Funding Opportunities
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is currently accepting applications for the Urban Forestry Program's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Grant Program. The IRA Grants are to be used to improve community forest conditions and access to disadvantaged communities, address the backlog of local community forestry work, and position Arizona’s community forests as a valuable piece of mitigating climate change impacts and urban heat.. Projects should be aimed at improving the long-term health and care of the urban forest, or at initiating new urban forestry projects in Arizona communities that would not otherwise be funded through existing budgets. This program is being made possible from funds allocated to Arizona from the USFS during the first round of funding distribution and not the public Notice of Funding Opportunity.
The IRA Project's theme is: Improving urban forest conditions in disadvantaged communities for climate resilience and heat mitigation. Project timelines for this grant should be 4 years. The projects must be in service to supporting disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool: CJEST - https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/(link is external).
The Community Challenge Grant Program focuses on activities to encourage and promote citizen involvement in supporting long-term and sustainable urban and community forestry programs at the local level. Local and tribal governments, non-profit organizations, and public educational institutions qualify.
Community Challenge Grants are intended for promoting and enhancing the quality of Arizona’s urban and community forests. The program aims to fund projects that might not otherwise be funded through existing budgets, and research project funding is intended as “seed-grants” because of the limited funding available. All proposed projects should be designed to improve the long-term health and care of the urban forest, or initiate new urban forestry projects in Arizona communities.
In evaluating grant proposals, consideration will be given to projects that:
- Improve understanding of the benefits of protecting, maintaining, and preserving tree cover.
- Promote volunteerism, multi-cultural awareness, and involvement of nonprofit organizations, agencies, and the private sector in implementing urban and community forestry programs.
- Increase the number of communities assisted through technology transfer, training, and education in tree care or urban natural resource management.
- Increase the number of partnerships and cooperators in urban and community forestry activities through technical, financial, and in-kind support.
- Increase the number of communities given technical, financial, or other forms of urban and community forestry assistance (i.e. tree inventories, tree board establishment, ordinance development, management plans, or infrastructure).
- Enhance the technical skills of individuals involved in the planning, developing, and maintaining urban and community forestry programs.
- Expand existing research intended to improve understanding of southwestern (a) tree growth and maintenance, tree physiology and morphology, and species adaptations; and (b) the role of urban trees in conserving energy and mitigating the urban heat island.
All projects selected for funding should be completed within one year and a final project presentation is required at the annual Community Forestry Grantee Showcase that is held every fall.
Are You Ready to Solve a Problem?
We’re ready to fund a single proposal that promises real and measurable progress in solving a critical problem of our time.
We are open to ideas that identify a single problem and its proposed solution. We welcome applications from around the world as well as from both nonprofit and for-profit organizations (subject to the rules that govern private foundations). We hope to inspire a wide range of applications that propose real, measurable solutions to significant problems from any field or sector
The National Park Service’s (NPS) History of Equal Rights Grant Program (HER) will preserve sites related to the struggle of all Americans to achieve equal rights. HER grants are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), administered by the NPS, and will fund a broad range of preservation projects for historic sites including: architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and physical preservation to structures. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and do not require non-Federal match.
The United States Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Program provides a framework for Federal leadership and assistance to stretch and secure water supplies for future generations in support of DOI’s priorities. Through WaterSMART, Reclamation leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to work cooperatively with States, Tribes, and local entities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply reliability through investments in existing infrastructure and attention to local water conflicts. This Environmental Water Resources Projects NOFO provides funding for water conservation and efficiency projects, water management and infrastructure improvements, and river and watershed restoration projects and nature-based solutions that provide significant ecological benefits, have been developed as part of a collaborative process, and help carry out an established strategy to increase the reliability of water resources.Reclamation’s WaterSMART Environmental Water Resources Projects provide support for priorities identified in Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and is aligned with other priorities such as those identified in E.O. 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The Environmental Water Resources Projects also support the goals of the Interagency Drought Relief Working Group established in March 2021 and the National Drought Resiliency Partnership.
The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) (Headquarters) Aquatic Resources Program protects and restores riparian and wetland areas, aquatic habitats, and water resources to provide functioning ecosystems for a combination of balanced and diverse uses including fish and wildlife, and for the long-term needs of future generations. BLM is requesting projects for the Aquatic Resources Program (15.244) that Build Drought Resilience in Aird Watersheds and/or restore healthy waters through Implementing and/or Increasing BLM's Ability to Implement Riverscape and Wet Meadow Restoration. This program also supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI.
Only cities, counties/parishes, and other units of local government, and certain States and Native American Tribes (those that have an EPA-authorized lead abatement certification program on the submission deadline) are eligible applicants.
Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce
The American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce (Upskill Prize) is a $5 million prize designed to accelerate the expansion of the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce and equip workers with the skills necessary to revitalize the domestic solar manufacturing supply chain. This prize targets various facets of the U.S. solar photovoltaics (PV) module supply chain, addressing critical workforce needs.
Program Focus: The National Forest Foundation’s new Collaborative Capacity Program financial awards will provide resources, invest in skills and tools, and support activities that make Tribal co-stewardship and collaboration for forest stewardship successful. Eligible collaborative efforts must describe how investments in collaboration will support a long-term strategy for achieving stewardship outcomes into the future and these outcomes must seek to benefit National Forest System lands. There are two funding pathways — one for Tribal Applicants and one for All Applicants.
REAP Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Program. Refer to Application Package AND Application Instruction links to obtain all necessary forms for a complete application. Contact State Energy Coordinators with questions: http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RBS_StateEnergyCoordinators.pdf