Search Through Grants for Land Conservation in Pennsylvania in the U.S.

About DCNR

Established on July 1, 1995, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is charged with:

• Maintaining and protecting 121 state parks
• Managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land
• Providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources
• Establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and natural areas.

DCNR Mission

DCNR’s mission is to conserve and sustain Pennsylvania’s natural resources for present and future generations’ use and enjoyment.

DCNR Vision

As Pennsylvania’s leader and chief advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, DCNR will inspire citizens to:

• Value their natural resources
• Engage in conservation practices
• Experience the outdoors

Partnership

The goal of the Partnerships Grant Program is to advance collaborative multi-municipal or large-landscape recreation, conservation, and heritage projects.

Funding is available for partnerships projects that help build local, county, regional, and statewide capacity to better develop and manage resources through the creation and implementation of public planning processes.

Peer Grant

The Peer Program is available to assist municipal entities with hiring a professional consultant to study specialized small-scale issues. 

Up to $18,000 can be made available to hire a peer -- typically a park and recreation professional -- to work in close collaboration with community leaders to develop an action plan.

Since its founding in 1951 by John Hartwell Hillman, Jr., the Hillman Foundation’s mission has been to improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation supports grantmaking that will establish the Pittsburgh region as a national leader in developing and implementing ideas that improve people's lives.Strategic PrioritiesHillman Foundation strives to improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region through strategic grantmaking focused on economic development, health, education, human services, the arts, and the environment.

Arts and Culture

• Intersection: Fostering the inclusion of arts and culture into all other focus areas
• Education: Increasing the availability and quality of arts and culture PreK-12 education
• Making Pittsburgh a destination: Enhancing Pittsburgh’s standing as an internationally-respected, vibrant, and diverse arts and culture destination and as an artist-friendly city

Community and Economic Development

• Economic mobility: Increasing economic mobility through affordable housing, asset building programs, entrepreneurship support, and other promising initiatives
• Supporting communities: Bolstering neighborhood anchors through capacity building for community development corporations, flexible capital for community plan implementation, and incentivizing collaboration within and between neighborhoods
• Transportation modernization: Improving quality of life by modernizing the regional transportation system for pedestrians, transit riders, bicyclists, and drivers through research, pilot projects, and targeted capital investments

Education and Workforce Development

• Innovative approaches to workforce development: Investing in the future of work and learning through pilots and/or expansions of education and training approaches that prepare the regional workforce for living wage careers
• Early learners: Creating strong foundations by supporting early childhood centers, staff, and teachers, and progress toward universal pre-K

Energy and Environment

• Low-carbon: Aiding the transition to a low-carbon economy
• Outdoor parks and recreation: Improving the environment for healthy living, including support for land conservation, parks, and other outdoor recreational assets
• Clean water: Ensuring access to reliable and clean water supplies and high-functioning stormwater/wastewater management
• Identifying best practices: Certification initiatives, performance measurement, and promoting best practice development

Health and Medicine

• Addressing social determinants of health: Promoting a culture of health through initiatives that support good health for all, like quality affordable housing, healthy food, and violence prevention
• Preventing chronic disease: Prevention initiatives as well as supporting those living with chronic disease through evidence-based best practices
• Accessible and affordable healthcare: Strengthening accessibility, affordability, and quality of regional healthcare, including rural health care and telemedicine
• Robust workforce: Ensuring that the region can recruit and retain a qualified and diverse health care workforce, including innovative strategies like community health care workers

Human Services

• Innovation: Continuing to build a strong human services sector through investments in organizational financial stability, innovative delivery models, and human capital
• Service models and policy change: Accelerating momentum for change, particularly in criminal justice, homelessness, substance abuse, and healthy mothers and families

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 

Pennsylvania Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP)

The Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) is a voluntary program to assist landowners in restoring, enhancing, and protecting forestland resources on private lands through permanent easements, 30-year easements, and 10-year cost-share agreements.

The program objectives are to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act; improve plant and animal biodiversity; and enhance carbon sequestration.

In Pennsylvania, HFRP funding will be utilized to protect and improve critical habitat for the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), through the acquisition of conservation easements and/or cost share agreements supported with habitat improvement through the implementation of selected conservation practices and supporting activities. 

Funding

HFRP contracts are awarded to applicants with the highest rankings until funds are exhausted.

Permanent easements:

• Landowners will receive 100% of the easement value of enrolled land
• Landowners will receive 100% of the average cost for approved HFRP practices

30-Year easements:

• Landowners will receive 75% of the easement value of enrolled land
• Landowners will receive 75% of the average cost for approved HFRP practices

10-Year restoration agreements:

• Landowners will receive 50% of the average cost for approved HFRP practices

Easement value will be determined by completing an appraisal for easement property.

