Funding Opportunities

The Community Foundation of Northern Nevada is accepting proposals for grants from the Truckee River Fund. Proposals will be considered by the Truckee River Fund Advisory Committee and grant recommendations must be approved both by the TMWA Board and the Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation. The fund advisors may recommend up to a total of $550,000 in grant awards per fiscal year but may choose to award less than the amount available.

The mission of the Truckee River Fund is to protect and enhance water quality or water resources of the Truckee River or its watershed. To be considered for funding, project proposals must demonstrate measurable impact in accordance with this mission. Please note that land and/or water rights acquisition projects are not considered to be a Truckee River Fund priority. To see projects funded by the Truckee River Fund, please go to http://www.truckeeriverfund.org.

Projects must begin within 180 days of award. Applicants must be registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit agencies, nonprofit educational institutions, or governmental entities. Grants are paid on a reimbursable basis for actual expenditures.

The deadline for proposals is Friday, July 26, 2024 at noon. Applications must be confirmed as received by the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada by the deadline to be considered for funding. A project budget must be submitted with your application. A sample budget template is available for download. For questions or additional information, contact the Community Foundation or visit the Truckee River Fund website at www.truckeeriverfund.org.

GRANT PRIORITIES

Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) recommends that the Truckee River Fund (TRF) Advisory Committee (the “Committee”) give preference to well-supported, clearly drafted grant requests that consider substantial benefits to TMWA customers for projects and programs that mitigate substantial threats to water quality and the watershed, particularly those threats upstream or nearby water treatment and hydroelectric plant intakes.

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS): Projects/Programs that support the prevention or control of aquatic invasive species in the mainstem Truckee River, Lake Tahoe, other tributaries and water bodies in the Truckee River system.
Watershed Improvements: Projects that reduce erosion or sediment, suspended solids, or total dissolve solids (TDS) discharges, nutrients, industrial contaminants, or bacterial pollutants to the River. Projects or programs that are located within 303d (impaired waters) and total maximum daily load (TMDL) sections of the River should be considered, both in California and Nevada. Innovative techniques should be encouraged. The following link identifies impaired sections of the river and its tributaries: https://mywaterway.epa.gov/.
Local Stormwater Improvements: Projects that demonstrably mitigate storm water run-off due to urbanization of the local watershed. Priority should be given to those improvement projects in close proximity to TMWA’s water supply intakes and canals and which will improve the reliability and protect the quality of the community’s municipal water supply.
Re-Forestation and Re-Vegetation Projects: Projects to restore forest and upland areas damaged by fire and historical logging operations, and to improve watershed resiliency in drought situations. Projects/programs in this category should be given a high priority due to urbanization of the watershed and increased susceptibility of the urban and suburban watershed to wildfire.
Support to Rehabilitation of Local Tributary Creeks and Drainage Courses: Projects to support water quality improvement in creeks and tributaries to the Truckee River.
Stewardship and Environmental Awareness: Support to clean-up programs and the development and implementation of educational programs relative to water, water quality and watershed protection that do not fall clearly into the one of the above-mentioned categories.

The CASF Broadband Public Housing Account provides grants and loans to build broadband networks offering free broadband service for residents of low-income communities including, but not limited to, publicly supported housing developments, farmworker housing, and other housing developments or mobile home parks with low-income residents that do not have access to any broadband service provider that offers free broadband service that meets or exceeds state standards for the residents of the low-income community. The allocated funding for the Broadband Public Housing Account is $30.1 million for fiscal year 2024-2025. The Broadband Public Housing Account will award grants to finance up to 100 percent of the costs to install last mile infrastructure, inside wiring and broadband network equipment but will not finance operations and maintenance costs through this program.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes historic tax provisions that will accelerate the deployment of clean energy, clean vehicles, clean buildings, and clean manufacturing, and save communities money on their energy bills. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to support implementation of several of these tax provisions.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Elective Pay (often called “direct pay”) provisions, tax-exempt and governmental entities can, for the first time, receive a payment equal to the full value of tax credits for building qualifying clean energy projects. This new mechanism presents a potentially transformative opportunity for communities and non-profits, including many DOE grant and loan recipients, to directly benefit from federal tax credits for clean energy. In addition, the IRA modified the 179d energy efficient commercial building property tax deduction to increase the incentive for energy efficient investments and expand accessibility to tax-exempt entities. However, tax-exempt entities affected by these historic provisions (including state, territory, and local governments; Tribes; and non-profits) do not have significant experience with tax filings and often have limited capacity to dedicate to navigating IRS regulations and filing processes. This funding opportunity aims to address this knowledge gap, supporting the development of additional resources to guide communities as they claim IRA tax credits through Elective Pay and complete projects that create good-paying jobs, lower energy costs, and advance an equitable transition to a clean and resilient energy system.

