Funding

Philanthropy Northwest & the EPA Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program. 2nd round deadline: February 28, 2025. 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’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

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 

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

USFWS uses a science-based, adaptive framework for setting and achieving cross-program conservation objectives that strategically address the
problems fish and wildlife will face in the future. This framework, called Strategic Habitat Conservation, is based on the principles of adaptive management and uses population and habitat data, ecological models, and focused monitoring and assessment efforts to develop and implement strategies that result in measurable fish and wildlife population outcomes. In addition, by leveraging resources and strategically targeting science to inform conservation decisions and actions, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) are being established to create a network of partners working in unison to ensure the sustainability of America's land, water, wildlife and cultural resources.

Categories: Conservation, Management

2024-25 CRESCENT Seed Grant Program. Most recent deadline: January 15, 2025. The 2024-25 CRESCENT Seed Grant Program and request proposals for funding is open. Any researchers in the US that are part of an institution or organization that is eligible for regular National Science Foundation funding are invited to apply. The CRESCENT Seed Grant Program has the dual goals of broadening community participation and increasing the breadth of scientific investigations related to the center’s scientific goals. Achieving these goals relies, in part, on inviting the community to participate in addressing top priorities and key challenges identified through three major pillars: i) science, ii) geoscience education and inclusion, and iii) partnerships and applications. For more information and to apply, visit: https://cascadiaquakes.org/science/#smallgrants. 

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

EDA (Economic Development Administration) solicits applications from applicants in rural and urban areas to provide investments that support construction, non-construction, technical assistance, and revolving loan fund projects under EDA's Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs. EDA's investment priorities are: Collaborative Regional Innovation, Public/Private Partnerships, National Strategic Priorities, Global Competitiveness, Environmentally-Sustainable Development, and Economically Distressed and Underserved Communities. Please note that there are multiple funding cycle deadlines: 3/14/14; 6/13/14; 10/17/14.

Categories: Development, Infrastructure

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

The Great Basin LCC is excited to announce support for Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) projects for 2014. These funds will be used to support western scientific-focused projects which (1) pertain to invasive species, fire,sagebrush habitats and sagebrush-dependent species, (2) provide management-relevant tools and information for strategic decision-making in the face of changing climate,and (3) address one or more of the six GNLCC objectives; these funds will be used to support TEK-focused projects which (1) clearly identify a management utility or application, (2) be applicable to some portion of the geographic range of the GBLCC, and (3) address one of the following eligible activities: Support assessment of climate-related impacts and adaptation planning for cultural or subsistence resources that are traditionally gathered or huntedor forplaces of historic cultural value.

Categories: Research, Natural Resource Management, traditional knowledges

Indigenous Lifeways Fund. Most recent deadline: November 25, 2024. Indigenous Lifeways Fund, dedicated to supporting Indigenous-led projects that foster healing, promote environmental justice, and uplift traditional knowledge in our communities. Proposals accepted on a rolling basis. First round deadline to apply: Nov. 25, 2024. We welcome proposals for Indigenous-led projects in areas such as: Environmental Justice: Restoring ecosystems, improving water and air quality, and addressing pollution in frontline communities; Food Security and Sovereignty: Restoring traditional food systems, from gardening and hunting to seed saving and community food sharing; Green Infrastructure: Clean energy projects, composting, and other sustainable practices that protect Mother Earth; Youth Leadership: Initiatives that foster the transfer of Traditional Knowledge from elders to youth, ensuring our lifeways continue to thrive; MMIR (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives): Campaigns and educational projects raising awareness and supporting justice for MMIR. For more information, visit: https://naahillahee.org/indigenous-lifeways-fund/?blm_aid=1053448. The Indigenous Lifeways Fund seeks to support Indigenous-led projects and activities that:

• Promote healing and wellness in Indigenous communities
• Transfer Traditional Knowledge to future generations
• Address barriers to community-led problem-solving
• Advance environmental justice and regenerative economies                                                                                                                                   

Categories: Environmental justice, Indigenous lifeways, traditional knowledge

The Marine Mammal Commission carries out a small research program that supports projects aimed at meeting the conservation and protection goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Commission’s research program includes all relevant activities including basic and applied research, workshops, literature reviews, compilation of expert opinion, and drafting manuscripts.
The Commission encourages the submission of proposals for innovative and well-designed projects that address important conservation issues for marine mammals or marine ecosystems but that may be unlikely to obtain funding through traditional research agencies. On occasion, the Commission provides start-up or seed money for promising research projects that, once proven feasible, may be supported later by other federal agencies. The Commission encourages applicants to obtain additional support by collaborating with, or soliciting funds from, other institutions, organizations, or agencies.
The research program awards grants based on proposals submitted in response to general Requests for Proposals (RFPs), unsolicited proposals, and specific research topics identified by the Commission.