HFRP practices were developed by NRCS in cooperation with the PA NRCS HFRP partners. The following is a list of some HFRP practices:

• Early Successional Habitat Management
• Riparian Forest Buffer
• Tree/Shrub Establishment
• Restoration of Rare and Declining Habitats
• Forest Stand Improvement
• Use Exclusion

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Mini-Grants

PEC administers the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape (LHCL) Mini-Grant Program with funding from Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnership Program.

The mission of the LHCL is to facilitate collaboration and networking among diverse stakeholders to empower the region’s vibrancy by celebrating its natural resources, outdoor recreation opportunities, heritage assets, and thriving communities.

Projects must be within Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland Counties and advance the priorities of the LHCL Conservation Landscape: Conservation, Outdoor Activities, Tourism / Visitor Experience, Sustainable Communities / Climate Resilience.  

Applicants can request $1,000 - $10,000 and project proposals must include a 1:1 match (cash, in-kind, or a combination).

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Pennsylvania Sojourn Mini-Grants

POWR administers the PA Sojourn mini-grant program with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and support from the American Canoe Association.

This program provides mini-grants on a competitive basis for single and multi-day paddling events on Pennsylvania’s waterways. Sojourns must incorporate educational programming and be open to the public.

Grants are $1,000 per on-water day. A 1:1 match (cash, in-kind, or a combination) is required.

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Pocono Forests & Waters Conservation Landscape Mini-Grants

PEC administers the Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Landscape (PFWCL) Mini-Grant Program with funding from Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnership Program.

Projects must be within Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne Counties and help protect and sustain the natural resources of the PFWCL in one or more of these topic areas Conservation, Community, Connection.

Applicants can request $2,000 - $10,000 and project proposals must include a 1:1 match (cash, in-kind, or a combination).

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Statewide Waterway Access Grant (SWAG)

POWR administers the SWAG program with funding from the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Applicants can request up to $30,000 and project proposals must include a 1:1 match (cash, in-kind, or a combination).

WeConservePA is providing grants to land trusts to support the completion of land assessments and resource management plans for largely forested lands already under conservation easement.

Subject lands must be in the Pennsylvania portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis through May 31, 2024, or until all project funds are committed, whichever comes first. WeConservePA will award up to $150,000 in total grants for this planning work.

WeConservePA will post regular updates at weconservepa.org/fmp as to how much in grant funds remains available to applicants.

Applicants may request grants in any amount.

This grant program is intended to explore the ways that land trusts, landowners, and forest professionals might work constructively together to better understand conserved lands and ultimately produce better conservation results on the land, including better forest health, habitat improvement, water resource protection, and sustainable timber production. 

Minimal Match Requirements 

No match needs to be documented. 

The only expenses that must be borne by awardees without WeConservePA reimbursement are those resulting from the awardee’s time spent preparing the grant application, submitting final expense documentation, providing brief one-year and two-year updates on any actions taken as a result of the planning effort, and other administrative and indirect personnel expenses incurred. 

Background; Grant Program Objective

Conservation easements have an excellent track record in Pennsylvania as tools to block landowners from taking actions that would harm the conservation values of the land. Between the use of the Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants, land trust monitoring and enforcement, and the courts’ excellent record of upholding conservation easements in Pennsylvania, there is assurance that improvements, activities, and uses contrary to the easement’s conservation objectives will not happen on eased lands in Pennsylvania. 

However, there is more to conservation than simply blocking bad actions on the land. Due to invasive species, deer over browsing, climate change, and other factors, the land often will need proactive management steps to be taken to actually improve forest health, wildlife habitat, and water quality. Moreover, it’s likely that without some proactive management, the land conserved could actually experience a loss in conservation values over time. This presents a challenge as land trusts typically lack the funding, information, tools, and other resources to meaningfully advance proactive management on lands they have under easement; landowners, for their part, are unlikely to act proactively in the absence of guidance and incentives. The challenge is heightened by the lack of study of changes in conservation values on already eased properties and paucity of management plans created with the primary objective of promoting healthy forest, habitat, and waters on those properties. 

By funding the assessment of conservation values on eased properties and identifying affirmative, actionable measures that can be taken on each individual property to improve upon these values, the grant program aims to arm land trusts and landowners with the information and plans they need to improve forest resiliency, wildlife, and water quality outcomes over time. WeConservePA also hopes to gain insights into what is happening following grants of easement to conservation values on the eased lands, which may suggest new strategies for conservation easement management in future years.

