Search Through Grants for Environmental Projects in New Hampshire in the U.S.

Health and healing for our society and planetThe Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation is committed to caring for our communities through investment in big ideas that advance the arts, education, human services, and the environment. The Foundation has a targeted focus in Pittsburgh, Pa., Santa Barbara, Calif., and a small number of legacy partnerships in Squam Lakes, N.H.PrioritiesIn Pittsburgh, Pa. and Santa Barbara, Calif., the Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation emphasizes the arts, education, and human services. The Foundation encourages big ideas and projects from new organizations that fit exclusively into these geographic areas. In the Squam Lakes, N.H. area, the Foundation focuses almost exclusively on conservation, environmental education and access through a small number of legacy partners.

Community Facilities Grant Program in New Hampshire

What does this program do?

This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

What is an eligible area?

Rural areas including cities, villages, townships and towns including Federally Recognized Tribal Lands with no more than 20,000 residents according to the latest U.S. Census Data are eligible for this program.

How may funds be used?

Funds can be used to purchase, construct, and / or improve essential community facilities, purchase equipment and pay related project expenses.

Examples of essential community facilities include:

• Health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics, nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
• Public facilities such as town halls, courthouses, airport hangars or street improvements.
• Community support services such as child care centers, community centers, fairgrounds or transitional housing.
• Public safety services such as fire departments, police stations, prisons, police vehicles, fire trucks, public works vehicles or equipment.
• Educational services such as museums, libraries or private schools.
• Utility services such as telemedicine or distance learning equipment.
• Local food systems such as community gardens, food pantries, community kitchens, food banks, food hubs or greenhouses.

Grant Approval

Applicant must be eligible for grant assistance, which is provided on a graduated scale with smaller communities with the lowest median household income being eligible for projects with a higher proportion of grant funds. Grant assistance is limited to the following percentages of eligible project costs:

Maximum of 75 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 5,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 60 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 55 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 12,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 70 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 35 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 80 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 15 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 90 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income. The proposed project must meet both percentage criteria. Grants are further limited.

Our Purpose

To make New Hampshire a more just, sustainable and vibrant community where everyone can thrive. We achieve our purpose by:

• Supporting nonprofit organizations that advance health and well-being, environmental protection, education, housing and other basic needs, arts and culture, civic health and economic security.
• Helping New Hampshire students fund the education they need to fulfill their dreams and potential.
• Connecting generous people with pressing community needs and effective ways to give.
• Collaborating, building relationships and learning from all of our community partners.
• Advocating and using our voice on important public issues.
• Investing charitable assets in alignment with our purpose and values and to ensure a perpetual source of philanthropic capital.

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on sustainable community and economic development.

Requests that support projects and activities focused on the people and places of Coös County and surrounding communities are invited to apply. Projects should not extend past a year in length, however extensions can be granted.

Examples of awards:

• to provide marketing materials for a one-time community event
• to sponsor a school field trip
• to hire a consultant to support a project or activity
• to purchase or replace equipment or furniture

If you already have an award from the Large, Local or Empower Coös Youth Grants Program, you are still eligible to apply to the Dash – Grants Program.  There is no limit to how many times you are eligible to apply, but if you apply more than twice for the same project you may want to consider a different funding source.

Dash-grants program provides rapid grant awards ranging from $250 up to $2,000 to eligible organizations

About NHDES

Helping to sustain a high quality of life for all citizens by protecting and restoring the environment and public health in New Hampshire.

The mission of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is to help sustain a high quality of life for all citizens by protecting and restoring the environment and public health in New Hampshire. The protection and wise management of the state’s environment are the main goals of the agency.

Formed in January 1987 by state statute RSA 21-O, NHDES was legislatively created through the consolidation and reorganization of four previously separate agencies: the Air Resources Agency, the Office of Waste Management, the Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission, and the Water Resources Board. Each of these groups is now represented within the department’s three divisions: Air Resources, Waste Management and Water. NHDES leadership is composed of the agency commissioner, assistant commissioner, chief financial officer and directors of the three divisions.

The Air Resources Division is responsible for achieving and maintaining air quality in New Hampshire that is protective of public health and our natural environment. The division is committed to promoting cost-effective, sensible strategies and control measures to address the many complex and inter-related air quality issues facing the state, such as ground-level ozone, small particle pollution, regional haze (visibility), mercury contamination, climate change, acid deposition and air toxics.

