Funding

2024-2025 NACCHO Climate and Health Demonstration Sites. Applications Due: December 5, 2024.  The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) supports local efforts to track, prevent, and mitigate the health effects of climate change such as local adaptation planning, preparing communities for extreme weather, and all-hazards disaster planning. To this end, NACCHO, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, intends to award up to two (2) entities for up to $16,000 each to support climate change and health adaptation initiatives at the local level. Local government entities or other local organizations (e.g., community-based organizations) working in climate change and health, or a state, tribal, or territorial government entity proposing a local project with a letter of support from the local government entity are eligible to apply. Small and rural health departments will be given preference in this application process. Small and Rural Local Health Departments Encouraged to Apply.

Categories: health effects, health, climate change impacts, adaptation, community health, community preparedness

Full applications due December 9, 2024. This competition seeks projects focused on improving drought indicator performance to account for non-stationarity with the goal of more accurate drought assessments that support communities in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to drought. 

In Fiscal Year 2025, approximately $2 million will be available for the first year of funding for up to 8 new awards, pending budget appropriations. It is anticipated that most awards will be at a funding level between $50,000 and $250,000 per year over 2 years for a total of up to $500,000. 

Register for an informational webinar on August 22, 10am Pacific - NIDIS Coping with Drought Information Webinar: Competition Overview. 

An additional webinar will be held on October 23, 10am Pacific - NIDIS Coping with Drought Information Webinar: LOI Feedback & Application Requirements.

Categories: drought, research, impacts, decision-making, water utilities

Drinking Water Source Protection Grant Program. Applications Due: December 12, 2024. In June 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2010 which, combined with other legislation, provided $5 million to establish the Drinking Water Source Protection Grant Program at OWEB. Through this grant program, OWEB will award grants to public water suppliers to protect, restore, or enhance sources of drinking water through land conservation. More information is now available here: https://www.oregon.gov/oweb/grants/Pages/DWSP.aspx. Eligible project types include:

• The acquisition of lands from willing sellers;
• Entering into covenants, easements, or similar agreements with willing landowners; or
• Repaying a loan used to finance a project as described in the above bullet points.

Detailed application guidance will be posted on the program’s website by Friday, October 4, 2024. Program direction is provided byORS 448.370-448.380 and Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 695, Division 48. Please visit our website for more information about this and other grant offerings: https://www.oregon.gov/OWEB/Pages/index.aspx. 

Categories: drinking water, source protection

The U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, administers the Small Surface and Groundwater Storage Program (Small Storage Program) to promote Federal assistance to enhance water storage opportunities for future generations in support of the Department’s priorities. Reclamation leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to support stakeholder efforts to stretch scarce water supplies and avoid conflicts over water.Congress enacted the BIL on November 15, 2021, with Title IX—Western Water Infrastructure to address water storage infrastructure critical to the Nation’s economic growth, health, and competitiveness. Section 40903 authorizes Reclamation to provide funding for small surface water storage and groundwater storage projects.Water storage projects are an important part of Reclamation and the Department’s priorities. Surface water and groundwater storage are essential tools in stretching the limited water supplies in the Western United States. Water storage projects enhance and increase the reliability of municipal and irrigation water supplies, provide opportunities to enhance groundwater management and provide water quality improvements and ecosystem benefits.

Categories: surface water storage

Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) 2025 Tribal Low-Income Energy Efficiency Grant Program. Letters of Intent due: December 15, 2024.  The BPA Tribal Low-Income Energy Efficiency Grant Application is posted online and we are currently accepting applications and letters of intent sent to EETribalGrants@bpa.gov. Guidance on how to draft applications and deadlines for submission are outlined in section “Part IV – Applications and Submission Information”. These are non-competitive grants for energy efficiency upgrades on existing residential housing served by a BPA customer utility. Grant budgets and performance periods can vary depending on the needs of the tribe and can be used for a variety of program options. Budgets can range from $5,000 to $100,000 depending on the tribe’s need and available budget, but there is no minimum grant amount.  Priority applications are due by close of business on December 1 or submit a letter of intent by December 15. Applicants are encouraged to submit requests for funding by January 1 to ensure that funding will still be available, but more will be awarded as budget is available. To learn more about this grant opportunity and to ask any questions, please view the recorded webinar on BPA Energy Efficiency and Tribal Affairs. The recording will be posted on BPA’s Low Income Energy Efficiency Page following the webinar. For more information, visit: https://www.bpa.gov/energy-and-services/efficiency/ee-sectors/low-income-energy-efficiency. 
 

