Deadline: 01-Mar-2024
The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is excited to announce $200,000 in grant funding to support shovel-ready pollinator habitat enhancement projects on America’s Public Lands.
Habitat enhancement projects should directly support the creation, restoration, remediation, improvement, and/or protection of habitats for important pollinator species such as butterflies, bees, bats, and more. The project should directly impact pollinators on at least 200 acres of public land. Additionally, projects should incorporate community outreach and engagement activities designed to educate and empower the public to help enhance pollinator habitats.
Funding Information
- Applicants can request a minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $100,000 to be spent over a one-year period.
- Grants awarded: June 10, 2024
- Grant period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
Funding Priorities
- Habitat Enhancement Projects: Projects must implement on-the-ground activities designed to increase the quality, quantity, and connectivity of pollinator habitats. Applicants must define a step-by-step plan including site preparation, size of the project area, and description of target pollinator(s). Due to the time needed for large-scale habitat restoration projects, NEEF will consider proposals that are already underway or that propose a distinct piece of an existing restoration project. Conservation and habitat restoration activities should be varied and science-based. If preparing a proposal that includes collecting seeds or cultivating native seedlings, applicants should describe the intended use of the seed or seedlings, and it should only represent one piece of the project. For new projects, they must be shovel-ready, meaning ready to implement the proposed project within 3 months of the award date.
- Community Engagement: All project Proposals must provide opportunities for public engagement through education- or volunteer-focused events. Projects should aim to collaborate with a diverse group of community partners to achieve engagement and educational outcomes. Grantees will be required to report on the number of events implemented and the number of participants engaged during the grant period. Priority will be given to proposals that serve underrepresented audiences in the outdoors with an emphasis on serving communities marked disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
Project Metrics
- To better gauge progress on individual grants and to ensure greater consistency of project data provided by multiple grantees, NEEF has provided a list of project metrics. All applicants must commit to collecting and reporting on key project metrics listed below.
- Acres Enhanced
- Number of Acres
- Number of Acres Monarch Habitat
- Number of Individual Project Work Sites Monitored or Improved
- Biodiversity Enhanced
- Number of Pollinator Species Promoted
- Number of Imperiled Species Protected
- Number of Native Plant Species Installed
- Number of Milkweed Plants Installed
- Community Members Engaged
- Number of Individuals Engaged in Volunteer Activities
- Number of Individuals Engaged in Outreach Activities
- Number of Landowners Engaged
- Number of Toyota Employees Engaged
- Number of Individuals Directly Engaged from Underserved Communities
Eligibility Criteria
- Open to non-profit organizations, state or federal government agencies, federally recognized tribes and local governments, and educational institutions.
- Projects must be on public lands defined as any local, state, or federal government- or nonprofit-owned land that is accessible to the public for recreational use on a regular basis.
- Private for-profit firms and individuals are not eligible to apply.
- Grant funding may not be used to support political advocacy, fundraising, lobbying, litigation, terrorist activities, or Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
- NEEF will select one project out of the two to four finalists awarded who are within an hour’s drive of one of the following communities near Toyota Motor North America manufacturing and corporate sites: Long Beach, CA, Henderson, NV, Chandler, AZ, San Antonio, TX, Plano, TX, Troy, MO, Tupelo, MS, Huntsville, AL, Alpharetta, GA, Greensboro, NC, Georgetown, KY, Jackson, TN, Buffalo, WV, Evansville, IN, and Ann Arbor, MI. Projects across the country not within those markets are eligible for the remaining awards and are encouraged to apply.
For more information, visit NEEF.