The Waste Management Division promotes responsible waste management and ensures solid wastes and regulated hazardous materials are properly handled and disposed. The division's remediation programs conduct prompt clean-up of hazardous spills and work to restore contaminated sites to productive use while protecting the environment and public health.

The Water Division is tasked with protecting the numerous lakes, ponds and rivers in the state, as well as valuable groundwater. Under guidance from the New Hampshire Water Council and the New Hampshire Wetlands Council, the division conducts a variety of programs designed to ensure the protection of these waters in a variety of areas, such as public water systems, private water wells, source water protection, wetlands, wastewater engineering, septic systems, river and lake monitoring and healthy swimming.

In addition, NHDES is home to the New Hampshire Geological Survey and the NH Pollution Prevention (P2) Program, focuses on Strategic Planning and Quality Assurance from the Commissioner's Office on down, and provides services such as the Small Business Ombudsmen and Pre-Application Meetings.

NH Boat Pumpout Grants

The Clean Vessel Act supports the installation, operation, and maintenance of boat pumpout facilities.

Grants are for future projects only and cannot be applied retroactively, so organizations must wait until the grant is officially approved (by the NHDES commissioner or Governor and Executive Council) before any work begins. Generally, this takes 1-3 months if NHDES has the funding available. It may take a year or more if NHDES does not have funding currently available.

OSI partners with conservation organizations in the Northeast to assemble networks of protected lands most likely to preserve plant and animal diversity in a changing climate. The Fund supports projects in four focus areas in New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the Central Appalachians offering the greatest opportunity to conserve missing links for resiliency in the overall landscape.

Grant Opportunities

The Fund provides capital grants and loans to qualified non-profits for the acquisition of land or conservation easements on climate-resilient lands, capitalized with a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Through an in-depth review process, we selected four focus areas in order to target funds most effectively. A fact brochure with maps for each focus area can be downloaded:

Potomac Headwaters – West Virginia & Virginia

Highlands and Kittatinny Ridge – New Jersey & Pennsylvania

Middle Connecticut River – Vermont & Massachusetts

Southern New Hampshire & Maine Forests 

About

The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Every year we select and nurture a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges, and with the support of an inspiring group of donors and supporters, come together to get them launched.

Housed at TED, the nonprofit with a long track record of surfacing ideas worth spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, the funding collective is comprised of several respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy.

Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources.

• We encourage the world’s inspirational changemakers to dream bigger than ever before.
• Help shape their best ideas into viable multi-year plans.
• Present those solutions in a compelling way to potential supporters.

The Process

Every year, The Audacious Project works with proven change-makers to surface their best, boldest ideas for tackling global problems.

Sourcing & review

Projects are sourced from public applications and a global network of partners and donors. They are narrowed down to a group of finalists whose ideas are representative of a broad range of geographies and issue areas while elevating leaders with proximity to the communities they serve.

Idea shaping & investment support

Each finalist project goes through a rigorous ideation, due diligence, and investment support process, to ensure their proposal is achievable and compelling.

Funding & launch

Finalist projects are presented privately to groups of donors and are then publicly unveiled at TED. Funded projects then pursue their plans and share regular updates on key milestones reached with donors and the public.

Is Your Idea Audacious?

• Are you a changemaker with a bold vision?
• Are you a non-profit with an experienced team equipped to receive large scale philanthropic support?
• Is your idea a proven concept that aspires to create a better world?
• We look for ideas that cover a wide range of issues, from global health and climate change, to social justice and education.

What Makes An Idea Audacious?

Inspire

• Transformative vision
  • Your idea should capture a bold vision for tackling one of the world's most urgent topics.
• Creating a better world
  • It is your opportunity to take a giant leap forward; you may be tempted to think incrementally, but remember for it to be bold, your idea should offer significant, enduring impact.
  • This vision should bring us much closer to your version of an ideal world in a matter of years rather than generations.
• Innovative and original
  • There should be a unique aspect or creative element to your approach that challenges convention or status quo or changes the narrative for the greater good.

Convince

• Proven concept
  • There should be evidence that the idea will have impact based on a track record of past success, a demand from those that would be affected, and justified confidence that results can be sustained in the future.
• A bold vision that has clear outcomes
  • There should be a sense of where you will be at the end of a multi-year funding term and the strategy, resources and timeline required to achieve it. We want to hear about the changes that would take place because of your idea, not just the components that go into implementing it.

• Established support
  • You and your capable and confident team have the backing of a nonprofit, NGO, or institution (or is part of a collaboration between multiple such entities). This organization should be able to receive philanthropic funds and have the core infrastructure necessary to support the work. (Note: Past projects have had an annual operating budget of $1 million or more.)

