The Chi–Cal Rivers Fund (Fund) is inviting applications for competitive grant funding. With a focus on the major waterways of the Chicago and Calumet region, the program will award grants to reduce stormwater runoff with nature-based infrastructure, enhance the quality and connectivity of fish and wildlife habitat, and activate restored habitats through public access improvements and community engagement.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
State: Illinois and Indiana
City: Selected Cities
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/05/2026
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is committed to operating in full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and Executive Orders.
Categories
The Fund will award grants in the following three categories.
- Improve Habitat Quality and Connectivity
- Expand and Maintain Nature-Based Solutions to Improve Stormwater Storage
- Activate Restored Habitats and Natural Areas
Grant Period
2 years
Qualifications
- Organizational capacity: Applicant organization demonstrates capacity and experience commensurate with the scale of the project being proposed and the funding requested.
- Funding need: Project establishes a clear need for the funds being requested and demonstrates that activities would not move forward absent funding.
- Partnerships: An appropriate partnership exists to implement the project, and the project is supported by a strong local partnership that leverages additional funds and will sustain it after the life of the grant. Identify proposed partners, if known (including potential or contemplated subawards to third party subrecipients of the applicant), the roles they will play in implementing the project, and how this project will build new or enhance existing partnerships. (Note: a project partner is any local community, nonprofit organization, tribe, and/or local, state, and federal government agency that contributes to the project in a substantial way and is closely involved in the completion of the project.)
- Past success: Project team has a proven track record of success in implementing practices with specific, measurable results.
Eligibility criteria
Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, tribal governments and organizations, and educational institutions. To be competitive, applicant organizations must demonstrate capacity and experience commensurate with the scale of the project being proposed and the funding being requested
Ineligibility
Ineligible applicants include federal government agencies, unincorporated individuals, and for-profit businesses.
For more information, visit NFWF.
