Funding Opportunities

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the acceptance of applications for Broadband Technical Assistance (BTA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. Broadband Technical Assistance provides competitive cooperative agreement funding to eligible entities to receive or deliver broadband technical assistance and training that promotes the expansion of broadband. Program funds must be used to support broadband technical assistance activities that promote the expansion of broadband into rural areas. Examples of broadband technical assistance projects may include conducting feasibility studies, completing network designs, and developing broadband financial assistance applications.

The Agency encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities.

Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure;
Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to RD programs and benefits from RD funded projects; and
Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.

All applicants should carefully review and prepare their applications according to instructions in the BTA Application Guide and program resources. This Application Guide and program resources can be found on the BTA website at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/telecommunications-programs/b…. Additionally, program requirements can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) available in the Federal Register at https://federalregister.gov/d/2024-13691

Halton Foundation grants are awarded to a non-profit organization researching how to improve human wellbeing in indoor environments or by organizations that develop solutions for better indoor environmental quality.

Please note that the Halton Foundation will only allow 10% of project costs to be allocated for overhead and administrative expenses. This is non-negotiable, and all successful applicants must meet this requirement.

The Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting research to address the knowledge gaps associated with the extent and variability of water quality impacted by wastewater effluent, the potential associations between levels of de facto reuse and human health risk, and the interventions needed to mitigate the impacts of de facto reuse.

Tyson Foods is committed to helping the communities we serve thrive by strengthening relationships between our operating locations and the locations where our team members and their families live. We look to scale existing programs with positive outcomes for the communities in which we operate. Grant requests are funded between $5,000 and $50,000, prioritizing programmatic and geographic diversity and expanding the reach of services.

Community giving is advised by our local operating locations, meaning that organizations must ensure they have a local Tyson Foods team member willing to vouch for their intended proposal. This allows our team members on the ground to have input in this process and provide insight into their community’s needs. If your community organization would like to secure financial resources and your organization meets the requirements listed in the program guidelines below, please follow the link to submit a grant application.

Link to document listing Tyson Food major locations: https://www.tysonfoods.com/sites/default/files/2018-07/Tyson%20Foods%20…

The Ralph Torraco Food Bank/Shelters Fund is administered by the UNICO Foundation. Funds are available to community established programs that provide food and shelter to those in need.

The Crail-Johnson Foundation’s (the Foundation) funding supports organizations providing services and programs primarily in Los Angeles and gives priority to the following target communities: San Pedro, Carson, Harbor City, Wilmington, Long Beach, Compton, Watts, and South Los Angeles. (There are some exceptions made, primarily based on program area; for example, the Foundation will consider other communities in Los Angeles for programs and services provided to homeless youth.) The Foundation supports programs as a means to address the long-term well-being of children, youth and community. It is through the support of Education, Human Services and Health that the Foundation hopes to assist in providing children, youth and their families with the tools necessary to build a life of quality. Support is exclusively focused on programs that address the needs of economically, socially and physically disadvantaged children. The Foundation supports both proven approaches and innovative programs aimed at systemic change and provides support for new, continuing, or expanding programs. Programs and services may be school-based, school-linked, or other community-based places. Funding priority is currently given to initiating, continuing or expanding programs in the following areas:

Education
Early Care & Education (Early Childhood): Programs that address the health, academic and social/emotional needs of children preparing to enter kindergarten.

Literacy Programs: Programs that focus on bringing children to grade level in reading and literature.

Arts Education: Programs that provide high quality arts education that engage children and youth in a variety of art forms that may include, but are not limited to, music, theater, dance, and film.

Parent Engagement/Education: Programs that provide education to parents on how to create a positive environment for their children both at home and at school, increase participation, communication, and collaboration between parents, schools, and communities with the goal of educating the whole child to ensure student achievement and success.

STEM Curriculum: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs which serve to build skills in math and science at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in addition to programs which increase awareness of science concepts and applications.

Youth Development Programs: Tutoring, mentoring, computer and other educational enrichment programs, which enhance self-esteem, promote the value of education and improve educational outcomes. The Foundation also supports collaborative community efforts to improve the quality of life for children, youth and families in inner-city neighborhoods. Programs most likely to be funded are parent empowerment and involvement programs: Integrative programs which focus on parent education, community involvement and leadership training.

Human services
Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment: Comprehensive efforts directed toward the prevention and treatment of family violence including community and educational outreach, counseling and shelter services.

Food Banks, Food Pantries and Food Distribution: Efforts directed toward the collection and distribution of food to relieve hunger in our communities.

Homeless Services: Organizations providing assistance to homeless children, youth and/or their families which may include temporary, short-term and/or long-term housing, and may include programs to assist families with job skills, nutritional education, housing security, parenting skills, among others.

Youth Development/Enrichment: Programs which serve to continue and improve foster care services, juvenile crime prevention and diversion, mentoring, and specific populations, in particular children and youth with special needs.

Health
Community Health: With a focus on whole person/whole family health, and overall goals to improve access to care, provide education, screening, and treatment, and improve health outcomes, the Foundation funds programs and services focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing, especially for students, the homeless and unhoused, and special needs individuals and their caregivers/families; Direct Medical Services (especially Pediatric Care) provided at Community Clinics/Federally Qualified Health Centers) and School-Based Health Centers; and Dental Care.