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

The State Conservation Committee's Conservation Grant Program supports and promotes programs and partnerships that protect, restore and enhance the state's valuable natural resources. The New Hampshire State Conservation Committee (SCC) is the state government agency responsible for managing the Conservation Grant Program. Competitive grants are awarded annually to physical and tangible environmental projects that foster stewardship and the sustainability of New Hampshire's natural environment (RSA 261:97-c,III).The Conservation Grant Program's six focus areas include:

• Water Quality and Quantity: Restore, enhance, maintain or protect.
• Wildlife Habitat: Create, restore, enhance, manage or protect.
• Soil Conservation and Flooding: Reduce or prevent erosion or improve soils.
• Best Management Practices: Plan and implement for agriculture, storm or forestry.
• Conservation Planning: Accomplish a conservation project or outcome that includes a public involvement component.
• Land Conservation: Permanent land protection through conservation easement or fee acquisition and/or associated transaction and stewardship costs.

About Us

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation, founded in 1962 by and for the people of New Hampshire.

Our Purpose

To make New Hampshire a more just, sustainable and vibrant community where everyone can thrive. We achieve our purpose by:

• Supporting nonprofit organizations that advance health and well-being, environmental protection, education, housing and other basic needs, arts and culture, civic health and economic security.
• Helping New Hampshire students fund the education they need to fulfill their dreams and potential.
• Connecting generous people with pressing community needs and effective ways to give.
• Collaborating, building relationships and learning from all of our community partners.
• Advocating and using our voice on important public issues.
• Investing charitable assets in alignment with our purpose and values and to ensure a perpetual source of philanthropic capital.

Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation - Targeted Grants Program

The Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation (“GRCHF”) is a supporting organization of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. It was established with the proceeds from the sale of the nonprofit Frisbie Memorial Hospital to HCA Healthcare, Inc. Its mission is to improve health and well-being and reduce the burden of illness of people in Strafford County and surrounding communities.

This grantmaking program awards up to $25,000 to nonprofit organizations focusing on increasing access to dental, maternal and mental/behavioral health care, serving Strafford County residents. If your organization provides services other than dental, maternal or mental/behavioral health care, please apply to the small grants program.

Grant Amount

Up to $25,000 for project support. These are nonrenewable, one-year grants.

Adelard A. and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation Grant

The AV Roy Foundation has historically supported a broad range of organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, churches, education, environmental education, food access, health, land trusts, museums, and social services. The Trustees prioritize grants serving greater Boston and underserved rural and urban communities in Massachusetts, with some additional grantmaking in other areas of Northern New England.

In an effort to ensure that applications to the Foundation closely match current giving priorities, the Trustees will give priority to Massachusetts and Northern New England applicants focused on the following:

• Environment: requests focused on land conservation, in particular projects close to completion and projects resulting in easements held by accredited land trusts; environmental education; and climate change
• Health and Welfare: basic human needs (with priority given to food security and housing); hospice and home health care
• Arts and Culture: in particular, arts access and education for disadvantaged, elderly, or youth populations, and historic preservation
• Education: schools serving youth from low income backgrounds, including independent schools
• Churches providing basic needs support and other social services programming, as well as capital needs for facilities or historic preservation

Funding

Grants typically range from $2,500 to $10,000. In 2023, the average grant was $3,800. The Trustees anticipate a slightly higher average grant size this year, and fewer grants in total.

Our Mission The Trust funds worthy charitable projects throughout New Hampshire. The trustees have broad discretion about what to fund and they endeavor to honor the memory of Mrs. von Weber by making impactful grants throughout the granite state to a wide variety of charitable organizations. The Trust, through its trustees, seeks innovative opportunities that will have a lasting effect on New Hampshire and its residents. Typically, the Trust funds sensible and well-conceived capital projects that promise to leverage the Trust’s investment.

• Environmental & Conservation Initiatives
• Music & the Arts
• Social Services

What We Fund The Trust funds worthy charitable projects throughout New Hampshire.Past projects have included support for energy efficiency initiatives to lower operating costs and provide a return on investment – projects that, over time, will have the ability to permit a grantee to sustainably expand its reach or achieve its charitable mission with greater efficiency or impact. Instances of the latter have been offering statewide challenge/matching grants to incent others to support fundraising for the arts, social service agencies and – occasionally – novel ideas that require unique funding to come to fruition.

The Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) Program

The program provides planning assistance to small towns and rural communities to help them boost their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their main streets. The program is a partnership between EPA's Office of Community Revitalization, the USDA Forest Service, the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Denali Commission.

Selected communities will work alongside federal agency partners and consultants to participate in a planning process that helps identify the community's vision, goals and actions they wish to take to boost outdoor recreation, revitalize their main streets and promote equitable access to the outdoors for residents and visitors alike.

Past RERC projects have included:

• Improving access to trails and nearby natural attractions.
• Promoting outdoor-oriented businesses.
• Expanding lodging and other services for visitors.
• Supporting economic growth and amenities in downtowns.
• Ensuring that residents and visitors from all backgrounds can access and benefit from outdoor recreation opportunities.

What is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is "... a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining the use biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tactics in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks." (New Hampshire Statue RSA 430:50)

IPM programs use current, scientific information on the life cycles of pests and their habitats when management options are being considered. Examples of these options include using beneficial predatory insects, using pheromones to disturb insect reproduction patterns, limiting access of pests to food and shelter by sealing entries around sinks and light fixtures, and the judicious use of the safest and most efficient pesticides. Nationwide, integrated pest management programs are proving to set trends in the reduction fo environmental hazards and economic costs. 

IPM Grant Funds

Since 1998, the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food has been awarding grants to projects promoting integrated pest management practices. "The purpose of the program shall be to bring about the broadest possible application of the principles of integrated pest management to agriculture, horticulture, arboriculture, landscape and building maintenance, and any other areas in which economic poisons are employed" (RSA 430:5). 

The purpose of the Program is to encourage the principles and practices of integrated pest management in all areas pesticides are used. The goals of the Department are to contribute funding to further the education of the public, including those applying pesticides, minimize the use of pesticides, and improve the health, environment, and economics of New Hampshire citizens. The Division of Pesticide Control manages the IPM Program.

Introduction

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is pleased to announce the availability of funds for Local Source Water Protection Grants. Specifically, grant money is available to develop and implement programs to protect existing (active or planned) sources of public drinking water. Since 1997, NHDES has made small grants to water suppliers, municipalities and other local organizations for the purpose of protecting drinking water sources.

The Drinking Water Source Protection Program’s goals include

• increasing the number of public water supply sources with some form of protection and
• increasing the level of protection for sources that are already protected.

Source Water Protection Program Elements

In order to be eligible, every project must contribute to improved protection of one or more public water supply sources. The following categories of project elements are not necessarily exhaustive.

Delineation - NHDES has completed source water protection area (SWPA) delineations for nearly all sources of water for community and non-community, non-transient public water systems.

• SWPAs include wellhead protection areas (WHPAs) for groundwater sources and watershed areas for surface sources.
• Grants can be used to refine SWPA delineations using additional site-specific information.
• Grants can also be used to delineate more sensitive portions of SWPAs, such as time-of-travel zones, sensitive sub-watersheds and buffer areas or to refine existing aquifer mapping.
• Assessment – Applications for assessment projects should explain how the project will support the implementation of source water protection measures and should convincingly demonstrate a high likelihood of implementation.
• Inventory – Projects may involve improving upon existing inventories available from the NHDES Geographic Information System and the system-specific Drinking Water Source Assessment Reports prepared by NHDES, expanding the inventory of land uses or existing and potential point and non-point sources of contamination, establishing a water quality monitoring program or inventorying relevant local protection ordinances.
• B) Evaluation – Projects may involve evaluating existing and potential threats to water quality, as well as existing protection measures. This may include prioritizing potential threats or protections based upon new or more detailed information. 
• Planning – Grants can be used to identify appropriate protection measures, such as educational programs, programs to ensure implementation of best management practices (BMPs), local land use regulations, groundwater reclassification, adoption of source water protection rules under the provisions of RSA 485:23, land acquisition, etc.
• Implementation - Grants can be used to implement protection and security measures in source water protection areas.
• This can include implementation of any of the measures listed above under Planning, with the exception of land acquisition.
• Grants can be used to prioritize lands for conservation but cannot be used to purchase lands or easements. 
• Grants can be used for land transaction costs associated with permanent protection of SWPA lands, such as:
• performing land surveys as a precursor to land acquisition,
• associated legal and transaction costs (including required stewardship fees in accordance with a conservation organization’s written policy regarding such fees),
• title opinion,
• attorney fees,
• baseline documentation and
• stewardship plans.
• Grants can also be used for source sustainability (e.g., preserving groundwater recharge) and “consumption-side” water conservation (e.g. community-based social marketing, customer audits, low-flow fixtures) but not for projects eligible for loans under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, such as “system-side” conservation (e.g., leak detection, system audits and metering)
• Security - Grants can be used to implement security measures, as long as the project protects the source itself. This can include fencing around wells or intakes. The fencing can include other buildings as well, as long as the source is part of the fenced-in area. 
• Gates for well and intake access roads are eligible, along with access control for those areas.
• Alarms, signs, cameras, locks and lights for sources are also eligible.  