Categories: Natural Resources, Wildlife, Research, Education, Conservation, Coastal, Water

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

EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality is soliciting proposals nationwide for Tribal projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions in terms of tons of pollution produced by diesel engines and diesel emissions exposure, particularly from fleets operating in areas designated by the Administrator as poor air quality areas.

Categories: Emissions Reduction, Clean Energy, Transportation Infrastructure, Mitigation

This climate adaptation initiative is designed to support action to prepare for the current and predicted impacts of climate variability and change on America's coastal communities. Applications to this competition must propose projects that identify and address the vulnerabilities a coastal community may face in adapting to climate change. Projects must be carried out in active partnership with local (county or municipal) leadership, and should include cooperation with relevant state, NOAA, and other Federal agencies, or other organizations, as appropriate.

Categories: Adaptation, Mitigation, Conservation, Coastal

This popular internal funding program is designed to stimulate efforts within NOAA to preserve, protect and promote the agency's heritage assets. Projects from FY05 through FY12 have varied in scope from interpreting historic and cultural resources in NOAA's care to capturing oral histories of NOAA employees and constituents. Must be partnered with a NOAA partner.

Categories: Education, Conservation, Research

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research on science for sustainable and healthy tribes. This solicitation is focused on research to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems that affect tribes. The objectives of the awards to be made under this solicitation are to improve understanding of: 1) the health impacts of climate change on tribal populations; and 2) the health impacts of indoor air pollution exposures that derive from or are directly affecting traditional tribal life-ways and cultural practices. In both cases, projects should focus on impacts to vulnerable sub-populations of the Tribal communities. Proposals should also consider sustainable, culturally appropriate and acceptable pollution prevention, and adaptation/mitigation strategies.

Categories: Tribal Health, Adaptation, Mitigation

Communities receive direct technical assistance from team of national experts in one of two areas: policy analysis (e.g., reviewing state and local codes, school siting guidelines,transportation policies, etc.) or public participatory processes (e.g., visioning, design workshops, alternative analysis, build-out analysis, etc.). The assistance is tailored to the community's unique situation and priorities. EPA provides the assistance through a contractor team –not a grant. Through a multiple-day site visit and a detailed final report, the multi-disciplinary teams provide information to help the community achieve its goal of encouraging growth that fosters economic progress and environmental protection.

Categories: Infrastructure, Smart Growth

Under this solicitation, EPA intends to fund further development and ongoing maintenance of a web-based national information clearinghouse focused on smart growth. This clearinghouse will be designed to support communities by providing timely information that supports local decision-making that delivers better environmental and public health outcomes from growth and development

Categories: Development, Database, Smart Growth

The DOE Office of Indian Energy is now accepting applications for the third round of the Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) Renewable Energy Project Development Assistance Program to provide Tribes with technical assistance with furthering the development of community- and commercial-scale renewable energy projects.

Categories: Renewable energy, Infrastructure

The U.S. Forest Service is providing leadership and funding on behalf of a USDA multiagency Wood to Energy Initiative by offering this Request for Proposals to support collaborative statewide wood energy teams that advance the installation of commercially viable wood energy systems in the public and private sectors that use woody biomass generated from National Forest System lands and other land ownerships. Public-private statewide teams are invited to seek funding to support the development of geographic and/or sector-based clusters of wood energy projects. Activities may include, but are not limited to, a) workshops and assistance that provide technical, financial, and environmental information; b) preliminary engineering assessments; and c) community outreach needed to support development of wood energy projects in the public and private sectors. Only proposals for work planned in States that have National Forest System lands will be considered.

Categories: Renewable energy, Development

The Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) Program is part of the DOE Office of Indian Energy effort to assist in the development of tribal renewable energy projects. Through START, Tribes in the 48 contiguous states and Alaska can apply for and are selected to receive technical assistance from DOE and national laboratory experts to move projects closer to implementation.

Categories: Renewable energy, Infrastructure

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR), and Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) research programs is funding grants with the goal of applying systems-based approaches for identifying, addressing, and reducing uncertainties from limited exposure data and stressor-response relationships.EPA is seeking applications focusing on integrated, transdisciplinary research that would advance scientific understanding of potential for impacts to ecosystem wellbeing associated with the use of manufactured chemicals.Specifically, the RFA solicits proposals for systems-based research to develop and apply innovative metrics and modeling approaches to improve evaluation of ecological resilience and impact analyses, and to support environmental sustainability. Successful proposals will translate emerging and advanced methods, data, and computational tools to address complexity of these systems and distill drivers of adverse outcomes to ecological organisms and populations.

