Opportunities for Funding

The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) is administering the
Environmental Justice Action Grants Program (Program) to provide grant funding to
a wide variety of projects. The Legislature has directed CalEPA to use that money
for grants to support tribes, community-based organizations, and residents to
engage in:

1. emergency preparedness,
2. public health protection,
3. environmental and climate decision-making, and
4. coordinated enforcement efforts affecting their communities.

In addition, the Legislature has set specific deadlines for encumbrance and
liquidation. CalEPA administers this program as part of its overall mission to restore,
protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality,
and economic vitality

The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program makes federal funds available to states, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribal governments , and local governments for hazard mitigation activities. It does so recognizing the growing hazards associated with climate change , and the need for natural hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to those hazards. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future. The BRIC program’s guiding principles include supporting communities through capability and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation, including multi-hazard resilience or nature-based solutions including the use of native plants; promoting partnerships; enabling large, systems-based projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency. Through these efforts communities are able to better understand disaster risk and vulnerabilities, conduct community-driven resilience, hazard mitigation planning, and design transformational projects and programs.

Awards made under this funding opportunity are funded, in whole or in part, by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure, which will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy by enhancing U.S. competitiveness. The BIL appropriates billions of dollars to FEMA to promote resilient infrastructure, respond to the impacts of climate change, and equip our nation with the resources to combat its most pressing threats. In doing so, FEMA encourages investmen of these funds toward projects that are implemented using Good Jobs Principles to expand the availability of good, family-sustaining jobs with the free and fair opportunity to join a union for all Americans. FEMA recommends applicants design projects that are aligned with The Good Jobs Prinicples, a description of the elements of a Good Job that has informed the investment of billions of dollars through the Biden-Harris Administration's Invest in America Agenda.

FEMA will provide financial assistance to eligible BRIC applicants for the following activities:

• Capability and Capacity-Building activities – activities that enhance the knowledge, skills, and expertise of the current workforce to expand or improve the administration of mitigation assistance. This includes activities in the following sub-categories: building codes, partnerships, project scoping, hazard mitigation planning and planning-related activities, and other activities;

• Hazard Mitigation Projects – cost-effective mitigation projects designed to increase resilience and public safety; reduce injuries and loss of life; and reduce damage and destruction to property, critical services, facilities, and infrastructure (including natural systems) from a multitude of natural hazards, including drought, wildfire, earthquakes, extreme heat, and the effects of climate change; and

• Management Costs – financial assistance to reimburse the recipient and subrecipient for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs, and other administrative expenses associated with a specific mitigation measure or project.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (Department) Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects (AERP) provides a framework for Federal leadership and assistance to restore and protect aquatic ecosystems in support of the Department’s priorities. Through AERP, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to work cooperatively with States, Tribes, and other entities as they study, design and construct aquatic ecosystem restoration projects that are collaboratively developed, have widespread regional benefits, and result in an improvement to the health of fisheries, wildlife, and aquatic habitat through restoration or improved fish passage. Restoring and connecting aquatic ecosystems offers wide-ranging benefits for both communities and the environment. Functioning aquatic and wetland ecosystems provide essential habitat for fish and wildlife, improve water quality, store excess carbon, help mitigate the impacts of drought and flood events, and support water supply resiliency for multiple uses.

