The Tribal Climate Change Guide is part of the Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project (TCCP). The TCCP is part of the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation (LF), is an independent, Indigenous-led, conservation 501(c)(3) nonprofit established on the Colville Indian Reservation in the traditional territory of the Nespelem Tribe in present-day north central Washington State. LF supports the restoration and cultivation of native Plant and Pollinator Relatives and the culturally respectful conservation of habitats and ecosystems which are climate resilient and adaptive. For more information about LF, visit: https://thepnwlf.org/. For more information about the Tribal Climate Change Project, visit: https://tribalclimate.uoregon.edu/. If you would like to add information to this guide, please email kathy.lynn.or@gmail.com.

 

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.lynn.or@gmail.com. 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 Geography Website
Coastal Nature-Based Solutions - Small Grants Program Coastal Quest

Deadline to apply: April 16, 2024. Coastal Quest provides technical assistance, offers small grants, delivers webinars and virtual learning opportunities. Our goal is to work with our partners to accelerate the development and implementation of their coastal natural solutions to build resilient coasts and communities.

Categories: Climate mitigation, adaptation, Biodiversity protection, Clean water, Increased access to nature, public health, Livelihoods, strong economies, Food security, food sovereignty
Cultural resources

Pacific Northwest Link
Coastal Program U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Most Recent Deadline: September 30, 2023. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Coastal Program is a voluntary, community-based program that provides technical and financial assistance through cooperative agreements to coastal communities, conservation partners, and landowners to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat on public and private lands. The Coastal Program staff coordinates with partners, stakeholders and other Service programs to identify geographic focus areas and develop habitat conservation goals and priorities within these focus areas. Geographic focus areas are where the Coastal Program directs resources to conserve habitat for Federal trust species. Projects are developed in collaboration with partners, and with substantial involvement from Service field staff. Coastal Program projects must support the missions of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and the Coastal Program, and be based on biological principles and the best available science. The Coastal Program takes an adaptive approach to designing and implementing coastal habitat protection and restoration strategies that anticipate and ameriorate the impacts of climate change and other environmental stressors. Coastal Program habitat improvement projects strive to increase coastal resiliency by improving the ability of coastal ecosystems to adapt to environmental changes and supporting natural and nature-based infrastructure projects to protect and enhance coastal habitats.

Categories: coasts, coastal communities, conservation, restoration, stewardship, fish health

up to $200,000 Pacific Region, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, Alaska, Pacific Southwest Link
Coastal Research Application Funding Opportunity Sea Grant and the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP)

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

Up to $150,000 over two years (Tier 1) or up to $500,000 over four years (Tier 2) National Link
Coastal Resilience Networks (CRest) DOC

Grant Status Unknown. The purpose of this notice is to solicit grant proposals from eligible organizations to implement activities that enhance resilience of coastal communities to natural hazard and climate risks through a regional or national network. Proposals must leverage, enhance, or create a system in which one or more coastal hazard issues can be addressed through partnerships to improve coordination and collaboration throughout the region. Partnerships must include multiple institutions, disciplines, and sectors at the local, state, and federal level. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement should provide beneficial public outcomes for coastal communities to address existing and potential future climate and hazard risks to coastal infrastructure, local economies, vulnerable populations, and the natural environment.

Categories: Coastal, Conservation, Disaster, Research, Water

Individual awards of up to $100,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, Pacific Islands, Coastal, National, International (US Territories) Link
Coastal Zone Management Habitat Protection & Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Program Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development

Most recent deadline: July 17, 2024. The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP) at Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is pleased to announce a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funding opportunity designed to build a Climate Ready Nation under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)) and available only through coastal management programs. The objective of this initiative is to increase resilience through landscape-scale habitat restoration and conservation in coastal ecosystems nationwide and promote coastal resilience in underserved coastal communities as well as those most vulnerable to climate impacts.

These funds will be awarded through a competitive process to support coastal habitat restoration and conservation. The restoration and conservation of ecologically significant ecosystems such as wetlands, headlands, and natural shoreline will help reduce the impacts of coastal hazards, including flooding and climate change, to property, infrastructure and cultural resources, and at the same time provide economic and social benefits to coastal communities.

Funding for this initiative is expected to be at least $207 million over 5 years for Coastal Zone Management Programs.

