Funding

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

Title Organization Sort descending Grant Deadline Description Funding Amount Geography Website
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation NGO

This foundation supports environmental action according to a four part main strategy (see weblink for more).The foundation’s Environmental Program strives to meet its main strategies through grant awards. The Environment Program awards grants through invited proposals and the occasional funding competition. Funding opportunities may also be available through organizations administering re-granting programs supported by the foundation.

Categories: Conservation, Clean Energy

Varies Tri-State Area, Northeast Link
Rockefeller Family Fund NGO

Applications accepted continuously. This foundation focuses on public education of the risks of global warming, conservation of natural resources, protection of health as affected by the environment, meaning implementation of environmental laws, and public participation in national environmental policy debates. Grant applicants must submit a letter of inquiry online. If accepted, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal for evaluation.

Categories: Climate Change Impacts, Conservation, public health

$25,000-30,000 National Link
Surdna Foundation NGO

Applications continued continuously; see website for more information.This foundation invests in projects that support their program areas of Sustainable Environments, Strong Local Economies, Thriving Cultures, Community Revitalization, and Effective Citizenry. Organizations are eligible for a max of three consecutive years of funding. Grants are assessed three times a year (February, May, and September), and must be submitted three to four months prior to staff review.

Categories: Sustainable Environments

Varies National Link
Green Neighborhoods Grant Program NGO

Deadline Passed 8/15/2016. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The Affordable Green Neighborhoods Grant Program will award grants and provide educational resources to affordable housing developers and related public agencies who choose to pursue LEED 2009 for Neighborhood Development certification. Preference will be given to qualifying projects that meet additional goals, including the redevelopment of infill and previously developed sites, effort to strengthen the surrounding neighborhoods, commitment to engage stakeholders in the development process, and the provision of green housing for a range of income levels.

Categories: Energy

Individual awards of $25,000 Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
WCS Graduate Scholarship Program NGO

Deadline Passed April 2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The WCS Graduate Scholarship Program (GSP) is part of a WCS strategy to invest in developing individual conservation leaders around the world. The GSP provides access to international graduate education opportunities (masters or doctoral programs) to exceptional conservationists from Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and North American indigenous groups. Scholars are nominated by WCS global conservation staff and are selected based on their exceptional abilities and potential to become leaders of the conservation movement in their home countries. The short-form deadline will be April 2019. Applicants who are approved at this stage will be asked to fill out a full application, with a deadlin of June 2019. Completed nominations/ applications should be submitted electronically to kmastro@wcs.org 

Categories: climate change, scholarship, school, funding, conservation, environment, science, humanities

$30,000-$36,000 toward tuition, board, and fees. United States, International Link
Funders' Network Local Sustainability Matching Fund NGO

The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN) announces round 3 of the Local Sustainability Matching Fund. The Matching Fund is intended both to support significant urban sustainability projects and to build bridges between public sector sustainability leaders and local foundations. The Fund will provide matching investments from national foundations on a competitive basis to build partnerships between sustainability directors and local place-based foundations to advance discrete sustainability initiatives that demonstrate broad-based community support and engagement.

Categories: Development, Sustainability

$25,000-75,000 Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
Environmental Solutions for Communities Grants Program NGO

RFP closed. Expect Announcement before Winter 2016. Wells Fargo and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation seek to promote sustainable communities through Environmental Solutions for Communities by supporting highly-visible projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. Funding priorities include 'greening' traditional infrastructure and public projects such as storm water management and flood control, urban forestry, and education and training of community leaders on sustainable practices.

Categories: Economic development, Sustainable Development

Varies National, Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, Alaska, Midwest, Please see website for more details as within regions priority is given to projects from certain areas Link
Honor the Earth Grant Programs NGO

Honor the Earth programs focus on nurturing resilience in indigenous communities who are faced with daunting environmental and social realities. Resilience theory is a discussion in academic and environmenal arenas about how communities and societies will adapt to climate change. Our Building Resilience in Indigenous Communities Initiative focuses on two areas: Food Sovereignty and Energy Justice. In specific, Honor the Earth will fund restoration of indigenous food systems in Native communities, and Energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Native communities. We work to support and forward the development of culturally-based, indigenous solutions to climate change and peak oil based on re-localizing food and energy economies. We also hope to foster restoration of traditional knowledge as a key adaptation and mitigation strategy to ensure a safe and healthy future for our children and the next seven generations. Honor the Earth is currently accepting applications on an ongoing basis.  Please check their site to ensure you the have the most up-to-date information. 