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. Policy guidance for the Program ensures that public land management based on multiple use and sustained yield provides healthy and productive riparian, wetland, and aquatic habitat, achieves land health standards, and considers society’s long-term needs for healthy watersheds. The issues the Program addresses are diverse and include restoration, habitat fragmentation and degradation, drought resiliency, water availability, and aquatic invasive species. Program staff provide professional expertise and policy guidance to BLM managers, Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, and non-governmental partners on these issues, and implement the best management practices to minimize or avoid impacts to water resources, riparian and wetland areas, and aquatic habitats on public lands. This program supports projects funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Section 40804 (b) Ecosystem Restoration. This program also supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI.The BLM Headquarters Aquatic Resources Program’s core functions include:Ecosystem Structure and Function: Protect and restore the physical and ecological processes of functioning riparian and wetland areas, aquatic habitats, and water resources.Water Quality: Protect and restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of surface water and groundwater.Water Availability: Ensure that water is legally and physically available for beneficial uses, including protection and restoration actions.Riparian, Wetland, and Aquatic Habitat: Proactively protect and restore riparian, wetland, and aquatic habitats to ensure the presence, abundance, and diversity of healthy, self-sustaining, and desirable riparian, wetland, and aquatic species and other wildlife and plant populations that depend upon these habitats, including special status species.Decision Support: Inventory, assess, and monitor aquatic resources to inform our understanding of condition and trend, guide the BLM’s management activities, and assess regulatory compliance.Environmental Compliance: Ensure full compliance with applicable federal law, Executive Orders, regulations, and policy and with state law to the extent consistent with federal law.Internal & External Involvement: Consult, coordinate, cooperate, and collaborate with federal, state, tribal, and local governments and other programs, partners, and communities, to foster adaptive approaches to protection and restoration and implement education and outreach programs.The BLM Headquarters Aquatic Resources Program continues to advance the Department of the Interior's priorities to address the climate crisis, restore balance on public lands and waters, advance environmental justice, and invest in a clean energy future. The BLM Headquarters Aquatic Resources Program has an opportunity to work with partner organizations to assist with:Contributing to the above-described Program core functions.Combating climate change and habitat loss impacts to aquatic resources.Restoring and connecting degraded aquatic resources.Increasing ecosystem resistance, resilience, and adaptability to drought, wildfires, and floods.Determining acceptable levels of hydrologic and ecological change given BLM management objectives.Advancing inventory, assessment, and monitoring activities and tools.Preventing the establishment and spread of invasive species.Increasing public knowledge of aquatic habitats on BLM managed lands, including with a targeted focus on communities of color, low-income families, and rural and indigenous communities.

The BLM Headquarters Threatened and Endangered Species Program focuses on implementing the Department of Interior’s priorities by emphasizing actions that: protect biodiversity; slow species extinction rates; increase resilience to climate change and help leverage natural climate solutions; contribute to conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by the year 2030; support State agencies to meet State wildlife population objectives; engage communities of color, low income families, and rural and indigenous communities to enhance economic opportunities related to wildlife; and use the best science and data available to make decisions. The BLM Headquarters Threatened and Endangered Species Program has an opportunity to work with partner organizations to assist with:Contributing to the above-described Program strategic goals.On-the-ground actions that conserve and recover federally-listed, Bureau sensitive, and rare wildlife and plants.Targeted inventory and monitoring to determine species status and conservation opportunities.Gaining knowledge about federally-listed, Bureau sensitive, and rare species and their habitats including, but not limited to, propagation, genetics, ecology and threats.Providing for proactive protection or management of federally-listed, Bureau sensitive, and rare species and their habitats, consistent with ESA section 7a1.Augmenting federally-listed, Bureau sensitive, and rare species through translocations, seed collections, and/or propagation.Increasing program efficiencies and effectiveness in Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 7a2 consultations and ESA section 7a1 conservation programs.Increasing public knowledge of federally-listed, Bureau sensitive, and rare wildlife and plants on BLM managed lands, including with a targeted focus on communities of color, low-income families, and rural and indigenous communities.Communications including program outreach, education, and Program website updates.

The BLM California Wildlife Program advances the Department of the Interior's priorities to address the climate crisis, restore balance on public lands and waters, advance environmental justice, and invest in a clean energy future. Specific BLM California Wildlife Program priorities include:protect wildlife habitat, migration, habitat connectivity that supports biodiversity; increase resilience to climate change and help leverage natural climate solutions; contribute to conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by the year 2030; support State agencies to meet State wildlife population objectives; engage communities of color, low-income families, and rural and indigenous communities to enhance economic opportunities related to wildlife; and use the best science and data available to make decisions. The BLM California Wildlife Program works with partner organizations to meet the goals above on national or regional scale through: Activities that maintain or restore habitats for upland game, waterfowl, big game, pollinators, sensitives species, and watchable wildlife species. Conserving priority wildlife habitat (vegetation communities, water resources, or connectivity) or reducing threats to habitat or species.Monitoring and inventorying wildlife populations and habitats to provide complete, current, and accurate information on the distribution, abundance, and habitat of wildlife that depend on BLM managed public lands.Assessing wildlife habitat and measuring related resource management goals and objectives.Enhancing the understanding of opportunities to conserve wildlife populations that depend on BLM managed lands.Improving how BLM uses and integrates coordinated wildlife monitoring data such as Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) and North American Bat Monitoring Program (NaBat). Doing new research on success in meeting the objectives of wildlife habitat and land use plans at the ecosystem and watershed level.Performing education projects (including citizen science and student-based science) to facilitate wildlife stewardship and conservation for species that depend on BLM managed lands.Increasing public awareness of wildlife resources, conservation challenges and successes on BLM managed lands, including with a targeted focus on communities of color, low-income families, and rural and indigenous communities.

