Funding Opportunities for Local Monitoring Groups
Funding may be the single most important thing to help you initiate and continue to support a local volunteer monitoring program. To help you along, we provide a short description, contact information, and links (when available) to funding opportunities that may be helpful to support your local monitoring effort. The list is not comprehensive of all potential funding sources for local monitoring efforts, nor does inclusion on the list indicate endorsement of an organization by the WAV program.
If you have information to share about a grant opportunity, consider joining the list server for Wisconsin volunteer stream monitoring and posting the announcement to the list.
Funding opportunities for local monitoring programs:
- Boat U.S. Foundation Clean Water Grants
- C.D. Besadny Conservation Grants Program
- E.P.A.'s Region 5 Environmental Education Program Grants
- Fundsnet Online Services listing of online educational-related grant sources
- Greater Milwaukee Foundation
- North American Association for Environmental Education's list of environmental education grants
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources River Protection Grants (pdf file)
- Wisconsin Environmental Education Board Grant Program
- Federal Grants List
- Grant Program for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS).
- Freshwater Future Grants
- Citizen-based Monitoring Partnership Program
- ESRI-sponsored Grants
- EPA Watershed Funding homepage
Deadline to submit applications is February 1, 2006
Boat U.S. Foundation Clean Water Grants fund projects that educate boaters about cleaner boating habits. Grants are open to nonprofit community groups with proposals that address issues such as petroleum pollution prevention, pump-out education, and littering prevention. This year, Clean Fueling of Boats is the special grant focus topic, so projects that teach boaters cleaner habits at the fuel dock will be given special consideration. Groups can request up to $4000. To download an application, see photos of past grant projects, or read FAQ about Clean Water Grants, please visit http://www.boatus.com/cleanwater/grants/.
Deadline to submit applications is January 15
This grants program, supported by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and WI Energy Corporation Foundation, provides financial support for small-scale, grass-roots projects that focus on natural resources. Grants are in the range of $100 to $1000. For an application and more details, visit the program website, call 608-266-1430 or toll-free at 866-264-4096 or email info@wisconservation.org
Deadlines vary
These grants provide funding for environmental education programs and projects. Non-profit groups, schools and universities, and state agencies are eligible. In the past grants of up to $25,000 have been awarded. At this time (October 2003), it is unknown if funding will be available in 2004 for environmental education grants. Visit the EPA's website about environmental education grants for more details.
Deadlines vary
For those with an interest in more in depth searching, this site maintains a listing of online funding resources for use by non-profits, colleges and universities. Topics and levels of support vary between organizations that are listed. Visit the Fundsnet Online Services website or their list of educational-related funding sources for more information.
Deadlines vary
This organization provides funding for several focus areas to groups within Washington, Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Milwaukee Counties of Wisconsin. Focus areas include (among others) youth development, environment and education. For more information, visit the Great Milwaukee Foundation's website or call them at 414-272-5805.
Deadlines vary
NAAEE maintains a listing of grants that are targeted towards environmental education. Please visit the NAAEE website to see current postings.
Deadline to submit applications is May 1
These grants provide funding to help local organizations and units of government protect and improve rivers and river ecosystems. The grants help river management organizations to form and provide support for local groups to manage river resources. River planning grants are for up to $10,000 and river management grants are for up to $50,000. Interested parties should speak to their local River Grants representative before completing an application. Visit the Rivers Program website to learn more about the grants program or to find a local contact in your area.
Deadline to submit applications is mid-January
WEEB grants provide funding for environmental education program development, dissemination, and implementation. There are several categories of awards, including general (up to $5000), mini (up to $1000), forestry (up to $20,000), school forests (up to $25,000), and focus on energy (up to $20,000) grants. For an application and more details visit the program website, call 715-346-3805, or email weeb@uwsp.edu
Deadlines vary
According to the website: "This site gives grantors a means to post solicitations for grants. It also gives applicants a single site for obtaining these solicitations." The program website is: www.grants.gov
Deadlines are February 1 and August 1 of each year.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has established procedures to award cost-sharing grants to public and private entities for up to 50% of the costs of projects to control invasive species. Amendments in 2003 (Act 33) increased the lake protection grant appropriation (motorboat fuel tax) by $500,000 each fiscal year and directed these funds be made available to units of local government and others for grants to control aquatic invasive species. INformation about the program is available at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cfa/Grants/Lakes/invasivespecies.html
Deadlines vary
(from their website:) The mission of Freshwater Future is to foster and support a vital, effective grassroots sector working locally to protect aquatic habitats throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Freshwater Future provides financial resources, shares information, and fosters communication between citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats. The Freshwater Future grants program is designed to increase the ability of grassroots groups and individuals to succeed in advocacy projects to protect rivers, lakes, and wetlands in their areas. Advocacy work, as defined here, involves local community members actively promoting aquatic habitat protection by influencing community and/or individual behavior or opinion, corporate conduct, and/or public policy.
Freshwater Future has several grants programs designed to further this goal. Each addresses a different need of grassroots activists.
* Project Grants Program-provides funding to grassroots organizations engaging in advocacy activities to protect local lakes, rivers and wetlands
* Technical Assistance Grants Program-supports grassroots organizations in hiring qualified experts to provide strategy assistance or aid in organizational development
* Special Opportunity Grants Program-offers emergency funding for grassroots projects
Visit their website for more information: http://www.glhabitat.org/grants.html
Deadline for 2008 TBA
The WI Department of Natural Resources helps support citizen-based monitoring initiatives in the state through its Partnership Program. Information about this program can be obtained at: http://cbm.wiatri.net/Partnership/
ESRI, a world-leader in geographic information systems (GIS), sponsors a number of grant programs and their website also highlights other related grants that are available to schools and/or citizens groups. The ESRI-sponsored grants provide free software, hardware, and training bundles to recipients.
Deadlines vary
Up to $15 million of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for Conservation Innovation Grants (CIGs) are available. CIG applications should demonstrate the use of innovative technologies or innovative approaches, or both, to address a natural resource concern or concerns. The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production.
Geographic information system (GIS) technology can be a very strong tool in the allowable areas of water resources, soil resources, atmospheric resources, grazing land and forest health, and wildlife habitat.
Examples of ESRI GIS software solutions for these grants and full grant guidelines are provided at the following website:http://www.esri.com/grants/index.html, accessible by registering or updating your information on the ESRI Grant Notification System, selecting the Submit button at the bottom of the registration page, and downloading the Sample Text document.
For additional information about GIS solutions for this grant, please contact ESRI's grant coordinator at 208-898-3447 or grantcoord@esri.com.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created this Web site to provide tools, databases, and information about sources of funding to practitioners and funders that serve to protect watersheds.
XV. Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
2008-2009 Coastal Management Grant Program
Approximately $1,500,000 is available through the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) to enhance and restore coastal resources within the state’s coastal zone – all counties adjacent to Lakes Superior and Michigan, with their 820 miles of shoreline.
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