The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is seeking applications for its 2025 Acres for America Grant.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: Puerto Rico
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/20/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Program Priorities
- Preferential consideration will be given to proposals that can demonstrate their ability to achieve more than one of the program priorities below:
- Conserve critical habitats for birds, fish, plants and wildlife
- Connect existing protected lands to unify wild places and protect critical migration routes
- Provide access for people to enjoy the outdoors
- Ensure the future of local economies that depend on forestry, ranching, wildlife and recreation
- To be competitive for funding through the Acres for America program, land acquisitions and conservation easements should address the following criteria:
- Conservation Criteria:
- Project Scale and Program Priorities. Projects should protect or contribute to the protection of significant acres of land, address one or more of the program priorities, and meet the other criteria below. The common characteristics of all Acres for America projects is that they are of a size that is significant for the landscape in which they are located, and/or they have exceptional strategic importance for conservation in the region.
- National or State Conservation Priority. Endorsement by appropriate federal, state, and local government agencies that the acquisition is of high conservation value is a primary consideration. Please make note if the project is part of published conservation plans (e.g., North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Partners in Flight, etc.), State Wildlife Action Plans or Endangered Species Act Recovery Plans. Activities referenced in a NFWF business plan or a well-developed, comprehensive conservation strategy targeting those geographies/species will be most competitive. Natural Heritage rankings for key species present on the site are an important consideration when available. Endorsement by non-profit conservation organizations that the acquisition is of high conservation value using same criteria as above is also a primary consideration. Letters of support from agencies and organizations should be available for review at the full proposal stage.
- Benefit Local Communities and Economies. Projects that can demonstrate the connection between the land acquisition and related benefits to local economies are preferred. For example, projects could help expand tourism or recreational economies, or contribute to community forestry. Applicants are encouraged to estimate the economic benefits that are expected as a result of the project (i.e., number of jobs sustained or created).
- Protect Critical Fish and Wildlife Species. Important fish, wildlife and/or plant resources, such as endangered species or areas of significant biological diversity, as identified by conservation agencies or organizations, should be conserved through the acquisition. Quantification of resources is important (e.g., 10 percent of the state’s bald eagles nest at the site vs. bald eagles nest at the site.)
- Expand Wildlife Connectivity. Acquisitions that reduce fragmentation of key habitats, expand and enhance wildlife corridors and contribute to larger landscape-scale conservation efforts are preferred over isolated acquisitions.
- Expand Public Access to Nature. Projects that provide public access for people to enjoy and experience the outdoors, recreate, and connect with nature are preferred. It must be clearly stated in the grant application what the uses are, or will be allowed or not allowed (e.g., hunting, nature observation, ATV use, camping, etc.). It also should be indicated whether by acquiring this land public access will be improved to neighboring parcels. NFWF understands that conservation easement projects may have difficulty satisfying this criterion, and that species conservation and public access may not be accomplished on the same property. This does not disqualify conservation easements from consideration.
- Provide a Range of Ecological Services. Please indicate if the project can demonstrate or even quantify the ecological services provided or protected through land protection (i.e., securing drinking water sources, or protecting stream flow for aquatic resources, carbon sequestration).
- Under Threat of Conversion. Please demonstrate the threats to the property and what would happen if the property is not conserved (i.e., risk of area being converted to alternate land cover, or area is zoned to allow for conversion of habitat to an alternate land use, or whether there is a competing buyer, etc.). Examples from the local landscape are helpful.
Funding Information
Up to $4 million will be available to support projects in 2025.
Geographic Focus
Acres for America is a nationwide program. Since its inception, 127 projects have been funded in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Tribal governments and organizations, and educational institutions
- Ineligible applicants include U.S. Federal government agencies, businesses, unincorporated individuals, and international organizations.
For more information, visit NFWF.