Categories: Environmental Justice, Energy, Adaptation, Agriculture, Mitigation, Health

$1,000-$5,000 Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, International (Canada) Link
Mary A. Crocker Trust NGO

The Mary A Crocker Trust is a charitable foundation located in San Francisco, CA. The Trust’s Environment program area focuses support on the areas of waste management and recycling, water quality, land use management, and sustainable agriculture and forestry. The Trust is primarily interested in Bay Area programs, with an annual award budget of approximately $500K. Typical award amounts range between $10K and $25K.

Categories: Conservation, Waste management

$10,000-$25,000 Northwest, San Francisco area Link
Alaska Community Foundation: Strengthening Organizations NGO

Deadline Passed. Most Recent Deadline: November 14, 2023. Grant is on a rolling deadline. Grant awards will support professional staff and board of directors in their efforts to access tools, develop practical skills, and cultivate support systems needed to effectively achieve the organization’s mission in the areas of leadership development, organizational development, program development, collaboration and community engagement, and evaluation of effectiveness. The guidelines state applicants can request up to $10,000, but awards typically range from $4,000 to $6,000. Call anytime to talk with an ACF Program Officer about your project.

Categories: Non-profit Infrastructure, Administrative Support

Varies Alaska Link
Native American Food Security Grant NGO

The purpose of the Native American Food Security project is to support Native organizations working to eliminate food insecurity among tribal elders in rural and/or reservation-based Native American communities in Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. There is a particular focus on locally-grown, healthy foods, and assist in the development or expansion of locally-controlled and locally-based food systems that provide healthy foods to senior community members while also supporting local food producers and the local economy.

Categories: Health, Natural Resources

Individual awards between $20,000 and $25,000 Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Southeast, Southwest Link
Grants for Gardens NGO

Annie's offers Grants for Gardens donations to schools and other educational programs that help build school gardens. Since 2008, we've helped fund to more than 270 gardens.

Categories: Development, Food Security, Gardens

Varies Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, Midwest Link
Bullitt Foundation NGO

Most Recent Deadline: 9/15/2021. Grant inquiries are accepted twice a year on March 15th and September 15th and full proposals invited for final submission by May 1st and November 1st, the next deadline for the Spring Docket is September 15, 2019. See website for more details. Note that individual grants offered by the foundation may have differing deadlines. The mission of the Bullitt Foundation is to protect the natural environment through promotion of responsible human activities and sustainable development in the Pacific Northeast. The foundations program areas include Ecosystem Services; Energy, Industry, and Technology; Urban Ecology; and Leadership and Civic Engagement. Grant applicants must submit a letter of inquiry online. If accepted, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal for evaluation. Please note that letters of inquiry are due 9/15/2019, with full applications being due 11/1/201.

Categories: Development, Conservation, Regional Ecosystem Health, Deep Green Buildings, Resilient Cities, Healthy Communities, Energy, Climate and Materials

Past grants have ranged from $2,000-$75,000 Northwest, Oregon, Idaho, British Colombia, western Montana, and Alaska (from the Cook Inlet to the Canadian border) Link
Bring Back the Natives/More Fish NGO, DOI, USDA

RFP closed for FY 2015; Unknown grant status for FY 2016. Bring Back the Natives funds on-the-ground efforts to restore, protect, and enhance native aquatic species to their historic range. Projects should involve partnerships between communities, agencies, private landowners, and organizations and should focus on habitat needs of species such as fish, invertebrates, and amphibians. The Bring Back the Natives/More Fish program invests ins conservation activities that restore, protect, and enhance native populations of sensitive or listed fish species across the United States, especially in areas on or adjacent to federal agency lands.

Categories: Natural Resources, Wildlife, Aquatice Species Conservation

Individual awards between $25,000 and $100,000 Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
Strategies for Responsibly Reporting Back Environmental Health and Non-Genomic Research Results NIEHS, NIH, NHGRI

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 15, 2023. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP), the All of Us Research Program, and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), have announced this new funding opportunity. Desirable applications will identify, develop and/or adapt, as well as test strategies for responsibly reporting back environmental health, non-genomic research, and gene-environment interaction (GxE) results to research participants and/or key partners.Key objectives include:Advance the science of responsible report-back of environmental health research and other non-genomic research results to establish best practices/guidelines through research and evaluation.Identify preferences, perceived risks and benefits, barriers and facilitators related to responsibly reporting back research results. Use these new insights to inform the evolving practice of Report-back of Research Results.Recognize the role of Report-back of Research Results in reducing health disparities and advancing health equity.

