFood sovereignty work rooted in tradition, culture, and Indigenous knowledge.The program is funded by $100,000 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community through its Seeds of Native Health philanthropic campaign and $100,000 from the AHA through its Voices for Healthy Kids campaign. AICAF will serve as the intermediary partner and administer the program.

Categories: nutrition, food sovereignty, community health, tradition, culture, indigenous knowledge

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

The Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples is offering emergency funding to Native families impacted by the wildfires in the West. These one-time disbursements will be coordinated through our Flicker Fund to provide help during evacuations, loss of homes, escape from heavy smoke events, and other emergencies. Taking applications from September 10 - 25, 2020. Visit: https://7genfund.submittable.com/submit/174434/flicker-wildfire-response.

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: 3/19/2018. Through the Responsive Grants Program, Sierra Health Foundation will invest in communities and organizations that promote health and racial equity to address health disparities and the social determinants of health. Sierra Health Foundation has a broad definition of health, believing there is much more to health than health care. Health is influenced by many factors, including socioeconomic conditions, environment, education, income, housing, neighborhood safety and other drivers of health outcomes – factors that have come to be known as the Social Determinants of Health. Where we live, work and play has a significant influence on our health. Health equity means achieving the highest possible standard of health for all people and giving special attention to the needs of those at greatest risk of poor health, based on social conditions. Racial equity “is the condition that would be achieved if one’s racial identity no longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how one fares.

Categories: health equity, racial equity, quality of life, education, environment, sustainability

Green Horizons - Accelerating support for Tribal agricultural producers in implementing sustainable farm and ranch practices. Applications Due: June 15, 2025. This initiative provides essential capital and capacity-building support to drive environmental sustainability in Native agricultural and food systems. Together, we’re accelerating existing efforts that provide support for Tribal agricultural producers implementing sustainable practices on farms and ranches. Green Horizons is an opportunity targeted for state and federally recognized Tribal governments. To determine eligibility, we reference the Federal Register’s list of federally recognized Tribes and each state’s list of state recognized Tribes. The lead applicant must be a Tribal government. To be considered the lead applicant, an entity must serve as the project lead/key personnel for the project, have oversight of the budget, and be the primary contact with SEF throughout the duration of the grant. Tribal governments may choose to partner with other entities including but not limited to 501(c)(3) organizations, educational organizations, and community/grassroots coalitions. https://sovereignequityfund.org/greenhorizons/

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: July 18, 2023. This is a non-competitive grant program to support Tribes to engage in the consultation process on spending decisions from accounts created in the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). Funds will be distributed equally among all tribes with accepted applications. The Legislature appropriated $16 million for the 2023-2025 biennium. $4 million will be made available during this application window. The remaining $12 million will be distributed in fall 2023, via a distribution method  being developed by the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs (GOIA).

Categories: non-competitive, consultation, assistance, Washington Climate Commitment Act

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: July 18, 2023. This is a competitive grant program for Tribes to design, assess the feasibility of, and implement carbon offset projects within Washington State. These funds are intended to increase the number of offset projects developed on tribal land within the state. Up to $5,000,000 is available for the 2023-2025 biennium. Per the CCA, offsets can make up 8% of compliance obligation through 2026. Of that 3% must be on tribal lands. After that it is reduced to 6% and 2%, respectively, through 2030.

Categories: Washington Climate Commitment Act, assessment, carbon offset

Deadline Passed 02/04/2020. Deadline Unknown for 2021. The Washington Department of Ecology will open a grant opportunity to install or upgrade existing publicly available direct current fast chargers (DCFC) along high-traffic transportation corridors. Preliminary information on eligibility and minimum criteria is available to provide applicants sufficient time to prepare this funding opportunity. Additional detail, including scoring criteria and process, will be available in the grant guidelines when the funding opportunity opens on December 3, 2019.

Categories: Electric vehicles, transportation, installation, charging stations

Deadline passed June 15, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. Projects must directly relate to one of the following congressionally authorized uses: Restoring or protecting salmon or steelhead habitat; Maintenance of salmon or steelhead populations necessary for subsistence fishing.