Environmental Justice for New England Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

A total of $48 million will be awarded to New England community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, nonprofits, Tribal governments (both federally and state recognized), and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities. The funds will support organizations implementing projects to address local environmental and public health challenges across the region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Eligible applicants can apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers as well as the Seed Fund for organizations with limited capacities.

Seed Funds

Seed Funds are available for up to $75,000 for efforts to support community-based organizations with limited capacities, which are defined as those having an equivalent of four or less paid full-time staff members at the time of application, amongst other criteria.

In a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice for New England will implement the EJ Thriving Communities Subgrants in New England. This grant program seeks to counter historical disinvestment in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis including communities of color, immigrant communities, indigenous communities, urban, rural, and low-income communities. It seeks to seed and build deeper capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities.

Environmental Justice for New England Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

A total of $48 million will be awarded to New England community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, nonprofits, Tribal governments (both federally and state recognized), and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities. The funds will support organizations implementing projects to address local environmental and public health challenges across the region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Eligible applicants can apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers as well as the Seed Fund for organizations with limited capacities.

Tier 1 - Assessment Projects

Tier 1 will grant up to $150,000 for one year. Projects in this tier should begin to assess a local community’s environmental justice landscape.

Example project activities include but are not limited to:

• Research that informs project design
• Sampling
• Testing
• Monitoring
• Investigations
• Surveys and studies
• Public education
• Community surveys, listening sessions, focus groups, or other forms of engagement

In a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice for New England will implement the EJ Thriving Communities Subgrants in New England. This grant program seeks to counter historical disinvestment in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis including communities of color, immigrant communities, indigenous communities, urban, rural, and low-income communities. It seeks to seed and build deeper capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities.

Environmental Justice for New England Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

A total of $48 million will be awarded to New England community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, nonprofits, Tribal governments (both federally and state recognized), and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities. The funds will support organizations implementing projects to address local environmental and public health challenges across the region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Eligible applicants can apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers as well as the Seed Fund for organizations with limited capacities.

Tier 2 - Planning Projects

Tier 2 will grant up to $250,000 for up to two years. Projects in this tier should include plan formulation and partnership development activities to address identified environmental justice concerns.

Example project activities include but are not limited to:

• Planning
• Partnership building
• Developing communications and outreach plans
• Developing curricula, toolkits, or guidelines
• Developing social media plans and content
• Producing videos or printed materials
• Building or strengthening partnerships and collaboration
• Public outreach
• Training activities for community
• Projects and activities to spur community involvement

In a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice for New England will implement the EJ Thriving Communities Subgrants in New England. This grant program seeks to counter historical disinvestment in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis including communities of color, immigrant communities, indigenous communities, urban, rural, and low-income communities. It seeks to seed and build deeper capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities.

• Here are the additional associated grants in regards to this opportunity:
  • Here is the Tier 1 - Assessment Projects page.
  • Here is the Tier 2 - Planning Projects page.

Environmental Justice for New England Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

A total of $48 million will be awarded to New England community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, nonprofits, Tribal governments (both federally and state recognized), and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities. The funds will support organizations implementing projects to address local environmental and public health challenges across the region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Eligible applicants can apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers as well as the Seed Fund for organizations with limited capacities.

Tier 3 - Implementation of Projects

Tier 3 will grant up to $350,000 for up to two years. Projects in this tier should support implementation projects informed by community planning and research. Projects may have educational and outreach components but must focus on developing tangible community assets or providing defined community benefits.

Examples of project activities include but are not limited to:

• Strengthening cumulative impact, public health, or environmental justice protections
• Increasing access to healthy food
• Reducing the use of pesticides or toxic substances
• Cleaning up contaminated sites
• Conducting healthy home assessments
• Increasing energy or water efficiency in homes or buildings
• Creating community resilience hubs

In a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice for New England will implement the EJ Thriving Communities Subgrants in New England. This grant program seeks to counter historical disinvestment in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis including communities of color, immigrant communities, indigenous communities, urban, rural, and low-income communities. It seeks to seed and build deeper capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities.