Categories: #EnvironmentalHealth, #ClimateResilience, environmental health, climate resilience, research, community health

Application budgets are limited to $250K direct costs per year. The maximum project period is 4 years. National Link
Alfalfa and Forage Research Program NIFA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: May 25, 2023. Alfalfa and Forage Research Program (AFRP) will support the development of improved alfalfa forage and seed production systems. Proposals submitted to AFRP should address one or more of the following priorities: (1) Improving alfalfa forage and seed yield through better nutrient, water and/or pest management; (2) Improving persistence of alfalfa stands by lessening biotic or abiotic stresses; (3) Improving alfalfa forage and seed harvesting and storage systems to optimize economic returns; (4) Improving estimates of alfalfa forage quality as an animal feed to increase forage usage in animal feeds; and/or (5) Breeding to address biotic and abiotic stresses that impact forage yield and persistence and the production of seed for propagation.

Categories: cattle, livestock, sustainability, management, infrastructure, food supplies, feed supplies, wild foods, foraging

$0 - $900,000 National Link
Higher Education Challenge Grants Program NIFA

Deadline passed as of May 30, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. Projects supported by the Higher Education Challenge Grants Program will: (1) address a state, regional, national, or international educational need; (2) involve a creative or non-traditional approach toward addressing that need that can serve as a model to others; (3) encourage and facilitate better working relationships in the university science and education community, as well as between universities and the private sector, to enhance program quality and supplement available resources; and (4) result in benefits that will likely transcend the project duration and USDA support.

Categories: education, higher education, graduate school, collaboration, curriculum,

Varies. National Link
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Water for Food Production Systems Challenge Area NIFA

Deadline passed as of August 2, 2017 Deadline for 2018 unknown. This AFRI Challenge Area focuses on multidisciplinary systems approaches, which integrate new technologies and strategic management that solve water availability and quality challenges in food production systems. The long-term goal of this program is to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and availability of safe and nutritious food while significantly reducing water use and preserving water quality. The projects are expected to transform how abundant, safe, and nutritious food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed within the limits of available water from traditional and non-traditional sources. Applications are invited from eligible entities to submit integrated Research, Education and/or Extension projects in two specific grant types: Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAP) and Strengthening (Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement) CAP grants — see Water for Food Production Systems RFA for details.

Categories: food security, water, irrigation, resources, conservation, sustainability, infrastructure, management, planning, policy, farm, food, local economy, accessibility

$0 - $5,200,000 National Link
Environmental Literacy Grants: Supporting the education of K-12 students and the public for community resilience NOAA

The deadline for pre-applications for Priority 1 of the Fiscal Year 2020 Environmental Literacy Program (ELP) Funding Opportunity has passed. Only those institutions that receive authorization from NOAA are eligible to submit a full applicationThe goal of this funding opportunity is to build environmental literacy of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience.

Categories: Education, environment, education, community, resilience, knowledge building

Total funds available are $3,000,000; individual projects may be funded up to $1,000,000 Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conversation Program Grant NOAA

The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) was authorized for the purpose of protecting important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other uses. This announcement solicits applications for land acquisition projects (fee simple interest or conservation easements) that are expected to be completed within 18 months from the start date of the award. NOAA-NOS-OCRM-2014-2003828.

Categories: Estuarine Conservation

Varies Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, Coastal Link
A Cooperative Agreement for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Competition NOAA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: 05/24/2021. The NOAA Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program (CAMP) supports research, programs, projects and other activities related to NOAA’s mission, primarily through collaborations among scientists and professionals in areas of mutual interest across the full spectrum of NOAA climate sciences. This cooperative agreement will focus on the following four priority areas: 1) Improved scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts; 2) Scientific assessments of current and future states of the climate system that identify potential impacts and inform science, service, and stewardship decisions; 3) Mitigation and adaptation efforts supported by sustained, reliable, and timely climate services; 4) A climate-literate public that understands its vulnerabilities to a changing climate and makes informed decisions. Eligible applicants must be academic institutions of higher learning which offer doctoral degrees in NOAA-related sciences; consortia of academic institutions of higher learning which offer doctoral degrees in NOAA-related sciences; or non-profit research institutions. Multi-institution applications will not be accepted.

Categories: climate, mitigation, adaptation

$30,000,000 - $50,000,000 National Link
NOAA Science Collaboration Program NOAA

Recent Deadline: 05/10/2021. The NOAA Science Collaboration Program (NSCP) supports research, programs, projects and other activities related to NOAA’s mission, primarily through collaborations among scientists and professionals in areas of mutual interest across the full spectrum of NOAA sciences. This includes the support of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers and scientists with expertise in NOAA-related sciences. It is expected that some of the scientists will collaborate onsite at NOAA facilities and laboratories. Through this funding opportunity, NOAA is also interested in supporting complementary Earth systems research and modeling efforts, social science and interdisciplinary research efforts which can serve as a catalyst for collaborations between NOAA professionals and scientists supported through this program.