Categories: coastal restoration, implementation, habitat restoration, land acquisition, conservation

Up to $6M Oregon Link
Cobell Education Scholarship Fund Cobell Scholarship

The Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance through scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native students wishing to pursue post-secondary and graduate education and training. Funded in part by the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program), the scholarship program is overseen by the Cobell Board of Trustees and administered by Indigenous Education, Inc., a non-profit corporation expressly created to administer the Scholarship Fund. Thus far, approximately $2.2 million has been awarded in graduate and undergraduate scholarships to highly qualified American Indian students.

Categories: scholarship, graduate funds, undergraduate funds, post-secondary, land buy-back

Scholarship awards vary. Nearly $40 million total funding. National Link
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Overview US Forest Service

Deadline Passed 11/27/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. Congress established the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) with Title IV of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (PDF, 40 KB) and reauthorized it in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Section 8629 (the Farm Bill). The purpose of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program is to encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes and:encourage ecological, economic, and social sustainability;leverage local resources with national and private resources;facilitate the reduction of wildfire management costs, including through re-establishing natural fire regimes and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire;demonstrate the degree to which various ecological restoration techniques achieve ecological and watershed health objectives; and,encourage utilization of forest restoration by-products to offset treatment costs, to benefit local rural economies, to and improve forest health.

Categories: collaborative, forest restoration, old growth stands, fire adaptation, watershed health, ecological restoration

up to $4 million National Link
Colorado Conservation Innovation Grant NCRS

Deadline passed as of June 2, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, while leveraging the Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) into NRCS technical manuals and guides or to the private sector. CIG is used to apply or demonstrate previously proven technology in order to increase adoption with an emphasis on opportunities to scale proven, emerging conservation strategies. CIG promotes sharing of skills, knowledge, technologies, and facilities among communities, governments, and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users. CIG funds projects targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations.

Categories: climate change, sustainability, conservation, management, prevention, restoration

Up to $75,000. Colorado Link
Communities LEAP Program DOE

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: December 17, 2021. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched an opportunity announcement for the Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) - an initiative designed to help environmental justice communities and communities with historical ties to fossil fuel industries take direct control of their clean energy future. The Communities LEAP pilot program provides supportive services valued at up to $16 million to help communities develop locally-driven energy plans to more effectively leverage public and private sector resources to reduce local air pollution, increase energy resilience, lower utility costs and energy burdens, and create good-paying jobs. This opportunity is specifically open to low-income, energy-burdened communities (including Tribes) that are also experiencing either direct environmental justice impacts, or direct economic impacts from a shift away from historical reliance on fossil fuels. Tribes must register in order to apply for this opportunity.

Categories: Clean energy, technical assistance, environmental justice, resilience, emissions, infrastructure, development

Technical assistance services valued at up to a total of $16 million National Link
Community Action Fund NDN Collective

Most recent Application Deadline: October 31, 2024. The Community Action Fund Grant supports efforts that include community organizing, amplification of community voices, and utilize a wide variety of tactics imperative to shifting the political and financial systems that are impacting our communities. The Grant is available on an ongoing basis as funds are available.Areas of emphasis may include: climate justice and racial equity efforts, challenging the extractive industry, accelerating the just energy transition in Indigenous communities, healing justice work within the movement, and training the next generation of community organizers.  Direct expenses may include funding for travel, supplies, equipment, consultants, contractual services and staff that support various forms of NVDA (non-violent direct action), i.e.;  marches, camps, boycotts, prayer vigils as a form of resistance, organizing or protest to affect change.  Action may also include community-based response to climate events such as flooding, fires, earthquakes.

Categories: climate justice, tribal sovereignty, community action

$15,000 to $40,000 North America Link
Community Assistance in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Program NPS

Deadline passed as of June 30, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The National Park Service (NPS) announced funding to support recreation and conservation projects through its Rails, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program. Through this program, NPS helps organize, strategize, build public participation and partnerships, and implement a conservation and/or recreation project that is important to your community. Consideration will be given to projects that have specific goals and results for conservation and recreation in the near future, have broad community support, and advance the NPS mission.