Centene Charitable Foundation

Successful corporate citizenship happens when companies invest in the local organizations that know their communities best. The Centene Foundation works with our local partners on initiatives that focus on inclusion, the whole person and community development.

Vision

Centene’s purpose is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. The Centene Foundation is an essential part of how we pursue this purpose. We achieve measurable impact for the communities we serve through partnerships and philanthropy efforts that invest in initiatives with holistic approaches to dismantling barriers to health.

Areas of Focus

Reflecting Centene’s commitment to the needs of those who rely on government-sponsored health care and to addressing social determinants of health and health equity, preference will be given to initiatives in three distinct areas of focus.

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

The   is dedicated to using “the power of place” to increase environmental and ecological science knowledge in the Upper Valley. Since 2013, the Foundation has been focusing Wellborn resources to increase access to place-based ecology education for children and youth, with particular emphasis on K-12 and early childhood education centers in underserved communities.

Marguerite Wellborn was a naturalist and a writer who believed that knowledge was the key to environmental preservation.

In her will, she left nearly $10 million to create the Wellborn Ecology Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, “to be used for public awareness of environmental and ecological issues in the Upper Valley.”

What we’re funding

Since its inception in 2001, the fund has awarded grants totaling more than $5.5 million to more than 125 organizations and programs.

• Place-based ecology education has been implemented in schools across the region. Students are tracking wildlife, studying vernal pools and stream ecology, measuring climate – and much more.
• Teachers get significant professional development and resources through the Wellborn Institute.
• Farm-to-school projects have kids learning about local farms, local food production and good nutrition.
• “The Outside Story,” a weekly essay series, appears in Northern Woodlands magazine and in newspapers, spreading environmental education to a general audience.

General Grant Information

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau (DWGB) is pleased to announce the Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) Large Community Water Systems Grant program!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Lead Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) requires community water systems and non-transient, non-community water systems, herein referred to as “water systems” or “systems,” to submit a service line inventory to NHDES annually by November 1 until all service lines within the distribution system have been identified. The purpose of the inventory is to identify the material, and other pertinent information of service lines and ultimately create a replacement plan for all lead service lines and galvanized service lines downstream of lead pipe, also known as galvanized requiring replacement (GRR). This includes the entirety of the service line from the water main to the structure. This grant program is to assist with identifying the material of service lines that were listed as "unknown" material type in the initial inventory submitted in 2024.

Funds for this program may be used for in-house or outside services. Consultants and/or contractors should be selected based on their knowledge and experience with similar projects.

Large PWS Lead Service Line Inventory Grant

The program offers grants of $60,000 to water systems with greater than 1,000 service connections and service lines listed as "unknown" in the initial lead service line inventory. No community match is required. Total project cost may exceed the grant amount; however, only the grant amount will be reimbursed. 

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on community revitalization.

Championing the North Country

One of the largest permanent rural philanthropies in the U.S. is strengthening communities and spreading economic opportunity.

Grantmaking Goals

The vision of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund is “to serve as a resource for the people of Coös County and neighboring communities in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and southern Québec to forge their own pathways to well-being and cultivate a region that thrives.” The Tillotson Fund serves as a stable and consistent source of support for the people of the region to:

• Create and enhance opportunity;
• Preserve and uplift the historical and cultural assets that make the region unique;
• Hold the confidence and capabilities to foster strong communities and healthy rural landscapes.

What We're Funding

Individual and family well-being

Goal: Support individuals and families to meet their essential needs and achieve well-being.

• Meet essential needs for individuals and families.
• Strengthen systems of care.Community resiliency

Healthy workforce ecosystem

Goal: Strengthen the capacity of local employers to maintain and/or grow their operations, build and retain a dynamic workforce, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, ensure business continuity and plan for the future.

• Attract and retain the workforce.
• Establish workforce housing solutions.
• Help companies and employees build skills and systems for sustained success.
• Link employers and employees to financial supports.
• Increase access to affordable quality childcare.

Environmental stewardship

Goal: Address the impacts of climate change by investing in mitigation and adaptation strategies, stewardship of natural resources, and efforts that foster human connection to the natural environment.

