Funding Opportunities

EDA has authority to provide grants to meet the full range of communities’ and regions’ economic development needs from planning and technical assistance to construction of infrastructure. These grants are made through a series of Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) that can be found on EDA’s website at https://www.eda.gov/funding/funding-opportunities and are designed to support the economic development activities most useful to a community based on its needs and circumstances. EDA funds community or regionally generated ideas and assists communities to advance to the next level of economic development.

This NOFO, which supersedes the FY20 PWEAA NOFO, sets out EDA’s application submission and review procedures for two of EDA’s core economic development programs authorized under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 3121 et seq.) (PWEDA): (1) Public Works and Economic Development Facilities (Public Works) and (2) Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA).

EDA supports bottom-up strategies that build on regional assets to spur economic growth and resiliency. EDA encourages its grantees throughout the country to develop initiatives that present new ideas and creative approaches to advance economic prosperity in distressed communities.

Through this NOFO EDA intends to advance general economic development in accordance with EDA’s investment priorities, but also to pursue projects that, where practicable, incorporate specific priorities related to equity, workforce development, and climate change resiliency so that investments can benefit everyone for decades to come.

The Environmental Sustainability program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability Cluster together with 1) the Environmental Engineering program and 2) the Nanoscale Interactions program. The goal of the Environmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems. These systems provide ecological services vital for human survival. Research efforts supported by the program typically consider long time horizons and may incorporate contributions from the social sciences and ethics. The program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society's need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. There are five principal general research areas that are supported.

Circular Bioeconomy Engineering: This area includes research that enables sustainable societal use of food, energy, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and materials, with the reduction and eventual elimination of fossil fuel combustion that lacks carbon capture. The program encourages research that helps build the raw material basis for the functioning of society principally on biomass, drawing heavily on sustainable agriculture and forestry. Additionally, material flows must reduce or preferably eliminate waste, with an emphasis on closed-loop or “circular” processing.

Industrial ecology: Topics of interest include advancements in modeling such as life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, net energy analysis, input/output economic models, and novel metrics for measuring sustainable systems. Innovations in industrial ecology are encouraged.

Green engineering: Research is encouraged to advance the sustainability of manufacturing processes, green buildings, and infrastructure. Many programs in the Engineering Directorate support research in environmentally benign manufacturing or chemical processes. The Environmental Sustainability program supports research that would affect more than one chemical or manufacturing process or that takes a systems or holistic approach to green engineering for infrastructure or green buildings. Improvements in distribution and collection systems that will advance smart growth strategies and ameliorate effects of growth are research areas that are supported by Environmental Sustainability. Innovations in management of stormwater, recycling and reuse of drinking water, and other green engineering techniques to support sustainability may also be fruitful areas for research.

Ecological engineering: Proposals should focus on the engineering aspects of restoring ecological function to natural systems. Engineering research in the enhancement of natural capital to foster sustainable development is encouraged.

Earth systems engineering:Earth systems engineering considers aspects of large-scale engineering research that involve mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, and other global concerns.

This program helps eligible communities prepare, or recover from, an emergency that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water.

Thomas Jefferson observed that "the ground of liberty is won by inches." The Norman Foundation seeks to help win some of those precious inches. We support efforts that strengthen the ability of communities to determine their own economic, environmental and social well-being, and that help people control those forces that affect their lives. These efforts may:

promote economic justice and development through community organizing, coalition building and policy reform efforts;
work to prevent the disposal of toxics in communities, and to link environmental issues with economic and social justice;
link community-based economic and environmental justice organizing to national and international reform efforts.

We will consider the following in evaluating grant proposals:

Does the project arise the hopes and efforts of those whose survival, well-being and liberation are directly at stake?
Does it further ethnic, gender and other forms of equity?
Is it rooted in organized, practical undertakings?
Is it likely to achieve systemic change?

Within the U.S., Sony focuses the majority of its charitable giving on art, culture, technology and the environment, with a particular emphasis on education in each of those areas. While support in other areas may also be considered, the Company seeks to apply its financial, technological and human resources to the encouragement of the creative, artistic, technical and scientific skills required of tomorrow's workforce.

The Story of Stuff Project established the Grassroots Grants Program in 2017 to support small organizations and groups organizing against water privatization and plastic pollution in the United States. Since we launched, we have supported over 70 grassroots groups with nearly $200,000 in funding. We prioritize BIPOC-led and serving groups focused on water privatization, plastic pollution, and other environmental justice focus areas.

The Bob Barker Foundation funds organizations that are well-managed, have financial and fundraising plans, engage in strategic planning, and have strong leadership and engaged governance. Your organization must meet the following requirements to receive consideration for funding:

Your organization’s work must result in reducing recidivism.

Your organization must work with a minimum of 100 incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals annually.

Your organization must have a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or be a governmental, educational or research institution with tax-exempt status.

Your methods must be “Evidence-Based” or use “Best Practices.”

De Colores Rapid Response Fund (RRF) has been established at PDF in honor of retired Development Officer, Ray Santiago. In his many years working in the farmworker movement, “De Colores,” a traditional Mexican folk song that celebrates nature and diversity, was and still is one of Ray’s favorite tunes. It is a great example of solidarity.

Ray recalls, “If I remember correctly, the song came to the Americas from Spain back in the 16th or 17th century. The song became very popular within the Latino community for special celebrations and occasions. It became the anthem of the United Farm Workers in California in the early 1960s. In time, it became the anthem of the larger farmworker movement, including the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) in the Midwest, Florida and Texas. We would cross arms and sing it at rallies and picket lines. It’s a very uplifting song and always brought comfort to me.”

De Colores RRF is looking to impact positive, dynamic-shifting opportunities, rather than provide emergency response for humanitarian crises or technical assistance. It is designed to make funds available for quick, short-term delivery to hot spots of opportunity for organizing in marginalized urban and rural communities.

Our committee considers each application seriously. Due to the large number of requests we receive, it may take up to 4 months for you to hear from us with a determination. We may not respond to your application if it does not meet our criteria for consideration. Determination is made on a case-by-case basis, depending on factors like mission alignment and availability of funds. Grants typically range from $500-$2000.

Special consideration is given to programs with transdisciplinary approaches and addressing the needs of youth, who are disadvantaged economically, geographically, culturally, environmentally, or through gender conformity expectations. The foundation is in support of programs which help young people become productive, healthy adults.

Our giving strategy focus is:

STEAM education across science, mathematics, engineering, and creative problem solving with a strong emphasis on developing skills and experience across multiple disciplines
Applying trans-disciplinary skills to real problems to enable career opportunities
Programs with a focus on youth 7 to 19 years of age
Special consideration for programs targeting youth, who are disadvantaged economically, geographically, culturally, environmentally, or through gender conformity expectations