The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals under the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants program to accelerate the rate and scale of water quality improvements through the implementation of best management practices that cost-effectively reduce nutrient and sediment pollution to local rivers and streams and the Chesapeake Bay.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
States: New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 11/03/2022
Grant Size: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership, is soliciting proposals through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund to restore water quality and habitats of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams.
Program Priorities
As the CBP partnership advances the critical phase of implementation efforts under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), INSR program partners are intentionally targeting funding towards the accelerated implementation of proven water quality improvement practices2 and approaches necessary to achieve remaining pollution reductions by the TMDL’s 2025 deadline. The desired result of INSR funding is a measurable increase in the rate and/or scale of implementation for priority water quality improvement practices, as identified through the Chesapeake Bay TMDL and associated Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs), in a defined regional project focus or service area.
For both INSR Partnership Grants and INSR Infrastructure Grants, and consistent with broader goals to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in Chesapeake Bay habitat restoration and conservation efforts, NFWF will prioritize proposals from applicants that have directly and meaningfully engaged local communities in the identification, prioritization, selection, and implementation of proposed actions. Examples of direct and meaningful engagement include:
- Project are co-created with community members
- Empowering community members with knowledge or decision-making authority
- Ensuring that the project team includes members representing and/or a part of the community
- Including specific, active engagement strategies such as workshops, classroom activities, field trips and volunteer opportunities
- Addressing a specific and localized harm such as pollution, flooding, fires, etc.
- Creating jobs in the target community or performing job training and certification
- Directly engaging in specific cultural activities with the community
Funding Information
NFWF will award up to $30 million in grants through the INSR program in 2023, including up to $10 million for INSR Partnership Grants and up to $20 million for INSR Infrastructure Grants. Awards will range from $500,000 to $1 million each, for an estimated 20-40 individual grant awards. INSR Partnership Grants require non-federal matching contributions equal to the grant request. Non-federal match is encouraged but not required for INSR Infrastructure Grants. All 2023 INSR grants must be completed within three years of grant award. All proposed projects must begin on or after April 1,2023 to facilitate necessary grant contracting and quality assurance activities.
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 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
