Request for Proposals for Chesapeake WILD Grants Program 2026 - fundsforNGOs

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is soliciting proposals through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF) to advance voluntary actions to restore, conserve, and connect fish and wildlife habitat of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams.

Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)

State: Selected States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/09/2026

Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000

Grant Duration: 3 Years

Details:

NFWF will award funding through three distinct funding opportunities:

WILD Implementation grants of $75,000 to $500,000 will be awarded for projects that result in direct and measurable on-the-ground actions to restore, conserve, and connect fish and wildlife habitats.
WILD Collaborative Conservation grants of up to $200,000 will be awarded for projects that support and enhance the capacity of partnerships, networks, and other collaborative models working collaboratively to advance place-based, landscape-scale, and cross-jurisdictional habitat restoration, conservation, and connectivity outcomes.
WILD Planning and Technical Assistance (PTA) grants of up to $75,000 will be awarded for projects that help advance future on-the-ground actions to restore, conserve, and connect fish and wildlife habitats and related conservation benefits in the Bay watershed through community-based assessment, planning, design, and other technical assistance-oriented activities.

Priorities

Pillar 1: Fish and Wildlife Habitat
- All proposals must measurably address Pillar 1: Fish and Wildlife Habitat by advancing voluntary actions to restore, conserve, and/or connect important Chesapeake Bay watershed habitats, particularly for imperiled fish and wildlife species.
Wild Program Pillar 2: Clean Water
- Partners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have worked for decades to address nutrient and sediment pollution impacting the health of the Bay’s estuarine habitats, most notably through the efforts of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership.
Wild Program Pillar 3: Nature-Based Solutions
- Enhance the ability of Chesapeake Bay living resources to adapt to changing landscape conditions using nature-based solutions that restore or expand natural features, such as coastal marshes and wetlands, forests, forested stream buffers, and floodplains, which minimize the impacts of storms and other naturally occurring events on human communities and benefit fish and wildlife.
Wild Program Pillar 4: Public Access
- Because of its location within a densely populated part of the country, the Chesapeake Bay watershed offers diverse mountains-to-sea outdoor recreation opportunities to millions of people.
Wild Program Pillar 5: Community Partnerships
- A healthy and connected network of lands and waters across the watershed requires investment in building the skills, knowledge, and expertise of organizations, communities, and people to engage in and support conservation actions that restore, conserve, and steward living resources.

Project Period

Chesapeake WILD Implementation grants should be completed within three years of award, Chesapeake WILD Collaborative Conservation grants should be completed within two years of award, and Chesapeake WILD Planning and Technical Assistance grants should be completed within 18 months of award.

Eligibility Criteria