• Be good stewards of the land, air, forests, waterways and wildlife.
• Encourage/support responsible tourism and recreation.
• Build and enhance sustainable food systems.
• Promote, sustain and scale energy efficiency, clean energy and green building.
• Implement climate smart forestry solutions.

Resilient communities

Goal: Support initiatives that build trust, belonging and connection and lead to stronger, more resilient communities.

• Empower youth.
• Convene, collaborate, celebrate.
• Build skills, knowledge and approaches to advance equity.
• Support community builders and change agents.
• Revitalize population hubs and preserve cultural and historical assets.
• Improve civic health.
• Strengthen municipal capacity and leadership.

Grant amount

Local Grants Program applications may request up to $20,000 for one, two or three years.

Every two years, NH Sea Grant issues a Request for Proposals (RFP) for those seeking major (≤$100K per year) funding for research projects. During 2023, NH Sea Grant will be reviewing proposals from investigators for one or two-year research funding during the 2024-2025 cycle, which officially runs February 1, 2024 - January 31, 2026. NH Sea Grant is a matching funds program that requires at least 50% of all Sea Grant research funds received to be matched by state or private (non-federal) funds.

The guiding philosophy of NH Sea Grant is to serve the State of New Hampshire and the region by supporting innovative and cutting edge research integrated with expert extension, outreach, and education to support dialogue and science-based decision-making in areas of particular importance to our region. To meet our mission, we seek to foster and support the highest quality coastal and marine research and education projects that relate to NH Sea Grant’s Strategic Plan Focus Areas:

• Sustainable Fisheries and *Aquaculture (*encouraged)
• Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
• Resilient Communities and Economies
• Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development

For the 2024-2025 RFP, NH Sea Grant encourages proposals that relate to aquaculture research. This enables us to take advantage of matching funds made available by NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program for successful projects that relate to this topic. However, all high quality proposals addressing any of the Focus Areas outlined in NH Sea Grant’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan will be given equal consideration.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

Our Mission

To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund

To make the highest possible impact on the climate and biodiversity crises, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is committed to advancing solutions and supporting partners throughout the Appalachians to connect and conserve vital wildlife habitat, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and generate new job and recreation opportunities for communities.

Approximately one-third of the U.S. population lives in or within 100 miles of the Appalachians, including an estimated 36 million people that rely on the region for sources of drinking water. The landscape contains the world's largest remaining expanses of temperate broadleaf mixed forest and provides habitat to a wide diversity of plants of animals, many of which are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered. Conserving this landscape is critical for nature and for the people that live and work there.

However as climate change drives ecosystem instability, plants and animals are shifting their ranges northward, and people are having to find ways to adapt to complex and intertwined challenges. TNC and many others have been working to conserve vital Appalachian habitats for decades. Now we must ramp up our efforts and coordinate with partners across the Appalachians for maximum impact.

To succeed in these efforts, TNC’s Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund offers two grant programs for conservation and community organizations, municipalities, Federally Recognized Tribal Nations, and local and state agencies in the Appalachians who are working to protect and conserve this region:

• The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program
• The New York Climate Resilience Grant Program

Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program

The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program provides grants of up to $100,000 for fee and easement acquisition projects throughout the Appalachians.

Equitable Conservation and Community Benefits

Conservation organizations are increasingly acknowledging the importance of incorporating social equity in their missions, partnerships, and projects and evolving how they work to have better outcomes for people and nature.

TNC defines community benefits as the positive outcomes that directly result from or are included within conservation projects as experienced by local communities and people. This is particularly important for historically marginalized communities, communities with limited access to nature, communities experiencing heightened impacts of climate change due to systemic underinvestment and poor infrastructure, and Indigenous communities. 

RCA program funding will support projects that demonstrate meaningful community engagement, work with those historically excluded from conservation, and lead to a fairer distribution of benefits for people and communities.

Some examples of community benefits include improved and greater access to nature, protection of drinking water sources, recreational and resource-based economic opportunities, flood mitigation, engagement in cross-cultural initiatives, or protection of lands that will meet community-defined conservation needs. We encourage projects with meaningful community benefits that are integrated with the land protection goals.