Categories: energy efficiency

Philanthropy Northwest & the EPA Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program. Deadline: December 15, 2024. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program aims to make it easier for community-based organizations to access federal environmental justice funding. The Pacific Northwest Grant ($40 million) is an opportunity for nonprofit organizations, Native American organizations & Tribal governments, local governments, and institutions of higher education. This grant opportunity is to distribute federal resources to chronically underinvested communities to ensure all people are protected from disproportionate and adverse environmental and health effects. The program was created to respond to feedback from communities about the need to reduce barriers to federal funds and improve the efficiency of the awards process to ensure underinvested communities can access the grants.For more information and to apply, visit: https://philanthropynw.org/epa-environmental-justice-thriving-communities-grantmaking-program

Bonneville Power Administration - 2025 Tribal Education Capacity Building Grant Program. Application Deadline: December 16, 2024. The Bonneville Power Administration’s Tribal Education Capacity Building Grant program provides funding assistance to federally recognized tribes and tribal serving organizations to advance awareness and understanding of the federal Columbia River Power and Transmission system and BPA programs. BPA is requesting proposals that support tribal education programs in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), and natural and cultural resource management.  For more information and to apply, click here: https://www.bpa.gov/-/media/Aep/about/tribal-affairs/request-for-applications.pdf. BPA is requesting proposals that support tribal education programs in science, technology, engineering, math, and natural and cultural resource management. Proposals should be designed to strengthen the capacity of tribes, support government-to-government relationships, and increase opportunities for education about the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System, Federal Columbia River Transmission System or integrated Fish and Wildlife Program.

Categories: education, capacity building

The purpose of the Landscape Scale Restoration competitive grant program is to encourage collaborative, science-based restoration of priority rural forest landscapes. This program supports high impact projects that lead to measurable outcomes on the landscape, leverage public and private resources, and further priorities identified in science-based restoration strategies. This funding opportunity is for Federally recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations/Villages, and Tribal organizations as defined in 25 USC 5304. For projects where the applicant is a nonprofit (not a Tribal organization), university, State agency, town, or county, view the funding opportunities for Northeast and Midwest, South, and West.

Categories: landscape scale restoration

Participants in the Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership (C-MAP) will receive technical support and/or funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) to design or deploy a microgrid that aligns with community-defined priorities to improve or to optimize existing microgrid technology. Microgrids that generate power from renewable energy reduce the dependency on imported fuels, contributing to community self-sufficiency and resilience.

Applications are now open. View program details below and apply on sam.gov by Dec. 20, 2024.

Categories: microgrid, renewable energy

Rolling Deadline. The Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program provides funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. USDA provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they, in turn, pass through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The ultimate recipients repay the lending utility directly. The utility is responsible for repayment to USDA.

Categories: Economic Development, Rural Development, Grants and Loans

Deadline: Year round with periodic ranking cycles announced. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) protects the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses which negatively affect agricultural uses and conservation values, protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring or conserving eligible grazing land, and protecting and restoring and enhancing wetlands on eligible land. ACEP has two components:Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) help private and tribal landowners, land trusts, and other entities such as state and local governments protect croplands and grasslands on working farms and ranches by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land through conservation easements.Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) help private and tribal landowners protect, restore and enhance wetlands which have been previously degraded due to agricultural uses. 

Categories: IRA, farmland, conservation, wetlands

Deadline: December 31, 2024. View the RFA for more information. The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six AFRI priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. The six priority areas are: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. Research-only, extension-only, and integrated research, education and/or extension projects are solicited in this Request for Applications (RFA). See Foundational and Applied Science RFA for specific details.

Categories: social justice, community health, environmentalism, veterinary, food justice, energy, agriculture, technology, food science, agricultural science, rural

Rolling Deadline. This program bolsters the availability of private credit by guaranteeing loans for rural businesses.

Categories: Rural areas, business development, credit, local economy

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

Rolling Deadline. The Climate Action Fund (CAF) was established in 2009 to award small grants to frontline community groups that are fighting to prevent fossil fuels from being extracted and/or the construction of large point sources of greenhouse gas emissions. CAF is a grassroots alternative to carbon offset programs. Instead of purchasing carbon credits, funds will be used to empower frontline communities to keep fossil fuels in the ground where they belong. Grants generally do not exceed $2,500. Learn more and apply here. To inquire regarding the possibility of funding for your organization and to request an online version of the application, please contact caf@ran.org.

Categories: Climate action, social justice, community involvement, activism

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 

Rolling Deadline. This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

Categories: housing, infrastructure, facilities, rural

Deadline is ongoing. This program provides funding to 1994 Land Grant Institutions (Tribal Colleges) to make capital improvements to their educational facilities and to purchase equipment.

Categories: community facilities, development, educational facilities, infrastructure, renovation and improvements, cultural projects

Applications accepted continuously. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance—the higher the performance, the higher the payment.

Categories: Stewardship, Conservation, IRA

Rolling Deadline. Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages can apply annually to receive on-request technical assistance with energy planning; housing, building energy efficiency, and resilience; project development; village power; and policy and regulation. Assistance is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy and its national laboratories, along with other partnering organizations, at no cost.

Categories: sustainability, climate change, energy, emissions, infrastructure, development, planning, policy, technical assistance

Applications accepted continuously. This program provides grants to assist rural communities that have had a significant decline in quantity or quality of drinking water. Grant may fund waterline extensions from existing systems, construction of new water lines; repairs to existing systems, construction of new wells, reservoirs, transmission lines, treatment plants, and other water sources. Priority is given to areas with less than 10,000 people, low-income areas, and communities facing imminent decline and shortage of water.