We welcome bold proposals that align with our 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.

Our Strategic Plan is a roadmap to award more than $1.2 billion from 2021-2030. It is a plan to focus the Foundation’s resources on the most powerful pathways to greater opportunity and prosperity for the people of southwestern Pennsylvania. And to do even more to protect, steward, and activate environmentally sensitive land in southwestern Pennsylvania and across the United States.

Funding Programs

We strive to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States.

• Conservation
  • Wildlife flourishes and people thrive in once-imperiled habitats, through strategic land protection, stewardship, and activation, and sustainable economic development that deploys renewable energy and new technologies that foster livable communities and healthy natural systems.
• Economic Development
  • To help make Southwestern Pennsylvania an engine for economic growth and vitality by investing in the ingenuity and creativity of its population, enhancing individuals’ economic prosperity, and strengthening our sense of community.
• Economic Mobility
  • All children and youth living in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will be able to access their most promising future.
  • We invest in pathways to opportunity for vulnerable children and youth to overcome the obstacles to achieving economic mobility.
• Health & Well-Being
  • Everyone in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, particularly the most vulnerable, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.
• Organizational Effectiveness
  • Our partners will have the organizational strength and agility to pursue big ideas and take risks in service of accelerating achievement of their strategic priorities.
• Social-Impact Investments
  • The Foundation's social-impact investing enables mission-driven for-profit companies to secure the risk capital, networks and resources they need to develop products, deploy services and address societal issues at the individual and community level.

We welcome proposals that span funding programs.

General Application

The General Application is for proposals that align with our 2021 – 2030 Strategy and one – or several – of our funding programs.

The General Application is our most flexible application option. The General Application does not have deadlines, so you can submit at any time throughout the year. Through the General Application, you can apply for general operating support or project-specific support. You can also seek funding for planning and innovation, implementation, or scaling activities.

About DCNR

Established on July 1, 1995, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is charged with:

• Maintaining and protecting 121 state parks
• Managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land
• Providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources
• Establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and natural areas.

DCNR Mission

DCNR’s mission is to conserve and sustain Pennsylvania’s natural resources for present and future generations’ use and enjoyment.

DCNR Vision

As Pennsylvania’s leader and chief advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, DCNR will inspire citizens to:

• Value their natural resources
• Engage in conservation practices
• Experience the outdoors

Project Types for ATV and Snowmobile Trails:

All-Terrain Vehicle and Snowmobile projects include the planning, acquisition of land, development, rehabilitation, maintenance, purchase of equipment for maintenance and construction, and development of educational programs related to ATV and/or snowmobile trails and facilities. Funding comes from the ATV Management Restricted Account and the Snowmobile Management Restricted Account as authorized by Act 97 of 2016. 

Acquisition

• ATV and Snowmobile Land Acquisition Projects involve the purchase of fee simple title or perpetual easement to real property for subsequent development of ATV or snowmobile trails and facilities.

Planning

• ATV and Snowmobile Planning Projects examine the feasibility of developing trails and facilities for ATV or Snowmobile activities.

Development, Rehabilitation, or Maintenance

• ATV and Snowmobile Development Projects construct new and rehabilitate and maintain existing ATV or snowmobile trails and facilities.

Equipment Purchase

• ATV and Snowmobile Equipment Purchase Projects involve the purchase or lease of equipment to be used exclusively for the maintenance or construction of ATV or snowmobile trails and facilities.

Educational Programs

• ATV and Snowmobile Educational Program Projects involve the development and operation of educational programs that promote safety and environmental protection as those objectives relate to the use of ATVs or snowmobiles.

ABOUT ROOTED IN JUSTICE

“Rooted in Justice” is a funding program designed to help amplify youth voices and actions in the environmental and food justice movements.  Rooted in Justice supports community-based organizations and groups that manage established, youth-led, urban greening programs within a justice framework as a core part of their work, with two-year grants of $25,000/year.  

Rooted in Justice recognizes the importance and undeniable right of every young person to have the ability to develop their own relationship with the environment, be it through growing food, spending time with nature, creating community green spaces, or becoming environmental stewards. Rooted in Justice also honors the power and possibilities that arise when young people collectively work to be change-makers in their communities.

Rooted in Justice supports organizations, groups, collectives, and programs that work with young people between the ages of 12 to 20 in youth-led programming for communities or cultures which have historically or currently experience:

• A lack of access to land or nature;
• Agricultural oppression and/or neglect;
• Food apartheid; and/or
• Other forms of injustice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics and disability.

