Funding

Most recent deadline: 3/15/2021. The overall goal of the Organic Transitions Program (ORG) is to support the development and implementation of research, extension and higher education programs to improve the competitiveness of organic livestock and crop producers, as well as those who are adopting organic practices. NIFA administers the ORG program by determining priorities in U.S. agriculture through Agency stakeholder input processes in consultation with the NAREEEAB. ORG will continue to prioritize environmental services provided by organic farming systems in the area of soil conservation, pollinator health, and climate change mitigation, including greenhouse gases (GHG), as well as the development of educational tools for Cooperative Extension personnel and other agricultural professionals who advise producers on organic practices, and development of cultural practices and other allowable alternatives to substances recommended for removal from the National Organic Program’s National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. It is expected that all projects will integrate research, education and extension activities, as appropriate to project goals, although some projects may be weighted more heavily than others in one or more of these areas. However, all proposals should have activities and impact in research and at least one of the other areas: education and extension.

Categories: Agriculture, Organic

Unknown for 2017. Specifically, this research examines how communities can integrate ecosystem services with human health and well-being to inform their decision making and management practices. This RFA aims to develop information that allows communities to integrate environmental, societal and economic information and to better manage multiple stressors and their cumulative impacts on humans and ecosystems. The ultimate goal is to help communities achieve their own objectives while taking advantage of more relevant and accessible information about ecosystem services.

Categories: Community Development, Community Resilience, Climate Resilience, Public Health, Management, Ecosystem Services.

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

Deadline passed as of September 15, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The ICRI/UN Environment Grants Programme is designed to encourage projects that demonstrate and catalyze enhanced protection and management of coral reefs and related ecosystems, in particular by promoting resilience of ecosystems, dependent people and economic sectors. Innovative and replicable projects will be favourably considered.

Categories: coral reefs, ocean acidification, marine ecology, marine biology, conservation, climate change, adaptation, mitigation

Deadline passed as of June 12, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. This program is designed to support empirical research on successful international engagement strategies and develop best practice reports and a competitiveness assessment tool. These elements will be incorporated into a user-friendly economic development organization (EDO) toolkit and training guide to help local communities assess and increase their ability to become globally competitive while enhancing their trade and FDI promotion activities.

Categories: economy, global trade, business, support, planning, policy, management, growth, infrastructure

Deadline Passed as of 1/31/2018. Deadline for 2019 Unknown. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state-and-community-level conservation leadership. Successful applicant proposals must originate from Iowa and focus on conservation issues as noted in Section I (B) of this notice. Collaborative projects that provide on-the-ground support for Iowa NRCS Field Offices are highly encouraged. Research proposals will be returned to the applicant. NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2018 will be up to $3,000,000.00. Proposals are requested from eligible governmental or non- governmental organizations, and institutions of higher learning for competitive consideration of awards for projects between 1 and 5 years in duration. This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant. Funding opportunity #: USDA-NRCS-IA-IPC-18-01

Categories: natural resources, collaboration, development, conservation

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: April 28, 2023. The J.M.K. Innovation Prize seeks to identify, support, and elevate innovators who are spearheading early-stage projects in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation, and social justice. Up to ten Prizes will be awarded, each including a cash reward of $150,000 over three years and $25,000 in technical assistance. An informational webinar will be held March 28, 2023 at 10am. Register here. This Prize is open to nonprofit and mission-driven for-profit organizations that work within, across, or in a manner related to one or more of the Fund's three program areas:The Environment: Slowing the pace of climate change and mitigating climate impactsHeritage Conservation: Conserving the places that communities care about mostSocial Justice: Strengthening democracy and reforming the criminal justice and immigration systems

Categories: environment, climate change mitigation, conservation, social justice, criminal justice

Deadline Passed 12/04/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) is a partnership of six federal wildland fire management and research agencies that have a shared need to address problems associated with managing wildland fuels, fires, and fire-impacted ecosystems.

Categories: land management, wildland fire, wildfire management, research, stakeholders, collaboration

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

Categories: grassroots, innovation, community development, indigenous values

Complex global challenges like climate change should become the drivers for solutions-based, equitable decision-making. We help young people and community leaders gain the skills and knowledge to become active participants in addressing these challenges. Our People, Place, and Planet work aims to address social and ecological challenges through community-based solutions and leadership.

Categories: climate change, conservation, sustainability, social justice

Deadline Passed as of 1/31/2018. Deadline for 2019 Unknown. KR Foundation address root causes of climate change and environmental degradation, and safeguard the planetary boundaries. The mission of KR Foundation is to help provide answers to, stimulate mind shifts about, and encourage action on, the long-term challenges faced by current and future generations living on a planet with finite resources, fragile ecosystems, and climate change. Read more about our mission here. As a philanthropic foundation, KR Foundation typically engages in areas where neither governments nor markets actors seem to have incentives to act. Not restricted by short-term considerations and profit concerns, KR Foundation engages in non-profit activities with long-term impact on our climate and environment. KR Foundation prioritises communication and advocacy activities within our program areas but will also consider proposals in other areas with a high potential for impact that meet our general criteria for funding. Please contact the Foundation prior to submitting a proposal that does not match the Foundation’s program areas. Please note that KR Foundation does not fund local and community-based activities unless they are truly scalable and have a clear international perspective. Proposals focusing on local development activities will not be considered.

