The Chi–Cal Rivers Fund (Fund) is inviting applications for competitive grant funding with a focus on the major waterways of the Chicago and Calumet region, the program will award grants to reduce stormwater runoff with green infrastructure, enhance fish and wildlife habitat and improve public access to and use of natural areas.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
States: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 07/25/2022
Grant Size: $150,000 to $350,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The Fund achieves its impact by supporting projects focused on three goals:
- enhancing fish and wildlife habitat;
- reducing stormwater runoff with green infrastructure; and
- improving public-use opportunities and access to natural areas.
Funding Categories
With an emphasis along the major waterways of the system, the Fund will award grants in the following three categories.
- Habitat Quality: Funding in this category will support riparian, in-stream, upland and wetland habitat improvements along or near the major waterways of the system.
- Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Funding in this category will support green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects that improve stormwater capture and storage to mitigate the impacts of climate change, including reducing runoff, combined sewer overflows, basement backups, and flooding through nature-based design.
- Public Access: Funding in this category will support the creation of new and or/enhancement of interventions designed to improve public access and connectivity to, understanding, and use of natural areas in close proximity to the major waterways of the system.
Program funding priorities for all funding categories
- Equity and Inclusion: The Fund desires to support projects that meaningfully engage and benefit low-income and communities of color throughout the greater Chicago region and northwest Indiana. The Fund recognizes that these communities are often disproportionately impacted by climate change and associated environmental issues of special concern for the Fund, including stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows and associated flooding and access to safe public greenspace and natural areas.
- Monitoring and Long-Term Maintenance: To help ensure project benefits will be sustained through time, grantees will be required to present or develop plans that address project site operation and management needs for at least five (5) years after project completion. The plans should describe anticipated actions needed (maintenance schedules and tasks to be completed at scheduled intervals), access to or ownership of equipment needed to maintain project sites cost estimates, sources of funding to support long-term maintenance plan, long-term partners, parties responsible for implementation and oversight training needs and the applicant’s and partners’ capacity for long-term stewardship of the project.
Funding Information
- Approximately $1.6 million is expected to be available for grant awards. Individual grants typically range from $150,000 to $350,000.
- Anticipated completion time funded for projects will typically be two (2) years or two field seasons following finalization of a grant agreement.
- The start date indicated in an application should not precede November 11, 2022.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, tribal governments and organizations, and educational institutions. To be competitive, applicant organizations must demonstrate capacity and experience commensurate with the scale of the project being proposed and the funding being requested.
For more information, visit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
