Funding Opportunities Early May

Rifle Falls State Park . Flickr.com. Michael Levine-Clark. Photo taken: 9/28/2013

Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has a Small Grants Program for grassroots groups working on environmental health and justice issues. Grassroots communities of color, low wealth, rural and urban groups are encouraged to apply. A priority of CHEJ’s Small Grants Program is to help grassroots community groups to build their capacity. The program is designed to especially reach people from low wealth communities and communities of color who are impacted by environmental harms. Proposals are due May 6, 2019 and the project must be completed and a final report submitted by February 15, 2020. The grant application is different for different sized organizations. CLICK HERE for more information.

MAY 15th, 2019: ESPN RePlay Program RePlay is a national effort led by ESPN and Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC) to revitalize vacant spaces into places for sports, recreation, and play. With support from ESPN to provide grants for planning and implementation, along with LISC’s technical assistance to local, community-based groups and other qualified organizations, awardees can bring vitality back to local neighborhoods by creating courts, playgrounds, and other safe spaces for youth to play and communities to thrive. More information available HERE.

Great Outdoors Colorado offers Conservation Excellence Grants. Applications are due May 30th, 2019. Conservation Excellence grants foster exploration of pressing needs in today’s conservation community, including engaging local communities to support land conservation, the stewardship of orphaned conservation easements, collaboration among land trusts, and more. Find this funding opportunity HERE and see their full grant calendar HERE.

FY20 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Request for Proposals has been posted HERE. The deadline for proposals is 11:59 pm ET on June 10, 2019.  EPA will host an outreach webinar for those interested in applying for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. The webinar will be held on May 1, 2019 at 12:00 noon MST and can be accessed HERE.

PeopleForBikes Community Grant Application—Letters of interest due July 26, 2019 — The PeopleForBikes Community Grant Program provides funding for projects that build momentum for bicycling in communities across the U.S. Applications are accepted from nonprofit organizations, city or county agencies or departments, and from state or federal agencies working locally. Grant guidelines can be found HERE, and the online application can be found HERE.

The 2020 Drinking Water Revolving Fund and Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund eligibility survey process will open on May 1st, 2019 with a submittal deadline of June 30th, 2019. Surveys will be completed and submitted through the Colorado Environmental Online Services (CEOS) system.

Get Your 2019 Project Funded. Are you planning, designing, or implementing on-the-ground restoration projects that will restore river flows and/or recharge ground water? Would you like the opportunity to share your projects with businesses who may be interested in providing support for your projects? If the answer is “Yes!” be sure to check out the Business for Water Stewardship Project Bank, a new opportunity for paid members of River Network to use a national platform to attract funding.

US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program. This program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas. Full details, including requirements and registration, can be found HERE. 

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Water Quality Planning Design and Engineering Grants. These grants provide money to small communities to help cover costs associated with the State Revolving Fund pre-application requirements. Grants require a 20 percent match from the applicant. Planning grant applicants must complete the prequalification form and attend a pre-application meeting. Design and engineering grant applicants will be considered by project needs assessment submissions by approved disadvantaged communities. For more information CLICK HERE.

Colorado's Water Plan Grant Opportunities: The purpose of the Water Plan Grant funding is to make progress on the critical actions identified in the Colorado’s Water Plan (CWP) and its Measurable Objectives. All applications will be assessed based on funds available for a particular CWP Measurable Objective category. The Board will select projects, programs and activities to fund from applications that have the best opportunity to make progress on the CWP’s Measurable Objectives or critical actions. The CWCB staff reserves the right to negotiate with successful applicants to modify the scope and budget of their project to better meet the CWP objectives in light of fund availability. CWCB staff will evaluate applications and recommend projects to the CWCB Board for final approval at its regularly scheduled Board meetings. Learn more HERE.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), provided through the Natural Resource Conservation Service, is a voluntary conservation program that helps agricultural producers in a manner that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible goals. Through EQIP, agricultural producers receive financial and technical assistance to implement structural and management conservation practices that optimize environmental benefits on working agricultural land. EQIP applications are accepted on a continuous basis, however, NRCS establishes application "cut-off" or submission deadline dates for evaluation, ranking and approval of eligible applications. EQIP is open to all eligible agricultural producers and submitted applications may be considered or evaluated in multiple funding pool opportunities. Look for the next opportunity in August 2019. To learn more CLICK HERE.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Supply Reserve Account (WSRA) Program provides grants and loans to assist Colorado water users in addressing their critical water supply issues and interests. The funds help eligible entities complete water activities, which may include competitive grants for: Technical assistance regarding permitting, feasibility studies and environmental compliance; Studies or analysis of structural, nonstructural consumptive and nonconsumptive water needs, projects or activities; and structural and nonstructural water projects or activities.

What type of Water Supply Reserve Fund Grants are available?

Basin Account: Funds water activities from a basin roundtable. The CWCB evaluates applications for the Basin Account to ensure the Threshold Criteria are met.

Statewide Account: Funds water activities from a basin roundtable on a competitive basis. The CWCB evaluates applications for the Statewide Account to ensure each application meets the Threshold Criteria in addition to being evaluated using the Evaluation Criteria.

For more information click HERE.

Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Efficiency Grant Program. The Water Efficiency Grant Program provides financial assistance to communities, water providers, and eligible agencies for water conservation-related activities and projects. Eligible entities, as well as state and local governments and agencies, can receive funding to develop water conservation and drought plans, implement water conservation goals outlined in a water conservation plan and educate the public about water conservation.
Types of Water Efficiency Grants available - Click on programs below for more information about each and how to apply:

RiversEdge West has a list of riparian restoration funding opportunities maintained by the Tamarisk Coalition. For the list, click HERE.

Alliance for Community Trees—Request for Projects, no deadline— The Arbor Day Foundation is actively seeking proposals to fund planting projects around the country. Funding is limited to $15,000 per project, and budget information is required in the application. Applications should also focus on the issues the planting project will address, such as: urban heat island effect, natural disaster restoration, low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, water quality, air pollution, etc. More information on this funding opportunity can be found HERE.