The Elective Pay – Blueprints for Communities opportunity was launched in July 2024 to support the development of additional resources for these communities as they plan and execute projects which are eligible for clean energy tax credits through Elective Pay or the 179d energy efficient commercial building property tax deduction. The opportunity envisions blueprints as documents that will help guide interested entities through all stages of a sample project, identifying important considerations, opportunities, and restrictions along the road to claiming Elective Pay. Blueprints developed through this funding opportunity will address multiple topics central to planning and implementing an eligible project, potentially including but not limited to the following: building a project team; funding and financing; designing an eligible project; documentation and record keeping; tax year determination; prevailing wage, apprenticeship, and domestic content requirements; IRS pre-registration; and tax return filing.

This funding opportunity is managed by ENERGYWERX in partnership with DOE, a collaboration made possible through an innovative Partnership Intermediary Agreement set up by the DOE's Office of Technology Transitions. This agreement enables ENERGYWERX to broaden DOE’s engagement with innovative organizations and non-traditional partners, facilitating the rapid development, scaling, and deployment of clean energy solutions.

Applications for this funding opportunity opened on July 7, 2024, and will close at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) on  August 8, 2024. DOE anticipates that applicants will be notified of their selection by August 2024 and that this engagement will run through February 2025.

The Office of Indian Energy will provide funding to and partner with up to four eligible regional nonprofit intertribal organizations. Selected regional nonprofit intertribal organizations will dedicate a staff member to serve as a “Tribal Energy Liaison/Coordinator/Navigator” who will work in collaboration with member Tribes and the Office of Indian Energy. This role will develop and provide expertise to help identify relevant clean energy opportunities for member Tribes and will equitably create and implement education and engagement opportunities. Activities may include:

Tracking and disseminating DOE funding and technical assistance opportunities to member Tribal governments and helping them to navigate which opportunities meet their goals.
Assisting in the assessment of member Tribes’ clean energy needs and interests and effectively connecting them to DOE programs and funding opportunities.
Creating opportunities for dialogue among Tribes, the energy community, and DOE, such as organizing conferences, workshops, events, and small group briefings to support Tribal collaboration, and Tribe-to-Tribe learning and networking opportunities.
Effectively sharing Tribal clean energy information and opportunities with member Tribes though electronic newsletters, website, emails, printed materials, etc.
Enhancing DOE Tribal engagement and communications activities with member Tribal governments by organizing regular engagement opportunities for DOE leadership and staff to communicate DOE energy policy and program information and opportunities during general session and breakout sessions.
In collaboration with the Office of Indian Energy, collectively identifying information to be disseminated to member Tribal governments during the funded period.

The Western Integrated Pest Management Center (“The Center”) engages a broad diversity of stakeholders in the West to identify strategic directions and set priorities for integrated pest management (IPM) research, education, and extension for pest management in all settings. Through these activities the Center promotes the USDA Research, Education, and Economics Action Plan goals of effective, affordable, and environmentally sound integrated pest management practices and improved response to emerging or reemerging pests of high consequence. The Center supports the National Roadmap for Integrated Pest Management (http://bit.ly/IPMRoadMap)

The Center works to reduce the risks that pests and pest-management practices pose to people, the environment and the economy of the American West by supporting the development and adoption of smart, safe and sustainable pest management. Our vision is a healthier West with fewer pests.

This RFA covers Planning Documents and Economic Analysis projects. This includes the development of Pest Management Strategic Plans, Integrated Pest Management Plans, Pest Management Prioritysetting for First Nation Food Sovereignty Initiatives, or similar planning documents, and Economic Analysis of IPM Systems.

Pest Management Strategic Plans (PMSPs) are developed with a group of producers and other stakeholders to identify the pest management needs and priorities of a particular commodity, industry, system, site or setting. The plans document current pest management practices and those under research and demonstration trial development. The plans also indicate priorities for research to fill knowledge gaps, regulatory changes, and education or training programs to support adoption of integrated pest management practices.