Categories: conservation, national service areas, wildlife, preserve, refuge, recreational, planning, policy, management,

Amount Varies. National Link
Community Capacity Grants for Climate Solution Deployment Projects VertueLab

Most Recent Deadling: December 15, 2022. This grant opportunity is a part of VertueLab’s Frontline Impact Program, which seeks to improve access to climate solutions for frontline communities and ensure that these communities experience the long-term economic benefits of climate-related business ownership. Funding will be available only to projects within the State of Oregon, with awards of $25,000 and staff support from the Pacific Northwest’s leading climate tech accelerator. Read the request for proposals here.

Categories: frontline communities, climate change, tech solutions

$25,000 Oregon Link
Community Connect Grant USDA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 20, 2023. The Community Connect provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide broadband service in rural, economically-challenged communities where service does not exist.

Categories: development, economy, rural communities,

Unknown National Link
Community Facilities Economic Impact Initiative Grants USDA

Application Window Closed. This program provides funding to assist in the development of essential community facilities in rural communities with extreme unemployment and severe economic depression. An essential community facility is one that provides an essential service to the local community, is needed for the orderly development of the community, serves a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

Categories: community facilities, development, economic depression, rural areas, public health

Varies Rural Areas Link
Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant USDA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: May 23, 2022. The Agency will make grants to public bodies and private nonprofit corporations, (such as States, counties, cities, townships, and incorporated towns and villages, boroughs, authorities, districts, and Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations) to provide associations Technical Assistance and/or training with respect to essential community facilities programs. The Technical Assistance and/or training will assist communities, Indian Tribes, and Nonprofit Corporations to identify and plan for community facility needs that exist in their area. Once those needs have been identified, the Grantee can assist in identifying public and private resources to finance those identified community facility needs.

Categories: community facilities, infrastructure, planning, training, technical assistance

up to $150,000 National Link
Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

The Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program (CFPCGP) has since 1996 promoted self-sufficiency and food security in low-income communities through community food projects (CFP), Planning Projects and Training and Capacity Building projects (TCB).

Categories: Food Security

$10,000 to $300,000 National Link
Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment DOE

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: October 11, 2022. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced up to $13 million in funding for the Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement, which supports the development, design, and installation of community geothermal heating and cooling systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will also create related workforce training and identify and address environmental justice concerns. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Energy, Geothermal, Greenhouse Gas Reduction, Development, Environmental Justice

$300,000 – $13,000,000 National Link
Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership Department of Energy

Most recent deadline: December 20, 2024. 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.

Categories: microgrid, renewable energy

National Link
Community Renewable Energy Grant Program Oregon Department of Energy

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 10, 2022. The Community Renewable Energy Grant Program is open to Oregon Tribes, public bodies, and consumer-owned utilities. Up to $100,000 for planning and $1M for developing a community renewable energy and/or resilience project. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Renewable energy, community energy resilience, environmental justice, energy efficiency, solar energy, wind energy, equity

Up to $100,000 for planning and $1M for developing a community renewable energy and/or resilience project Oregon Link
Community Roots Program Arbor Day Foundation, USDA

Most recent deadline: September 30, 2024. The Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) is pleased to be a recipient of grant funding from the USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry Program, under the Inflation Reduction Act (Funding Opportunity #: USDA-FS-2023-UCF-IRA-01). We will serve as a national pass-through partner of the Forest Service, providing funding for Federally Recognized Tribes and Tribal organizations, as defined below.

Through this opportunity, the Arbor Day Foundation aims to support investment in tree planting and maintenance, planning, and capacity building, led by the unique needs, knowledge, and ambitions of individual Tribal subawardees. Recipients will have access to a cohort of peers and experts within the Arbor Day Foundation and the Urban and Community Forestry Society (UCFS)’s networks and the opportunity to connect with mentors/coaches from around the nation. Subawardees will also be invited to attend the annual Partners in Community Forestry conference to further develop their urban forestry network. 

Categories: urban planning, tree planting, extreme heat mitigation

$100,000 to $1,000,000 National Link
Community Self Determination Grant NDN Collective

Most recent deadline: July 17, 2024. Applicants must first register before July 15, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. US CST to ensure a timely submission. Community Self-Determination Grants are intended to support community-based and community- driven sustainable solutions in all three of NDN Collective’s core strategies to Defend, Develop and Decolonize. Grants are intended to  support and invest in the long-term visions, sustainability, and power building of Indigenous Nations, communities and Indigenous-led organizations, fortifying the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples to create a just, equitable, and sustainable world for all people and the planet. Significant, flexible, multi-year funding will include the infusion of general operating support, power building, capital and holistic support for comprehensive initiatives and specific programs.