$50,000,000 - $75,000,000 National Link
Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience NOAA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: November 17, 2023. $240 million in funding is available for habitat restoration and coastal resilience through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Projects selected through this funding opportunity will have a transformative impact for coastal communities and tribes across the country. They will help sustain our nation’s fisheries, make significant strides in the recovery of threatened and endangered species, and help protect coastal communities and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. They will support efforts such as reconnecting rivers to their historic floodplains, outplanting corals to rebuild reefs, building living shorelines that protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise, and more. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: BIL, IRA, Coastal restoration, marine areas, estuaries, fisheries, conservation, climate resilience

$1,000,000 - $25,000,000 National 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
Tribal Engagement in Regional Ocean Partnership Priorities NOAA

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: August 30, 2023. NOAA announced the availability of approximately $1.8 million for federally-recognized Tribes to support tribal participation in or engagement with existing regional ocean partnerships, with funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This Tribal funding complements a separate funding program for established regional ocean partnerships, which seeks to enhance and sustain the efforts of the established partnerships to coordinate inter-state and inter-Tribal management of ocean and coastal management issues. This Tribal engagement funding opportunity focuses on encouraging or enhancing Tribal participation with established regional ocean partnerships, and/or Tribal activities related to partnership priority actions. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Ocean and coastal management, Tribal leadership, regional ocean partnerships, BIL

$50,000 - $200,000 National Link
NOAA's Adaptation Science Program NOAA

For Fiscal Year 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Adaptation Science Program is soliciting proposals focused on U.S. coastal communities planning for the future impacts of flooding in the context of climate change and other stressors. The program seeks to advance the science of adaptation by soliciting proposals for interdisciplinary and social science research projects that accelerate, expand and enhance the effectiveness and scale of adaptation and resilience planning and implementation in the face of complex challenges in coastal settings. https://cpo.noaa.gov/Funding-Opportunities/FY-2021-Notice-of-Funding-Op…

National 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
Regional Vulnerability Assessments for Ocean Acidification NOAA

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/OAR/Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) is soliciting proposals for collaborative projects of up to 3 years in duration that synthesize ocean acidification information at a regional scale (e.g. Large Marine Ecosystem, large estuary or collection of small estuaries, and state or collection of states in US waters) to determine where societal vulnerabilities to ocean acidification exist or are emerging, in order to provide actionable information for marine resource decision makers and/or bolster the resilience of the nation's Blue Economy. This funding opportunity will not support the collection of new chemical or ecological observations or species response data.

Categories: ocean acidification, marine ecosystems, estuaries, resilience, data collection

$100,000-$350,000. National, Coastal communities Link
Ocean Exploration FY 2018 NOAA

Deadline Passed 12/08/2017. Deadline for 2018 Unknown.NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration & Research (OER) seeks to enhance ocean exploration and scientific knowledge of the unknown or poorly known areas of the ocean. This entails identifying, describing and creating baseline characterizations of new ocean habitats, marine resources and/or processes. In this Announcement, OER is seeking proposals focused on three topics including: 1. Exploration of the deep marine environments in the US EEZ and US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico; 2. Discovery and exploration of prehistorically and historically significant submerged marine heritage sites in the Gulf of Mexico within the US EEZ and the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); and 3. Novel or innovative technologies and methodologies that could increase the pace and scope of ocean exploration, especially exploration of deep environments including the water column and archaeological sites.

Categories: ocean, marine, coastal, habitat, explore, document, research, baseline, marine biology

Up to $750,000. National, United States Link
Hawai‘i Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program NOAA

Deadline Passed. Most recent deadline: January 31, 2024. The goal of the Hawaiʻi B-WET program is to support K-12 environmental literacy programs that provide students with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) and related professional development for in-service teachers, administrators, or other educators serving K-12 students in Hawaiʻi. The funding purpose is to support communities by developing well-informed members of society, who are involved in decision-making that positively impacts our coastal, marine, and watershed ecosystems in the Hawaiian Islands. This is a competitive opportunity to assist in the development of new programs, encourage innovative partnerships among environmental education programs, and to promote locally relevant, experiential learning with Priority Content Areas, such as Science with an emphasis on climate and Indigenous Knowledge.

A maximum of $150,000 Hawai'i Link