There are two current models for producing PMSPs, and either is acceptable.
• Guidelines for producing a traditional PMSP can be found on the National IPM Database web site at https://ipmdata.ipmcenters.org/pmsp_workshopguidelines.pdf
• Guidelines for producing an Integrated Pest Management Strategic Plan, an approach pioneered by researchers at Oregon State University, can be found at https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9238

Pest Management Priority-setting for First Nation Food Sovereignty Initiatives may query producers, pest management professionals, IPM practitioners or other pest management stakeholders to gather information about the current pest management methods and challenges in a particular commodity, system, site or setting.

The Economic Analysis of IPM Systems assessment focuses on the economic impacts associated with IPM practices in commodity, industry, system, sites or settings. As an example, the Crop Pest-Loss and Impact Assessment Signature Program tracks the economic impacts associated with IPM implementation. For more information on Signature Programs, see the Center Projects section of the westernipm.org website. Additional recent examples include the economic analysis of the IR-4 program (available at www.ir4project.org/outreach/), the economic value of screening grapevines for viruses (available at doi: 10.5344/ajev.2020.19047) the University of California IPM program (2016 ARE Update University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics).

This program seeks to actively support early career IPM professionals and practitioners in their search for educational opportunities and networking experiences. The program is focused on supporting a deeper understanding of a wide variety of technology, pest management, sustainability, business, and government issues. The program also hopes to help young pest management professionals build a strong, enduring network of peers, and business and government contacts, not only in the academic realm but from private industry as well. Participants can apply to attend events and professional science society meetings or participate in internship programs that provide experiential learning so that students can explore potential careers and build professional networks or participate in other learning opportunities. Internship programs that include both research and extension or outreach are strongly encouraged.

Fellowship applications are capped at $1,000. The award should be used to fund travel to meetings or other professional development opportunities, meeting registration, costs associated with internships with private companies, research and Extension programs or other professional development opportunities.

The Western IPM Center announces the availability of funds and requests proposals to address special issues in the West – specifically time-sensitive issues that cannot wait until the next regular RFA period. Special issues grants may be requested to bring together groups to address emerging pests.

The Western IPM Center will give priority to requests that are multi-state/island/tribal nation in scope. Projects must be completed within one year of funding and be single-issue oriented. Funds are available until exhausted. The maximum amount of a request can be $5,000.

Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) solicits applications to lead a consultative process and create a Sustainable Agriculture Action Plan to document the research, regulatory, infrastructure, and educational needs and priorities required to increase sustainable agriculture practices in a specific industry/commodity or geographical location in the Western SARE region. The Sustainable Agriculture Action Plan (SAAP) intends to provide important stakeholder-derived feedback about the sustainable agriculture needs and priorities of specific industries and geographic locations to university researchers, Extension specialists, regulators, non-governmental agencies, elected officials, the USDA, and other potential funders. Western SARE seeks to fund two applications: 1. An application focused on a specific regionally important agricultural industry or commodity 2. An application focused on a specific, limited geographic area in the Western Region that includes multiple crops or production systems. The geographic area must be limited and logical, for example, a specific watershed, a Soil and Water Conservation District, an island or island system, etc. Each successful application will be funded for a maximum of $20,000 which will be awarded as a costreimbursable subaward agreement from Montana State University, Western SARE Host Institution

The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established by Congress in 1964 to fulfill a bipartisan commitment to safeguard our natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage, and to provide recreation opportunities to all Americans. Using zero taxpayer dollars, the fund invests earnings from offshore oil and gas leasing to help strengthen communities, preserve our history and protect our national endowment of lands and waters. The LWCF program can be divided into the "State Side" which provides grants to State and local governments, and the "Federal Side" which is used to acquire lands, waters, and interests therein necessary to achieve the natural, cultural, wildlife, and recreation management objectives of federal land management agencies.

Available Funds: Variable (based on project needs and timeline)
Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants include governmental entities (cities, towns, counties, tribal governments, state and federal agencies). Non-profits and clubs are not eligible for the LWCF.
Eligible Projects: Funding can be used for outdoor recreation facilities; ADA/accessibility upgrades; acquisition of park lands; baseball & soccer fields, bike parks, pools, playground equipment.

The overarching goal of the WCAHS Pilot/Feasibility Program is to encourage the development of creative research projects while nurturing researchers—particularly early-career and under-represented researchers—interested in improving agricultural health and safety for the western U.S. It is designed to fund short-term research projects to support the collection of preliminary data, attract new investigators to WCAHS and the field of agricultural health and safety, facilitate the exploration of innovative research directions, and engage and mentor early stage investigators as defined by the NIH.