Categories: Water, Natural Resources, Health, Emergency

Deadline is ongoing. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, increased soil health and reduced soil erosion and sedimentation, improved or created wildlife habitat, and mitigation against drought and increasing weather volatility. EQIP may also help producers meet Federal, State, Tribal, and local environmental regulations.

Categories: agriculture, production, conservation, climate adaptation, private forestland, non-industrial, natural resource management, IRA

Rolling deadline. Evidence for Action (E4A) prioritizes research to evaluate specific interventions (e.g., policies, programs, practices) that have the potential to counteract the harms of structural and systemic racism and improve health, well-being, and equity outcomes. Our focus on racial equity means we are concerned both with the direct impacts of structural racism on the health and well-being of people and communities of color (e.g., Black, Latina/o/x, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, and other races and ethnicities), as well as the ways in which racism intersects with other forms of marginalization, such as having low income, being an immigrant, having a disability, or identifying as LGBTQ+ or a gender minority.

This funding is geared toward studies about “upstream” causes of health inequities, such as the systems, structures, laws, policies, norms, and practices that determine the distribution of resources and opportunities, which in turn influence individuals’ options and behaviors. Research should center on the needs and experiences of communities exhibiting the greatest health burdens and be motivated by real-world priorities. It should be able to inform a specific course of action and/or establish beneficial practices, not stop at characterizing or documenting the extent of a problem.

While we will consider research on various aspects of health equity, we prioritize studies of interventions that are designed to reduce race-based disparities (e.g., by confronting a root cause of disparities or targeting benefits to those experiencing the greatest burdens). RWJF is particularly interested in strategies focused on developing healthy and equitable communities; supporting the needs of children, families, and caregivers; and fostering alignment among health care, public health, and social service systems.

Applications accepted continuously. Meant to fund water and waste disposal systems in rural Alaskan Villages. Funds must be used for development and construction of water and wastewater systems to correct dire health and sanitation conditions in those villages. Many communities in remote rural Alaska, where villages are accessible by plane or boat only, are essentially inaccessible during the long, hard winters. They lag far behind the lower 48 States in having safe and dependable drinking water and suitable waste disposal systems available. Construction costs are extremely high. This is due in part to the severe weather conditions, which makes laying pipe difficult, if not impossible. These conditions also require the use of insulated pipe, or in areas of permafrost, above ground utilidors, often with heat traced insulated pipe. The vast distances from the transportation hub of Anchorage to a village increases costs substantially as the material must be delivered by barge or air.

Categories: Adaptation, Emergency Management, Water, Health, Natural Resources

Rolling Deadline. Alaska Conservation Foundation’s Indigenous Fund (previously called the Travel Fund) supports conservation organizations on the ground addressing critical conservation issues. The current focus of the Indigenous Voices Fund is protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bristol Bay, the Tongass National Forest, and efforts to prevent hardrock mining across Alaska. The Indigenous Fund enables key staff to travel to hearings, testify in front of decision-makers, and reach important audiences that require travel to/from Alaska, including rural Alaska, as well as Washington DC.

Categories: Environmental Justice, travel

Applications accepted year round. This program provides 1 percent low-interest loans to local intermediaries that re-lend to businesses to improve economic conditions and create jobs in rural communities.

Categories: rural communities, local economy, jobs, development

Rolling Deadline. In the event of a release (or threatened release) of hazardous substances, EPA may reimburse local governments for expenses related to the release and associated emergency response measures. The Local Governments Reimbursement Program provides a "safety net" of up to $25,000 per incident to local governments that do not have funds available to pay for response actions.

Categories: Emergency Management, Disaster, Adaptation, Health, Natural Resources

Rolling Deadline. The Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) Program supports the generation of extended time series of data to address important questions in evolutionary biology, ecology, and ecosystem science. Research areas include, but are not limited to, the effects of natural selection or other evolutionary processes on populations, communities, or ecosystems; the effects of interspecific interactions that vary over time and space; population or community dynamics for organisms that have extended life spans and long turnover times; feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes; pools of materials such as nutrients in soils that turn over at intermediate to longer time scales; and external forcing functions such as climatic cycles that operate over long return intervals.

Categories: Environmental Biology, Scientific Research, Ecosystem Science, Community Research, Feedbacks.

This program accepts applications on a continuous basis. The program works with qualified private-sector lenders to provide financing to qualified borrowers to increase the supply of affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families in eligible rural areas and towns. Construction, improvement and purchase of multi-family rental housing for low to moderate income families and individuals is the primary objective for this program. Funding may also be available for:Buying and improving landProviding necessary infrastructureFor a complete list see Code of Federal Regulations, 7CFR Part 3565.205

Categories: housing, rural communities, development, infrastructure

Applications accepted continuously. Provides grants to qualified organizations to help them carry out local self-help housing construction projects. Grant recipients supervise groups of very-low- and low-income individuals and families as they construct their own homes in rural areas. The group members provide most of the construction labor on each other’s homes, with technical assistance from the organization overseeing the project. Funds may be used to:Give technical and supervisory assistance to participating familiesHelp other organizations provide self-help technical and supervisory assistanceRecruit families, help them complete loan applications and carry out other related activities that enable them to participate

Categories: housing, rural areas, low-income communities, technical assistance