More
than $1 billion in funding and technical assistance is available for state,
local, and tribal governments from the U.S. Economic Development Administration
(EDA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Agriculture (USDA), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that can be used to
support climate and energy initiatives, including economic development,
sustainable communities, green infrastructure, and water efficiency. For full
eligibility and application details, please visit the links provided
below.
In
addition, please visit the calendar of 2014
EPA grant opportunities that may be of particular interest to
communities.
DOE
Climate Action Champions Program – Funding Amount TBD
- Applications Due: October 27, 2014
- Eligible Entities: county, city, township, and tribal governments
DOE
is seeking to highlight between 10 and 15 local governments and tribal
governments—or regional collaborations or consortia thereof—that demonstrate a
strong and ongoing commitment to implementing strategies that both reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience, with a particular
emphasis on strategies that further both goals. The program is also intended to
provide recognized entities with additional opportunities for financial and
technical assistance, as well as facilitated peer-to-peer networking
opportunities and mentorship, to support and advance their greenhouse gas
emissions reduction and climate resilience objectives.
For
more information, visit the request for
applications.
EDA
FY14 Regional Innovation Grants – $15 million
- Applications Due: November 3, 2014
- Eligible Entities: county, city, township, tribal, and state governments; public/private institutions of higher education; nonprofits; special district governments
EDA
is seeking applications for three programs that develop regional innovation
strategies: the i6 Challenge ($8 million available), Science and Research Park
Development Grants ($5 million available), and Cluster Grants for Seed Capital
Funds ($2 million available). The i6 Challenge aims to commercialize
innovations, ideas, intellectual property and research into viable companies;
the Science and Research Park Development Grants seek to provide research hubs
and increase regional competitiveness; and the Cluster Grants for Seed Capital
Funds are intended to create sustainable financing institutions for
innovation-based startups. Science and Research Park Development Grant
applications in the field of energy efficient building technologies, renewable
energy, and cogeneration can receive extra consideration.
For
more information, visit the funding
opportunity description.
USDA
FY14 Rural Community Development Initiative – $6 million
- Applications Due: November 12, 2014
- Eligible Entities: private, non-profit (including faith-based and community organizations and philanthropic organizations), or public (including tribal) organizations that provide financial and technical assistance to multiple recipients
USDA
is making available funds to develop the capacity and ability of qualified
private, non-profit community-based housing and community development
organizations, low-income rural communities, and federally recognized Native
American tribes to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities,
or community and economic development in rural areas. Applications that consider
technical assistance for the development of renewable energy systems and energy
efficiency improvements can receive additional consideration.
For
more information, visit the funding
opportunity description.
NOAA
Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise Program – $800,000
- Applications Due: November 18, 2014
- Eligible Entities: institutions of higher education; non-profits; state, local, and tribal governments; commercial organizations; U.S. territories; and federal agencies
NOAA
is seeking applications to support management of regional and local ecosystem
effects of sea level rise and coastal inundation through targeted research on
key technologies, natural and nature-based infrastructure, physical and
biological processes, and model evaluation. The funding is intended to integrate
dynamic physical and biological processes with sea level rise and coastal
inundation to improve the prediction of coastal ecosystem effects to enable
enhanced coastal resiliency.
For
more information, visit the funding
opportunity description.
EPA
Environmental Justice Small Grants Program – $1.2
million
- Applications Due: December 15, 2014
- Eligible Entities: tribal governments, non-profits
EPA
is making available funding to support activities designed to empower and
educate communities to understand environmental and public health issues and to
identify ways to address these issues at the local level. The funding will focus
on proposals supporting community-based preparedness and community climate
resiliency efforts. Examples of community resilience projects that will receive
consideration include improving water use efficiency and installing green
infrastructure to increase resilience to heavy storms.
For
more information, visit the funding
opportunity description.
HUD
National Disaster Resilience Competition – $1
billion
- Applications Due: March 16, 2015
- Eligible Entities: states with counties that experienced a Presidentially Declared Major Disaster in 2011, 2012 or 2013
HUD
is seeking applications to help communities recover from prior disasters and
improve their ability to withstand and recover more quickly from future
disasters, hazards, and shocks. HUD will also provide technical assistance to
every eligible state and local government to help applicants consider future
risks and vulnerabilities in planning and decision-making, and assist them in
applying for funding. The competition is structured in two phases: a framing
phase, in which applicants consider their disaster recovery needs,
vulnerabilities, stakeholder interests, resilience, community development
objectives, and investment alternatives, and an implementation phase, in which a
subset of applicants will refine their approaches developed in the first phase.
HUD will award funding at the conclusion of Phase 2.
For
more information, visit the competition
fact sheet.
State
and local officials interested in additional information about developing and
implementing cost-effective climate and energy strategies that help further
environmental goals and achieve public health and economic benefits may visit
EPA’s State
and Local Climate and Energy Program site.