The Chesapeake Bay Trust (Trust) is a nonprofit, grant-making organization dedicated to improving the bays, streams, rivers, forests, parks, and other natural resources of the local systems, from the Chesapeake to the Coastal Bays to the Youghiogheny River.
Donor Name: Chesapeake Bay Trust
State: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 02/27/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The Trust, supported in large part by Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay License Plate, and partnerships with other regional funders, engages and empowers diverse groups to take actions that enrich natural resources and local communities of the Chesapeake Bay region. Since 1985, the Trust has awarded over $190 million in grants to municipalities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and public agencies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Many communities and populations in the Mid-Atlantic face numerous challenges due to historic and contemporary structural segregation in the form of unequal policies and practices like redlining and zoning laws. This has led to disproportionate burdens in these communities such as traffic proximity and volume, high rates of asthma, lack of green space, proximity to hazardous waste facilities, abandoned mine lands, and projected flood risk.
A just community forestry and tree stewardship effort that integrates environmental, climate, and energy justice is a powerful tool to improve the health of the Mid-Atlantic region. Increasing tree canopy improves local air and water quality, cools neighborhoods, fosters public health, stimulates local green jobs, encourages community cohesion, mitigates flooding and its adverse effects, and strengthens the Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants.
Types of Tracks
- Track 1: Environmental Justice Organization Capacity Building: Request up to $100,000
- Track 2: Tree Canopy for Resiliency and Public Health
- Track 3: Workforce Development in Community Forestry: Request up to $200,000.
Grant Period
In most cases, the implementation phase should be completed within 12 months upon award receipt, with 2 years of planned and budgeted maintenance, leading to 3-year award durations.
Eligible Project Locations
The intent of this program is to address environmental justice issues through forestry-related projects that directly resource and engage overburdened communities. Projects must occur in areas with environmental justice concerns in DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, and WV.
Eligibility Criteria
The Foundation welcomes requests only from tax-exempt or fiscally sponsored organizations including, but not limited to:
- Non-profit organizations
- Community and neighborhood associations
- Counties and municipalities
- Fiscally sponsored community-based organizations
- Faith-based institutions
- Federally recognized tribes
- Forest conservancy district boards
- Indigenous-led and tribal non-profit organizations
- Institutions of higher education
- Schools
- Service, youth, and civic groups
- By submitting an application to this program, applicants acknowledge that:
- They are compliant with federal employment and non-discrimination laws.
- They have not been debarred, convicted, charged or had a civil judgment rendered against them for fraud or related offense by any government agency (federal, state or local) or been terminated for cause or default by any government agency (federal, state, or local).
- In addition, all final products will be provided to the funding partners for use and distribution at the sole discretion of the funding partners.
For more information, visit Chesapeake Bay Trust.