Categories: non-profit, international, climate change, awareness

Funding opportunities take three forms: Open on an ongoing basis, without deadlines. Open for a limited time, with specific deadlines. By invitation from a Kresge program officer.­­­
Communities that address climate change head-on will be better prepared for new circumstances and uncertainties. Decisions about infrastructure, building design, land use, transportation and other policy and funding issues can make communities stronger, more equitable and more resilient to the changing climate.

Categories: Climate change, environment, social justice, food justice, agriculture, sustainability, conservation, carbon, emissions, adaptation, mitigation

The University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation (UNORTF) seeks written proposals for restoration projects and related scientific and public education projects for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program (PRP). This funding opportunity is made through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 and the FY22 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act.

Categories: restoration

Deadline Passed 09/30/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The Secretary of the Interior established the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program, Program) to implement the land consolidation provisions of the Cobell Settlement Agreement, which provided $1.9 billion to consolidate fractional land interests across Indian country. The Buy-Back Program allows interested individual owners to sell their land for immediate transfer to the recognized tribe that exercises jurisdiction. This effort will strengthen tribal sovereignty and put decision-making in the hands of the tribal government, freeing up resources that have been locked-up as land interests that have fractionated over time. The Buy-Back Program has announced 105 locations where land consolidation activities such as planning, outreach, mapping, mineral evaluations, appraisals or acquisitions are scheduled to take place through the middle of 2021. The Buy-Back Program is interested in partnering with the eligible tribes that have jurisdiction over these 105 locations, as well as any locations that may be added to the implementation schedule, to gain their direct participation in land consolidation efforts given the tribes’ unique qualifications to perform land consolidation activities for their reservations. Consequently, the Program intends to, whenever feasible and practical, enter into single source cooperative agreements with these eligible tribes to not only capitalize on their unique knowledge of their reservations but also to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Program. Eligible tribes will be given the opportunity to apply for a cooperative agreement, whenever feasible and practical, prior to the implementation of the Buy-Back Program at the location under their jurisdiction.

Categories: sovereignty, jurisdiction, reclamation, administration, management, self-determination

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

Deadline Passed 10/10/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The purpose of this competitive grant program is to encourage collaborative, science-based restoration of priority forest landscapes and further priorities identified in the State’s Forest Action Plans.

Categories: landscape restoration, forest management, coordination

The Lenfest Ocean Program is interested in funding projects that elevate Indigenous Peoples in sharing their traditions, culture, knowledge, and wisdom to improve evidence-based decision-making for the management, conservation, and restoration of coastal marine species, habitats, and ecosystems. Until recently, Indigenous Peoples' ways of knowing were not considered in planning and management decisions, prompting recent calls to rectify this situation. Thus, the Lenfest Ocean Program is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to support: collection, analysis, and/or communication of Indigenous Knowledge and wisdom; and engagement approaches that facilitate the integration of this knowledge in ocean and coastal management decisions.

Categories: ocean, climate change

Deadline Passed for 2018. Deadline Unknown for 2019. The Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) offers grant funds with a 25% match to support the development and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises to increase domestic consumption of, and access to, locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets. There are two types of project applications: planning grants and implementation grants. LFPP Planning Grants are used in the planning stages of establishing or expanding a local and regional food business enterprise. LFPP Implementation Grants are used to establish a new local and regional food business enterprise, or to improve or expand an existing local or regional food business enterprise.

Categories: food security, local foods, agriculture, farm and ranch operations, development, food business enterprise

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: April 5, 2022. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will establish cooperative agreements with state and tribal governments for the purpose of supporting local, regional, and socially disadvantaged farmers/producers through food purchasing under the Build Back Better Initiative. These cooperative agreements will allow for entities to procure local, domestic foods that are unique to their geographic area and meet the needs of the populations. In addition to increasing local food consumption, funds are expected to help build and expand economic opportunity for local and socially disadvantaged farmers/producers. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Food assistance, economic opportunity, food storage, food distribution

Past Deadline: November 13, 2020. The Local Foods, Local Places program will provide selected communities planning assistance that centers around a two-day community workshop. At the workshop, a team of experts will help community members develop an implementable action plan that promotes local food and neighborhood revitalization. Eligible applicants include local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit institutions and organizations proposing to work in a neighborhood, town, or city of any size anywhere in the United States. We expect that many of the communities we select will be economically challenged and in the early phases of their efforts to promote local foods and community revitalization.