Project Evaluation

Projects will be evaluated  according to their capacity to deliver land protection outcomes aligned with the program goals, including:

• Location:
  • the project is located within TNC’s Appalachians Program boundary and is in or near a mapped focal area.  Projects outside of focal areas will also be considered.
• Resilience:
  • the percentage of the total project area that is part of the Resilient and Connected Network.
• Connectivity:
  • adjacency to protected lands or other attributes that will lead to landscape connectivity over time (e.g., the project is a necessary acquisition for advancing a local or regional plan that aims to protect a critical conservation corridor).
• Collaboration:
  • evidence of engagement with other organizations, community groups, or local governments (including, but not limited to, shared funding).
• Community:
  • project elements that directly engage and or benefit people, especially vulnerable or marginalized communities.
• Timeline:
  • the project will close within 12 months from the start of the grant agreement term.
• Feasibility:
  • likelihood that the project will close and the costs seem reasonable.

DAIRY FOOD SAFETY & CERTIFICATION GRANT

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) announces the availability of funds through the Dairy Food Safety & Certification Grant program, which will provide grants for dairy farmers, processors, and/or producer associations to take actionable steps to improve the safety of dairy products. Projects funded through this program will support increased production safety standards with the goal of accessing new markets. Projects that increase marketability of dairy products will be prioritized. Activities covered by this grant include accessing technical assistance, audits, food safety plan development, training, testing fees, and certain infrastructure upgrades. 

Projects funded by this grant will allow dairy farmers, processors, and/or producer associations to take actionable steps to improve the safety of dairy products and improve marketability. Technical assistance providers or supply chain partners including distributors, co-packers and cross-dockers that would also benefit from grant activities should be listed as partners. Projects that demonstrate that grant activities will increase or expand access to market channels will be prioritized. Food safety activities under this grant should build upon baseline state and federal compliance requirements to further improve product consistency, safety, and quality of dairy products.

Grants are available to applicants in all Northeast states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Funding

Grants will range from $10,000 - $40,000 with a 25% (cash or in-kind) match commitment required. Total funds available: $250,000. 

Required Project Criteria

The following criteria must be addressed:

• Must build upon dairy business’ existing baseline compliance with food safety requirements.
• Project increases the safety of dairy products produced in the Northeast.
• Business/organization can sustain the changes/improvements past the grant period.

Clean Water State Revolving Fund

Low-cost financial assistance for planning, design and construction projects to protect public health and improve and protect water quality.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) provides low-cost financial assistance for planning, design, and construction projects to communities, nonprofits, and other local government entities for both wastewater infrastructure projects (collection systems, pumping stations, and wastewater treatment) and other water pollution control projects (nonpoint source, watershed protection or restoration, and estuary management).

Five reasons to consider a CWSRF loan:

• Below-market loan rates with no closing costs or origination fees, and no prepayment penalties.
• Additional subsidy in the form of loan forgiveness may be available to make projects more affordable and sustainable for New Hampshire communities.
• Disbursement requests can be made as project costs are incurred, and interest on disbursements is 1% until the project reaches substantial completion.
• Loan repayments begin up to one year after substantial completion at the lowest available loan rate. Loan recipients receive the lower of either the rate at the time of loan origination or the rate at the time of loan closure.
• CWSRF staff assistance is available through every step of your project. This includes project planning and administration, design review, environmental review, and construction and compliance oversight.

How to apply for a CWSRF loan:

Each spring the CWSRF program solicits loan pre-applications for wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint source projects. Pre-applications are also required for asset management .pdf Icon, energy efficiency, and planning projects .pdf Icon. All pre-applications are ranked and a Project Priority List (PPL) is created, which is included in the Intended Use Plan (IUP). The CWSRF program provides the public an opportunity to review and comment on the IUP every August. Once the IUP is finalized, applicants who have been approved for funding secure the authority to borrow and submit a loan application.

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) announces the availability of funds through the Dairy Processor Innovation Grant program, which will provide grants for dairy processors to better position their businesses long-term. Key dairy consumers are shifting their purchasing choices to those that support small businesses, rural communities, and have direct, positive impacts to the climate. Leading reasons consumers are switching brands include a desire to support local businesses and companies that share their values as well as a perception that products are better quality, natural/organic, and more environmentally sustainable. Projects funded through this program will support longterm business investments that increase dairy processor business consumer appeal and marketability of value-added dairy products. 

This grant will fund a wide range of projects. Projects may address improvements in topics such as: sourcing, product development, transportation/distribution, marketing/supply chain, operations, employee welfare, consumer experience, utilization of materials or systems that reduce carbon footprint and, and beyond.  

Grants are available to applicants in all Northeast states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Award

Grants will range from $75,000 to $250,000 with a 25% (cash or in-kind) match commitment required. Total funds available: $1,000,000. 

This grant round will include a two-step application process. Following the review of pre-applications, a subset of applicants will be invited to submit a full application.