Categories: Conservation, Salmon

Deadline Passed. Most recent deadline: March 13, 2023. First Lady Rose Dunleavy invites Alaskans to recognize their fellow citizens who have performed extraordinary volunteer service by nominating them for the First Lady’s Volunteer of the Year Awards. The annual awards recognize volunteers who engage in unpaid charitable activities, demonstrate personal commitment to long-term volunteer services, and make a significant impact for Alaskans. An executive committee, comprised of Alaskan community members, will select award recipients to be recognized for their outstanding volunteer contributions.

Categories: Volunteer Recognition

Deadline Passes December 11, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. TD Bank and the Arbor Day Foundation are accepting applications to TD Green Streets, an annual program that supports innovative urban forestry initiatives in low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods. Ten $20,000 grants will be awarded for the purchase of trees, tree planting and maintenance, and educational activities. Up to 50 percent of the proposed funding can be used to purchase new trees. To be eligible for a TD Green Streets grant, qualified municipalities must be a current Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA-designated community within TD Bank's U.S. footprint. In addition, the trees must be planted in neighborhoods identified as low-to-moderate-income. Municipalities are encouraged to apply in partnership with community partners such as nonprofit organizations, schools, businesses, etc.

Categories: urban forestry, tree planting, forestry education

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 30, 2022. The Tepa Native American Scholarship Fund was established by the Tepa Companies who are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians. The scholarship was created to build personal and lasting relationships with students who will become the future leaders in Native American communities and possibly within the Tepa Companies. Two awards of $1,000 will be provided to Native American students majoring in Environmental Science, Earth Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance or Business Administration for the 2022 Fall semester. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Earth science, technology, construction, engineering,

Deadline for 2018 passed 1/5/2018. Deadline for 2019 unknown. The Alaska Community Foundation’s goals for the Alaska Native Social Justice Fund grant cycle are to support strategic collaborations that prioritize leadership development and allow Alaska Native communities to use their own voices to identify and address the social justice issues that are the most important to their communities. These may include, but are not limited to access to and use of traditional resources, overrepresentation in the prison system, under-representation in the political process, and unequal access to education.

Categories: social justice, use of traditional resources

Deadline Passed 10/01/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. Today, the Wildhorse Foundation donates over $1,000,000 every year to local programs and services that benefit our giving area. We fund projects in the areas of: Arts; Cultural Activities; Education; Environmental Protection; Gambling Addiction Prevention; Education and Treatment; Historic Preservation; Public Health; Public Safety; Salmon Restoration

Categories: environmental protection, education, historic preservation, public health, salmon restoration

Deadline Passed 02/26/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The Equator Prize 2019 will be awarded to outstanding community and indigenous initiatives that are advancing nature-based solutions for climate change and local sustainable development. The Equator Prize winners will join a prestigious network of 223 community-based organizations from 78 countries that have been awarded the Equator Prize since 2002. Each winning group will receive USD 10,000 and will be invited to participate in a series of policy dialogues and special events during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2019, culminating in an award ceremony at the beginning of Climate Week.

Categories: community, indigenous, climate change, adaptation, innovation, sustainable development

Most Recent Deadline: 7/30/2020. The Funders Network (TFN) and The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) offer the Partners for Places (P4P) fund to create or improve collaborative partnerships between local government leaders, place-based funders , and frontline community-led group(s). This grant opportunity intends to build these partnerships, so that the these groups can connect and align to produce work that advances an equitable sustainability project. The purpose is to address frontline community priorities and apply a racial equity approach to both collaboration and project planning / implementation. Review the most recent P4P invitation to apply here. Follow-on funding to awarded mini grants is competitive and not guaranteed. Mini grants strengthen the relationship between the applying partners in order to aid in the joint development of a full P4P application. Mini grant requests can be up to $10,000. For more information and to apply, visit: https://www.fundersnetwork.org/partners-for-places/.