Categories: Economic development, accessibility, farmers, infrastructure development

The Local Government Energy Program (LGEP) supports federally recognized Indian Tribes and local governments implement clean energy projects and programs that provide direct community benefits, spark additional investments, meet community-identified priorities, and build local capacity. LGEP focuses on disadvantaged communities, energy communities, and small-to –medium-sized jurisdictions. 

Categories: clean energy

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.

SoI is required and due by 5 pm on Friday, March 3, 2017. Full Proposals: Full Proposals will only be accepted on May 22, 2017 if a SoI was submitted. For this funding opportunity, Louisiana Sea Grant seeks responsive research that provides scientific and socioeconomic information, design innovation, as well as policy guidance, for fisheries management, climate change adaptation, resilient communities, and ecosystem restoration in coastal systems and communities in Louisiana. Coastal Louisiana offers a laboratory of restoration, protection, and adaptation projects that together with laboratory studies, field investigations, models, and/or socioeconomic tools and synthesis products, offer innovative opportunities for research projects that should improve understanding of coastal ecosystem function and help predict the responses of ecosystems and communities to a changing climate and/or planning activities. SoIs must include an outreach plan that demonstrates a connection with user groups, such as resource managers, communities, and/or informal and formal learners. Proposed projects should be for a 24-month maximum duration (but may be less than 24 months). PIs should focus on outcomes that can be achieved during this timeframe.

Categories: climate change, marine, fisheries, aquaculture, commercial, industrial, ocean, health, adaptation, mitigation, estuary

Most Recent Deadline: December 18, 2023. The objective of the Marine Debris awards for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility (DEIJA) is to further DEIJA initiatives to address and investigate the adverse impacts of marine debris by supporting marine debris prevention, research, monitoring, detection, response, removal, and coordination activities. The Foundation anticipates funding 10-15 implementation projects for 1 year. Potential projects can include support for marine debris removal events, curriculum development, small-scale removal of marine debris, coordination activities, and more.

Categories: ocean, community impact, pollution, education

Deadline Passed:: January 31, 2024. The Marine Debris Challenge Competition will support original, innovative, and transformational marine debris prevention and removal research that pushes the boundaries of existing technologies and approaches, changes the current landscape of marine debris mitigation, and ties that research to tangible outputs. Brief Description: Sea Grant anticipates approximately $16,000,000 in FY 2024 and 2025 federal funds will be available to support research to application projects that will address the prevention and/or removal of marine debris, with award periods of three years. Applications DO NOT require the standard 50% non-federal match for Sea Grant projects. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA federal funding with formal matching contributions and informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors. Eligible Applicants: This opportunity is open to any person or group within the United States or its territories, as well as tribal nations within those geographies. Applicants must submit proposals in partnership with a relevant Sea Grant program. Please note that it is not a requirement that investigators, including the PI, are part of a Sea Grant program. Applicants and awardees from the FY22 National Sea Grant Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Marine Debris Challenge Competition are eligible to apply for these funds. Please carefully review the specific instructions for the Marine Debris Challenge Competition opportunity found on the Sea Grant Funding page. Questions about the competitions may be sent to oar.sg.marine-debris@noaa.gov.

Categories: Marine Debris, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, BIL, Sea Grant

Most recent deadline: December 14, 2023.  The Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions funding opportunity will support the creation of coalitions and partnerships among communities, groups, and localities, especially those that have been traditionally underserved, to address marine debris prevention and removal. Brief Description: The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) anticipates approximately $3,000,000 in FY 2024 and 2025 federal funds will be available to individual Sea Grant programs in order to support approximately 10-20 Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions. Each award will be no greater than $300,000. Applications DO NOT require the standard 50% non-federal match for Sea Grant projects. Eligible Applicants: This competition is open to all Sea Grant programs. Please carefully review the specific instructions for the National Sea Grant IIJA Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions opportunity found on Inside Sea Grant. 

Categories: Marine Debris, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, BIL, Sea Grant

Most recent deadline was September 30, 2022. The overall objective of this $28 million funding opportunity is to make tangible, beneficial impacts to coastal and marine habitats and communities across a broad geographic scale, through a variety of marine debris removal methods. While there are a number of effective ways to address the sources and impacts of marine debris, this funding opportunity focuses on two distinct priorities aimed at making the largest measurable impact: 1) the development of large scale and high-value marine debris removal programs (hereafter “partnerships”) that can be responsive to local and regional marine debris removal needs, with a focus on large marine debris; and 2) the implementation of projects that use proven interception technologies that capture marine debris at or close to known marine debris sources or pathways. Learn more and apply here.

Categories: Marine conservation, debris removal, technological solutions, innovation, coastal restoration

RFP closed in Feb 2016. Projects are being solicited to improve communication, education, and training on marine resource issues throughout the region and increase scientific education for marine-related professions among coastal community residents, including indigenous Pacific islanders, Native Hawaiians and other underrepresented groups in the region.

Categories: Education, communication, training, Marine