The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six AFRI priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture.

The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six AFRI priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. The six priority areas are: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities.

Research-only, extension-only, and integrated research, education and/or extension projects are solicited in this Request for Applications (RFA).

See Foundational and Applied Science RFA for specific detail.

The UPLIFT Climate and Environmental Community Action Grant program (“UPLIFT”) offers an unprecedented opportunity to support disadvantaged communities by building the capacity of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) who play a significant role in supporting disadvantaged communities work towards creating healthy, climate resilient, and thriving communities for generations to come.

The UPLIFT Grant will support the development of a community of practice that will bring together IHEs, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), CBOs, philanthropy, the private sector, and government entities to learn from one another about the climate and environmental justice challenges that disadvantaged communities face, identify solutions, develop partnerships, and engage with government (at the local, state, and/or federal levels) through a variety of public processes such as advisory councils, rulemaking processes, grant opportunities, to ensure that their vital voices are a part of and help to inform decisions that impact disadvantaged communities (as defined in Appendix A).

Additionally, the UPLIFT Grant will support the development of a subaward program that will support community-driven projects in disadvantaged communities that address climate challenges and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful and collaborative implementation. The historic support provided by this grant will enable disadvantaged communities and their partners to work together to build capacity and collaborative partnerships to help them begin to address longstanding environmental challenges and implement meaningful solutions to meet their needs now and for generations to come.

Partnership of Community Based Nonprofit and an Institution of Higher Education are eligible to apply.

Consistent with 7 U.S.C. 5925f, NIFA is soliciting applications for the Farm Business
Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) program to improve the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers by maintaining and expanding a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management.

The FBMB program aims to strongly support innovative extension approaches and collaborative efforts to maintain and expand the publicly available national farm financial management database (FINBIN). Such efforts are needed to meet the challenges facing the nation’s agriculture and food systems. Farm management producers must be educated and prepared to work effectively across disciplines to solve agricultural and educational challenges. Meeting these challenges will require projects that are timely, strategic, creative, and multi-disciplinary.

The FBMB program supports all producers to develop farm management knowledge and skills that are consistent with the agriculture and food systems priorities of the USDA.
Extension projects supported by the FBMB program, to the extent possible, shall be coordinated and delivered in cooperation with similar services or assistance by other federal agencies or programs supporting improved farm management.
The Secretary may give priority to grants that demonstrate an ability to work directly with
agricultural producers; collaborate with farm management associations and financial
management education programs; address the farm management needs of a variety of crops and regions of the United States; and contribute data to support the national farm financial management database (FINBIN).

The FBMB program supports novel projects that encompass the management of money at the personal, firm, and public levels to support livelihoods and quality of life for agricultural
producers and farm communities. The FBMB program also supports projects that incorporate social and behavioral science disciplines, leadership skills development, and decision-making which are important elements to address the many challenges facing agriculture and farm communities. These challenges may include but are not limited to increasing global demand for food production in the face of limited natural resources; improving health opportunities and outcomes; reducing food loss and waste; and alleviating poverty by creating economic opportunity and supporting workforce development.

The Rural Health Network Development Planning Program supports the planning and development of rural integrated health care networks with specific focus on collaboration of entities to establish or improve local capacity and care coordination in underserved communities. Specifically, the program uses the concept of developing networks as a strategy for linking rural health care network participants together to achieve greater collective capacity to overcome local challenges, expand access and improve the quality of care in the rural communities these organizations serve. The program helps network participants work together on three legislative aims:
• Achieve efficiencies.
• Expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes.
• Strengthen the rural health care system as a whole.

The intent is that rural health networks will do the following:
• Expand access to care.
• Increase the use of health information technology.
• Explore alternative health care delivery models.
• Continue to achieve quality health care across the continuum of care.