Categories: Research, Chemical Pollution

DOE is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, Tribal Energy Resource Development Organizations and Tribal Consortia, to install “community-scale” or “facility-scale” renewable energy and/or energy efficiency energy projects on Indian lands. The renewable energy and/or energy efficiency projects are intended to provide electricity and/or heating and cooling or efficiency measures for existing tribal buildings, including homes, businesses, community buildings, government buildings, or other tribal facilities. 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 this grant can be found on the DOE website provided by searching for: DE-FOA-0000853

Categories: Renewable energy

US Forest Services Research and Development has entered into a partnership with The Wildlife Society (TWS) that includes support for Native American wildlife biology college and graduate students to both attend the national annual conference, and to gain experience working with Forest Service R&D wildlife research biologists or ecologists in a Research Assistant position for a field season. TWS is committed to developing wildlife biology expertise within Native American communities, and helping to prepare the students for successful careers. R&D is committed to partnerships with tribes and tribal colleges. USFS scientists will submit proposals detailing their interest, while Native American students will submit separate applications. USFS proposals that include a specific student will also be considered. Please contact Monica Tomosy, National Wildlife Research Program Leader and Liaison to the National
Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center USDA Forest Service Research, for more information: mstomosy@fs.fed.us; 703-402-5625.

Categories: Research, Natural Resource Management

The U.S Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC) requests proposals for wood energy projects that require engineering services necessary for final design and cost analysis. The Hazardous Fuels Wood to Energy (W2E) Grant Program will fund projects for which some or all of the woody biomass is generated from National Forest Service System lands as a result of hazardous fuel treatments, forest restoration activities, insect and disease mitigation, catastrophic weather events, or thinning overstocked stands. Projects that use woody biomass from multiple land ownerships (State, Tribal, or private lands) and multiple sources (wood products facilities, urban wood waste, etc.) will be considered as long as some of the woody biomass is generated from National Forest System lands. Projects that do not anticipate using any wood from National Forest System lands will not be eligible. The woody biomass must be used in commercially proven wood energy systems to produce thermal, electrical, liquid, or gaseous energy. Examples of projects might include, but are not limited to, engineering design of a woody biomass boiler that generates steam at a sawmill, hospital, or school; a nonpressurized hot water system; a biomass power generation facility; or geographic or sector-based clusters of wood energy systems. The lack of a professional engineering design often limits the ability of an applicant to secure Federal, State, or private funding. This program is intended for applicants seeking financial assistance to complete the necessary engineering design work, including permitting or other preconstruction analyses, required to secure public or private funding for construction of wood energy projects.

Categories: Renewable energy, Natural Resource Management, Disaster Mitigation

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program (VPA-HIP) encourages private landowners to voluntarily make their land available to the public for wildlife-dependent recreation. States and tribes approved for funding of this Farm Service Agency (FSA) program use the funds as incentives to encourage private landowners of farms, ranches, and forests to make that land available to the public for wildlife-dependent recreation. This may include hunting or fishing. The overall goal of VPA-HIP is to enhance wildlife habitat and management and to boost local economies through activities that attract wildlife enthusiasts.

Categories: Conservation, recreation

The objective of this FOA is to invite irrigation and water districts, Indian Tribes, states, local governments, water providers, and other entities that have a tie to Reclamation projects to leverage their money and resources by cost sharing with Reclamation on activities/projects that make more efficient use of existing water supplies through water conservation and efficiency in the SCAO.

Categories: Water Conservation

Program to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings owned or occupied by low-income persons, reduce their total residential expenditures, and improve their health and safety. The priority population for the Weatherization Assistance Program is people who are particularly vulnerable, such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, families with children, high residential energy users, and households with high energy burden.

Categories: Energy, Health

This grant will be awarded to projects that 1) promote community assistance programs that will be used to develop local capability including, but not limited to; Wildfire planning, wildfire mitigation actions, and wildland fire education/prevention, 2) promote community-wide wildfire protection planning; conduct education programs about wildfire; and implement hazardous fuels reduction activities and related monitoring, on federal land, or on adjacent non-federal land, that reduce the wildfire risk to communities and benefit resources on federal land, and/or 3) promote Fire Adapted Communities.

Categories: Wildfire Mitigation and Adaptation, Community Resilience