This Innovation Challenge seeks to fund research projects and teams that will, in accordance with USDA’s S&RS, drive U.S. agricultural science successfully and cooperatively forward into the next generation of sustainable, resilient, and healthy food systems. With a focus on the next generation of research, this opportunity emphasizes providing resources to support highly creative and highly promising early-career researchers. Proposals will undergo an administrative review followed by a technical peer review.

Top proposals will then be shared with the Innovation Challenge Steering Committee. Based on the technical peer review and the Innovation Challenge Steering Committee review, proposals will be recommended for funding, based on the applicant’s ability to conduct the proposed research; integrate the themes of human health, climate-smart agriculture, and social equity, justice, and opportunity; and articulate innovative ideas for high-risk, high-reward research to improve nutrition security.

Funding will be provided for up to four (4) awards of between $350,000 and $500,000 each. The performance period for awards will be two years. In addition to funding, awardees will gain access to collaboration and networking opportunities with USDA and FFAR scientists and leaders.

The program was designed with the Kohler Company to fund creative, high-impact solutions developed by local change makers that provide access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to people in the United States, U.S. territories, and sovereign tribal nations.

ELIGIBILITY
Water is Life projects help expand WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) services at the community level. We’re interested in projects that are creative, community-led, and long-lasting.

To be eligible for Water is Life funds:
Your project must be based in the U.S., U.S. territories, or on sovereign tribal nations within U.S. borders. Projects on the Navajo Nation, Central Appalachia, and the Texas colonias will be prioritized in 2024, but we may consider other applicants depending on demand
Your project must measurably improve access to water, sanitation, and/or hygiene for the target recipients
Your project is designed to meet human needs. We do not fund livestock or agricultural water projects

If you’re applying on behalf of an organization, your organization must have an annual operating budget of less than $3 million

Research shows that intersecting systems of privilege and oppression produce and sustain wide and unjust variations in health. The Axes Initiative will support research to understand health at the intersections of social statuses such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and ability, by examining contributions of social and other determinants of health.

This NOFO requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), which will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation. Applications that fail to include a PEDP will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance material (https://braininitiative.nih.gov/vision/plan-enhancing-diverse-perspecti…)

All proposals must specifically address how the proposed project will directly and measurably contribute to the accomplishment of the Pollinator Fund’s goals as outlined in NFWF’s Monarch Butterfly Business Plan. As such, all proposals must provide the number of acres restored or enhanced as a result of the project.

Proposals must include plans to restore or enhance a minimum of 100 acres in California or 500 acres in all other eligible states. For project ideas related to overwintering sites in California that anticipate preserving, restoring, or improving less than 100 acres, please contact Senior Program Manager Crystal Boyd (crystal.boyd@nfwf.org) to discuss before applying. Acres may be counted from multiple sites; the sites do not need to be contiguous. Since 2015, successful proposals have included a median of 960 acres and an average of 2,120 acres restored or enhanced.

If a project is expected to benefit multiple at-risk native insect pollinator species, the applicant should list the relevant species and how they will benefit. Priority will be given to projects that benefit the monarch butterfly and one or more native insect pollinator species that are federally listed, candidate, or proposed native insect pollinators.

Community Impact and Engagement: Projects that incorporate outreach to communities, foster community engagement, and pursue collaborative management leading to measurable conservation benefits are encouraged. When possible, projects should be developed through community input and co-design processes. Additionally, projects should engage community-level partners (e.g., municipalities, NGOs, community organizations, community leaders) to help design, implement, and maintain projects to secure maximum benefits for communities, maintenance, and sustainability post-grant award.

Each applicant will identify one category that best describes the project. The Pollinator Fund seeks projects in the following two categories:

1. Technical Assistance for Private Working Lands

Funding in this category will support implementation of technical assistance to increase the number of private landowners voluntarily engaged in monarch butterfly and pollinator conservation practices on private working lands. Up to $2 million is expected to be available for grants ranging from $150,000 to $500,000. Funding will be awarded for projects up to three years in length following finalization of the grant agreement.

This category aims to support conservation planning and practice design with private landowners to advance voluntary conservation efforts on working lands that align with NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife frameworks or initiatives, and especially increase Working Lands for Wildlife participation among farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in the Historically Underserved and Special Emphasis categories.*

2. Habitat Improvement

Funding in this category will support on-the-ground work to increase the quality, quantity, and connectivity of habitat for the monarch butterfly and other native insect pollinators. Up to $3.1 million is expected to be available for grants ranging from $200,000 to $300,000. Funding will be awarded for projects up to two years in length following finalization of the grant agreement.

Applicants in this category should define a step-by-step restoration plan including site preparation, equipment used, planting techniques, size of the project area, description of target native plant community, and maintenance plan (e.g., prescribed burning, mowing, grazing schedules).

If preparing a proposal that includes collecting or propagating native plants, applicants should describe the intended use of the seed or seedlings and how planting success will be monitored. Giveaways of milkweed seeds or seedlings are discouraged unless significant staff time is committed for follow-up, support, monitoring, and mapping with the milkweed recipients.

Plantings must include at least one species of regionally appropriate milkweed. To help meet the nutritional needs of a broad range of pollinator species, plantings must also provide at least three native blooming nectar species (in addition to milkweed) during each of the following periods: spring, summer, and fall.

Projects proposed to benefit other at-risk native insect pollinators should specify habitat needs for those species and how the proposed work will support their breeding, nectaring, nesting, or other habitat needs.