Deadline: 01-Mar-2025
The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program’s (SBEP) Sarasota Bay Partners Grants program is to improve the overall quality of Sarasota-Manatee area bays, their tributaries, and their watersheds and to promote environmental education and community involvement in SBEP’s mission.
Priority Areas
- In response to a year of persistent extreme weather, the Sarasota Bay Partners Grant Committee has identified the following priority issues for 2025:
- Coastal cleanup initiatives.
- Community-led projects that reduce pollution, conserve water and energy, or promote community health.
Categories
- Habitat Restoration and Water Quality
- Installing rain gardens and bioswales to filter runoff from impervious surfaces
- Diverting gutter downspouts from impervious surfaces to planter boxes, garden beds, or other permeable areas, or to rainwater harvesting systems like rain barrels and cisterns
- Installing native plants or trees near waterbodies
- Bay-Related Environmental Education and Community Stewardship
- Environmental education programs that incorporate principles of best practices in environmental education, such as those developed by the North American Association for Environmental Education
- Producing educational programs, videos, or signage
- Community science monitoring and restoration programs
- School or college environmental club service or outreach projects
- Neighborhood engagement campaigns to encourage Bay-friendly behaviors
Funding Information
- $80,000 is available for 2025 Bay Partners Grants awards.
- A maximum amount of $10,000 may be awarded to each applicant.
Eligible Costs
- Allowed Reimbursable Costs:
- Materials and supplies – e.g. plants, mulch, signage, etc.
- Professional services – those directly involved in the project, such as landscaping and graphic design services.
- Salary of Lead Organization employees – limited to 25% of total grant award.
- Indirect costs – limited to 10% of direct costs in grant award.
- Equipment – Rental for sole use of grant work; maintenance and repair only to keep in operating order for life of grant. Purchasing of equipment only in certain circumstances detailed in application and decided upon by Grant Review Committee. Applicants that propose equipment purchases greater than $1,000 must include at least three quotes.
- Meetings and Conferences – Hosting, if clearly defined in grant application budget. Attendance costs are not allowed.
- Food – allowed for scheduled meetings and volunteer and education events. Per person costs must include items such as drinks, utensils, etc., and use of reusable or compostable materials is highly encouraged. Food/meals not associated with a scheduled event will not be reimbursed. Food cost shall not exceed:
- $6 per person for breakfast,
- $11 per person for lunch,
- 10% of total grant budget.
- All costs must result from work performed solely for the grant.
Ineligible Costs
- Unallowed costs include, but are not limited to:
- Entertainment
- Memberships
- Computer software
- Hardware and supplies
- Contingency funds
- Contributions and donations
- Depreciation
- Gifts
- Regulations
- Code enforcements
- Fines and penalties
- Bad debts
- Interest and financial costs of borrowing
- Pre-payments
- Legislative expenses
- Payment to association members
- Unexpended funds
- Attendance at conferences and meetings
Ineligible Projects
- Ineligible projects include, but are not limited to:
- Projects on private property owned by an individual
- Projects that do not include a community outreach or involvement component
- Adding or repairing walls, fish ponds, swimming pools, patios, decks, benches, light fixtures, road signs, artificial turf, or any other non-natural feature
- Ongoing administrative support of established programs
- Lobbying activities
- Projects related to compliance, regulation, code enforcement, mitigation, or penalties
- Projects that use invasive plant species identified on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC)
Eligibility Criteria
- Non-profit organizations, schools, civic associations, religious organizations, neighborhood and homeowners’ associations, businesses, colleges and universities, and local governments located in the Sarasota Bay watershed are eligible to receive funding for projects that will benefit Sarasota Bay.
- A federal employer identification number (FEID) or state tax exemption is required for issuance of a purchase order for disbursement of grant funds. Funds will not be awarded to individuals.
For more information, visit SBEP.