Most recent deadline: 8/18/2021. The Gulf Research Program announced the availability of the full Request for Applications (RFA) on June 17, 2021. This funding opportunity focuses on advancing the understanding of the regional components of sea level variation and rise and then incorporating this understanding into more reliable forecast models and projections of relative sea level rise. 

Categories: sea level rise, ocean,

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: 7/20/2021. The Gulf Research Program (GRP) is seeking projects from Communities of Practice (CoP) that work in the area of climate adaptation or disaster resilience to build the knowledge base and capacity of their members to apply an equity lens to their activities in order to address the needs and challenges of communities that are disproportionately at risk from climate hazards or other disasters.

Categories: climate hazards, communities

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: varies by scholarship. The ITC Education Scholarship is designed to support tribally relevant, natural resource based, research being conducted by Native American scholars enrolled in a graduate program.

Categories: scholarship, natural resources

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: February 1, 2024. The Joint Futures Initiative is thrilled to announce the first-ever call for Community Water Justice Awards funded by a state budget allocation. Apply now! Awards up to $50,000.00. For questions, please contact Dr. Alai Reyes-Santos at alai@uoregon.edu. For more information, visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMKE7Rw9udzBuDQyDR6Z3y47AoGy0….

Most Recent Deadline: 8/27/2021. The Gulf Research Program (GRP) is seeking proposals from U.S. academic institutions or nonprofit organizations that demonstrate how the use of data can help state/local/tribal governments achieve more equitable outcomes associated with climate hazards or other disasters in order to address the priorities or needs of communities that are disproportionately at risk. The GRP expects to award up to six projects under this funding opportunity.

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: May 31, 2023. On August 4, 2020 the Great American Outdoors Act was signed into law. The bill provides $900 million in permanent and dedicated annual funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and invests up to $9.5 billion to address priority repairs in our national parks and other public lands. The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program, created in 2014, is an urban park grants program funded through the Land & Water Conservation Fund. The ORLP offers nationally competitive grants to support the creation or significant renovation of state or locally-owned parks and other outdoor recreation spaces located in urban areas. Funded projects help the public access or re-connect with the outdoors, and specifically target economically disadvantaged neighborhoods that lack adequate parks and recreational opportunities. The sixth application round with $192 million available is now open. Grants range from $300,000 to $10 million. Applications are being accepted in Grants.gov through May 31, 2023, with an early submission deadline of January 31, 2023 for those that have application requirements completed. Interested jurisdictions should contact their state lead agency for LWCF.

Categories: land water conservation, parks and recreation, outdoors, publicly-owned lands

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Portland General Electric Company (PGE) are now accepting proposals for the 2025 funding cycle of the PGE Habitat Support Fund. This program funds a variety of projects that provide a clear and direct benefit to anadromous fish or their habitat. Grant applications are due by 11:59 PM PDT on June 20, 2025. Please see our website for the RFP, application template, and more information.

Categories: salmon conservation, stream restoration, anadromous fish species

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.

Categories: Environmental Education

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces that it is soliciting applications under its Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. The HPG program is a grant program which provides qualified public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, which may include but not be limited to Faith-Based and Community Organizations, and other eligible entities grant funds to assist very low- and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. In addition, the HPG program assists rental property owners and cooperative housing complexes in repairing and rehabilitating their units if they agree to make such units available to low- and very low-income persons.

Categories: Community Development, Housing, Infrastructure

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. 

Categories: climate change, sustainability, food justice, subsistence, emissions, conservation, coal, carbon

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: October 7, 2022. The Tribal Energy Plan Grant program is open until funding is fully subscribed. Applicants may apply for funding up to $25,000 for up to one year. The development of Tribal Energy Plans are intended to help tribal communities quickly and efficiently triage the known practical and impactful strategies to reduce greenhouse gas, reduce energy costs, and operate more sustainably. The grants can be used to compensate the planning team for their time, contract the services of consultants or other third-party experts, and cover the costs of public meetings and other methods soliciting public input. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Climate resilience, mitigation, research, adaptation, capacity building