EPA Smart Growth Webinars & Awards

EPA's Smart Growth Program will be hosting a webinar on Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grants  tomorrow, August 20. EPA’s Office of Water will also be hosting a webinar on Green Infrastructure and Smart Growth on September 3.

• Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grants: Opportunities to Align and Leverage Partnership Investments  – Wednesday, August 20, 2014, 1:00-2:00 Eastern  - Speakers from the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, the Environmental Health Coalition, Chicopee, Massachusetts, and National City, California will discuss how communities interested in area-wide planning can align their grant activities with other investments to advance their brownfields redevelopment goals.
• Green Infrastructure and Smart Growth  – Wednesday, September 3, 1:00-2:30 Eastern  - Speakers from EPA, the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Upstate Forever Communities will discuss how communities can leverage green infrastructure as part of broader smart growth initiatives. This webinar qualifies for 1.5 certification maintenance credits from the American Planning Association.
  

Learn more about these webinars and find instructions on how to attend at http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/webinars/index.html#webinars .

National Award for Smart Growth Achievement

The application deadline is approaching for the 2015 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. Public-sector, private-sector, and nonprofit organizations that have successfully used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically are encouraged to a pply by Friday, September 5, 5 p.m. Eastern .

Learn more on our awards page, http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm.

Wells Fargo Grants

THE WELLS FARGO REGIONAL FOUNDATION is offering grants dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and families living in low-income neighborhoods in Delaware, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. The Foundation offers the following two grant programs: Neighborhood Planning Grants of $25,000 to $100,000 to support intensive 12 to 24 month resident-driven neighborhood planning processes; application deadline for this program is 9/5/2014; and Neighborhood Implementation Grants of $100,000 to $750,000 over three to five years support comprehensive community development projects that target specific neighborhoods; application deadline 10/24/2014. Visit the Wells Fargo website here to learn more about both grant programs and to take the eligibility quiz.  

THE SEVENTH GENERATION FUND FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES Grant

THE SEVENTH GENERATION FUND FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES is offering grants in the following program areas: Arts and Cultural Expression, Environmental Health and Justice, Human Rights, Sustainable Communities, Intergenerational Leadership, and Women’s Leadership. Grants from $600 to $5,000 are provided to Native communities that address one or more of the Fund’s program areas.Deadline; 9/15/2014. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Fund’s website here.  

TD Charitable Foundation Grant

THE TD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION is offering grants of $100,000 to be awarded to nonprofits in support of neighborhood revitalization and stabilization efforts in communities throughout TD Bank's corporate footprint. Deadline to apply: 8/29/2014. Click here for more information and to apply.

HUD Main Street Grants

HUD is offering grants through the HOPE VI Main Street Grant Program to support small communities to assist in the renovation of an historic or traditional central business district or “Main Street” area by replacing unused commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units. The application deadline is 8/18/2014. Click here for program guidelines.  

HUD-Related Training Events/Conferences

Training Events and Conferences

Neighborhood Partnerships has developed a Messaging and Framing Toolkit for the National Housing Conference (NHC) that can help frame conversations for better understanding. Janet Byrd and Matt Kinshella of Neighborhood Partnerships will join NHC's Amy Clark for a webinar on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 2:00 PM ET to explain how science-based communications techniques can be beneficial and how you can incorporate the tools in your work. Register for the webinar here.

Policy Link will offer a webinar, “Growing and Funding Equitable Food Hubs: A Strategy for Improving Access to Healthy Food”, on Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 2:00 PM ET. Food hubs have gained momentum as an innovative retail strategy to expand healthy food access in low-income communities by creating direct linkages between food growers and producers and consumers. Click herefor details and to register.  

The Housing Assistance Council will hold a webinar on single- and multi-family affordable housing for veterans on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 2:00 PM ET. The webinar will introduce Patriot Place, a community targeted for veterans with a mix of affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for up to 75 households within a subdivision/neighborhood setting in Johnson County, Tennessee. Click here to register for the webinar.  

The Kansas Housing Conference will be held August 27-20, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, Kansas. The event will offer insights on hot topics affecting the affordable housing industry. To learn more and to register, click here.

AARP Foundation and the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University will release a new report about housing for America’s older adults on September 2, 2014 from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM in Washington, DC at the Washington Court Hotel. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population aged 50 and over will swell to 133 million by 2030, an increase of more than 70 percent since 2000. Housing will play a central role in the overall well-being of these older adults. Click here to learn more about the event and to register.  

The Virginia Housing Coalition will offer Virginia’s 2nd Annual Housing Credit ConferenceSeptember 3-4, 2014 at the Westin Hotel in Richmond. The purpose of the two day event is to educate and inform new and current tax credit practitioners about the latest trends and developments in the program in Virginia. To learn more about the event and to register, click here.

The 2014 HousingIowa Conference will be held at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown September 3-5, 2014. The event will offer a vast array of education sessions in three tracks: affordable rental, affordable homeownership and homelessness. Click here to visit the website for details.

Rural Community Assistance Corporation will offer a 502 Packaging Course that will cover USDA Rural Development’s (RD) Section 502 direct loan program and provide insight as to how this homeownership financing resource can be used in communities throughout the country. The training will be offered September 23-25, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. Click here for details.  

The 2014 Florida Institute on Homelessness and Supportive Housing will take place at The Rosen Centre Hotel, in Orlando, Florida October 1-3, 2014. The Institute brings together state and national experts who share their knowledge and expertise to help professionals, administrators, government officials, advocates, and others meet the challenge of providing quality, affordable, and accessible supportive housing. Click here for details and to register.

Toyota and Audubon Environmental Grants

TOYOTA AND AUDUBON are offering grants to nonprofits through the Toyota TogetherGreen Innovation Grants program. Grants of $5,000 to $80,000 are available to support creative and ambitious projects that engage diverse communities and find innovative solutions to environmental challenges. Deadline: 8/15/2014. Click here to review program guidelines.

USDA Funding and Financing Opportunities

USDA has announced that approximately $13 million in Farm Bill funding is now available for organic certification cost-share assistance, making certification more accessible for small certified producers and handlers. The certification assistance is distributed through two programs within the Agricultural Marketing Service. Through the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, $11.5 million is available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories. Through the Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, an additional $1.5 million is available to organic operations in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. For more information, click here.  

Greening Vacant Properties & Green Infrastructure Webinars

Check out the following webinars in August and September:

• Greening Vacant Properties - Wednesday, August 6, 2:00-3:30 Eastern - Speakers from EPA, Keep Growing Detroit, Detroit Future City, and the Warren/Conner Development Coalition will discuss how Detroit is using green strategies to revitalize its vacant properties.
• Flood Resilience and Recovery Assistance: Lessons Learned from Vermont – Wednesday, August 13, 1:00-2:30 Eastern - Speakers from EPA, FEMA, the state of Vermont, and the Mad River Valley Planning District will discuss smart growth strategies that can help communities prepare for and recover from floods.
• Green Infrastructure and Smart Growth – Wednesday, September 3, 1:00-2:30 Eastern - Speakers from EPA, the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Upstate Forever Communities will discuss how communities can leverage green infrastructure as part of broader smart growth initiatives.

Each webinar qualifies for certification maintenance credits from the American Planning Association.

Learn more about these webinars and find instructions on how to attend at http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/webinars/index.html#webinars.