The Community Challenge Grant Program focuses on activities to encourage and promote citizen involvement in supporting long-term and sustainable urban and community forestry programs at the local level.
Donor Name: Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management
State: Arizona
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/12/2023
Size of the Grant: $20,000 – $50,000
Grant Duration: 1 year
Details:
Urban and Community Forestry is a cooperative program that focuses on the stewardship of urban natural resources, and this program is designed to encourage projects that promote tree planting, the care of trees, the protection and enhancement of urban and community forest ecosystems, and education on tree issues in cities, towns, and communities across the nation. Community Challenge Grants are awarded through this program to encourage and promote citizen involvement in creating and supporting long-term and sustainable urban and community forestry programs at the local level.
In evaluating grant proposals, consideration will be given to projects that:
- Improve understanding of the benefits of protecting, maintaining, and preserving tree cover.
- Promote volunteerism, multi-cultural awareness, and involvement of nonprofit organizations, agencies, and the private sector in implementing urban and community forestry programs.
- Increase the number of communities assisted through technology transfer, training, and education in tree care or urban natural resource management.
- Increase the number of partnerships and cooperators in urban and community forestry activities through technical, financial, and in-kind support.
- Increase the number of communities given technical, financial, or other forms of urban and community forestry assistance (i.e. tree inventories, tree board establishment, ordinance development, management plans, or infrastructure).
- Enhance the technical skills of individuals involved in the planning, developing, and maintaining urban and community forestry programs.
- Expand existing research intended to improve understanding of southwestern (a) tree growth and maintenance, tree physiology and morphology, and species adaptations; and (b) the role of urban trees in conserving energy and mitigating the urban heat island.
Grant Theme
Cultural and historical use and value of trees; historic tree preservation; or maintaining connections to historically important trees that are no longer standing.
Program Objectives
The Community Challenge Grants are to be used to promote and enhance the quality of Arizona’s urban and community forests. Research project funding is provided as seed dollars. Projects should be aimed at improving the long-term health and care of the urban forest or at initiating new urban forestry projects in Arizona communities that would not otherwise be funded through existing budgets.
Projects Categories
- Category 1 – Information and Education
- Arbor Day programs
- Workshops/seminars with an urban forestry emphasis
- Urban forestry reference library development or enhancement
- Arborist and tree worker training classes
- Urban forestry youth programs or education
- Category 2 – Planning
- Planning or management document development (e.g., Street-tree Master Plan, Urban Forest Strategic Management Plan)
- Tree ordinance development or revision
- Efforts toward becoming an approved Tree City USA community
- Community forest management or shade master plans
- Urban Forestry Board or commission development
- Category 3 – Community and Natural Resources Management
- Asset Management (that includes urban trees)
- Tree inventories (including protocol development)
- Canopy inventories (including protocol development)
- Category 4 – Maintenance
- Hazard tree evaluation, removal, and replacement
- Contract pruning using the International Society of Arboriculture standards
- Tree and sidewalk conflict resolution with an emphasis on tree-preservation
- Risk Management programs
- Category 5 – Demonstration Projects
- Technology transfer
- Tree habitat implementation and restoration projects
- Market-driven Forest Fire Hazard Reduction in urban-rural interface areas
- Category 6 – Climate Change Resiliency
- Strategies that build urban forest resiliency
- Urban forest vulnerability mapping (related to drought, flooding, and other climate change impacts)
- Category 7 – Assessment
- Expansion of existing assessments intended to improve understanding of tree growth and maintenance, tree physiology and morphology, and species adaptations in Arizona.
- Projects that further explain the role of urban trees in human health, conserving energy, and mitigating the urban heat island.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $145,000.00
- Award Maximum: $50,000.00
- Award Minimum: $15,000.00
- Typical Granting Range: $20,000 – $50,000
Project Period
January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024
Eligibility Criteria
- Units of local government (counties, municipalities, cities, towns, and townships)
- Tribal governments
- Non-profit organizations with 501(c)3 status
- Public educational institutions
For more information, visit ADFFM.