Categories: decolonization, resilience, sustainability, community, culture

up to $250,000 over two years National, US territories, Canada, Mexico Link
Community Water Justice Awards The Joint Futures Initiative

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….

Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program U.S. Forest Service

Deadline Passed. Most recent deadline: March 23, 2023. The Community Wood Grant Program, launched in 2020, provides funding for grants to install thermally led community wood energy systems or to build innovative wood product manufacturing facilities. The Forest Service expects renewable wood energy systems installed under this program to use the most stringent control technologies. The program places extra emphasis on assisting sawmills in economically challenged areas to retool or add advanced technology. Read the funding announcement here.

Categories: thermal energy, wood energy, forest health, economy, alternative fuels, wood products, hazardous fuels reduction, forest management, economic health, environmental health

Up to $1.5 million National Link
Community-Based Collaborative Action Grants UDOE

Deadline passed as of June 9, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. By design, Collaborative Actions allow conversations to emerge that shape the community and social context, and catalyze positive dynamics. These actions may be permanent or temporary, tangible or intangible, and may include creative placemaking, mapping, art installations or community events. They are typically small-scale, low-cost, and short in duration, but often fit into a larger community effort.

Categories: social justice, community building, human health, peace courts, community organizing, relationship building

$5,000. National 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
Community-Scale Clean Energy Projects in Indian Country Grants

DOE is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, Tribal Energy Resource Development Organizations and Tribal Consortia to install “community-scale” or “facility-scale” clean energy systems on Indian lands to provide electricity and/or heating and cooling for local use in tribal buildings. For purposes of this announcement, “clean energy systems” include “renewable energy systems” and “combined heat and power systems.” Projects selected under this Funding Opportunity Announcement are intended to reduce energy costs and increase energy security for Indian Tribes and tribal members. Please note that on DOE website this grant can be found by searching for: DE-FOA-0000852.

Categories: Renewable energy

$50,000-1,500,000 Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
Compton Foundation Grants Compton Foundation

The Compton Foundation has a unique approach to giving, making grants to groups based on two categories of work—leadership and storytelling. But giving goes to progressive social change, toward a “peaceful, just, and sustainable world.” Within that goal, a considerable amount goes toward the environment and curbing climate change. As of the beginning of 2018, we have closed our online inquiry system, and we have moved to an invitation-only grantmaking process. Visit website for more information. 

Categories: climate change, community, adaption, planning, storytelling, oral history, social justice

Varies. National Link
Confronting Hazards, Impacts and Risks for a Resilient Planet (CHIRRP) National Science Foundation

Most Recent Deadline: June 1, 2024. The Confronting Hazards, Impacts and Risks for a Resilient Planet Program (CHIRRP) invites projects focusing on innovative and transformative research that advances Earth system hazard knowledge and risk mitigation in partnership with affected communities. Hazards compounded by changing climates, rising populations, expanding demands for resources, aging infrastructure, and increasing reliance on technology are putting our economy, well-being, and national security at risk.

CHIRRP projects will demonstrate convergence of three essential elements: (1) Equitable Community Partnerships; (2) an Earth System Science approach to advance knowledge of hazards, impacts, and risks and (3) Actionable Solutions that increase resilience.

Categories: Earth system hazards, risk mitigation

National Link
Connecting with our Homelands Hopa Mountain, NPS

Most recent deadline: March 15, 2024. These funds are made possible by the National Park Service and are available for organizations and schools that want to bring youth ages 5 -18 and elders to a National Park to share Indigenous knowledge, cultural heritage, and traditions. A limited number of travel grants of up to $4,000 are available to Indian Tribes, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiian organizations. Eligible candidates include tribal programs, schools, and nonprofit organizations. Funds can only be used for direct costs for a trip, such as bus travel, lodging, and meals. Only one travel grant will be awarded per organization or tribe in order to allow as many youth as possible an opportunity to visit a park.

Categories: IK, TEK, cultural heritage, education, youth, recreation

$4000 travel grants National Link
Conservation Collaboration Grants or Agreements USDA, NRCS

Deadline Passed 02/07/2020. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of grants and agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership for historically underserved agricultural producers.

Categories: natural resources, collaboration, conservation, leadership, community

$250,000- $2,000,000 National Link