Rooted in Justice awards a small number of grants each year with applications due in the fall and decisions made the following spring. Final grant decisions are recommended to the Cedar Tree board via a participatory grantmaking process with outside reviewers who have experience in youth-led urban greening, as well as food or climate justice programming. So far the program has awarded multi-year grants to 21 organizations and one-time grants to 10 additional organizations since 2021. 

Definitions

Rooted in Justice grants support organizations or programs that include all four of the elements described below: social justice, youth-led, urban greening, and cohort-based youth work. We articulate our understanding of those terms below in an effort to provide a guide for prospective organizations to use in determining whether their program is a good fit. However as we continue our work towards questioning and dismantling some of our preconceived notions, we recognize that these are not finite definitions and encourage prospective applicants who still feel their work may be a good fit to describe in their proposals why this is the case.  

Social Justice-Based Programs

Programs dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for communities directly affected by different aspects of injustice by:

• Sharing and redistributing power and resources;
• Amplifying voices and leadership;
• Tackling root problems through ongoing engagement and collaboration to find solutions, organize against oppression of all kinds and create mechanisms for change; and
• Developing a critical analysis with youth and community members.

Youth-Led

The development of youth leadership skills is a core part of programs funded by Rooted in Justice. Young people have the opportunity to play a role in the planning and decision-making for their program and may help shape the internal workings of the organization. Examples of youth-led programs include programs where participants: 

• Managing a portion of their programming budget;
• Co-facilitating program activities, meetings and gatherings;
• Shape their own programming and/or organizational strategic planning;
• Have regular and end-of-program opportunities to provide program feedback and evaluation; and
• Have opportunities for personal and/or professional growth within the program and organization.

Urban Greening

For the purpose of this grant we define “urban greening” as any activity that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between city dwellers and their environments. Programs that are a strong fit for Rooted in Justice will have many opportunities for youth to be outdoors.  Project settings can include, but are not limited to: 

• Urban and aquaponic farms
• Greenhouses and rooftop gardens
• Community gardens, green spaces, and rain gardens
• Composting sites
• Land conservation efforts
• Urban forests
• River or other water restoration  

Cohort-Based Youth Works

Rooted in Justice looks to fund organizations that build community with cohorts of youth through intentional, recurring programming. This grant is intended to support programs that offer youth significant learning and leadership opportunities as a group and as individuals. Priority will be given to organizations that have program infrastructure that supports a cohort of youth over time.  Drop-in programming, one-time conferences, or individual internships are not a good fit for Rooted in Justice.  

Youth Budgeting

As part of grant proposal, all Rooted in Justice grantees must share a plan to allocate a portion of the grant funds for youth participants to manage. What do we mean by this? We ask applicants to specifically set aside some amount of grant funds for youth to allocate to priorities of their choosing.  For example, youth participants can use their allocated funding to:

• Fund an entrepreneurial endeavor;
• Design the brand or swag for their group;
• Hire a speaker or outside expert to teach a new skill;
• Purchase supplies for a community-based art project;
• Host a celebration for their families, friends and neighbors;
• Pay for transportation to programming, special events, or conferences; and/or
• Any other youth-led activity the group may find beneficial.

Use of Funds

Rooted in Justice funding must be used for project support of existing youth led, urban greening, social justice work and associated general operating expenses. Operating expenses can include anything from program costs like staff salaries and youth stipends to organizational sustainability needs like major equipment purchases and leadership/staff training. If your organization’s entire mission is youth led, urban greening, social justice work, the Rooted in Justice grant can be general support. 

Funding

Two Year Grant

• Rooted in Justice Grant awards are two-year grants of $25,000 per year.
• After the initial two year grant, grantees may be eligible for a third year of funding at the same or lower level through a simple renewal process.
• In the 2025-2026 grant cycle, the Cedar Tree Foundation expects to support 4 organizations with multi-year grant awards.

Funding for Professional Development

• Each Rooted in Justice grantee organization also has access to an additional $6,000 to support professional development opportunities identified by each organization.  Half of these funds must be used to directly support the professional development of youth. 
• Rooted in Justice grantees can request reimbursement from this professional development fund to attend conferences, hire consultants, purchase equipment or software that increases organizational capacity, or participate in any activities that strengthen youth programming or justice practice of program providers in support of their youth development programming. The funds set aside for youth professional development can be used for youth exchanges or youth participation in conferences and other professional development opportunities directly for youth.  

Community Professional Development Calls

• Cedar Tree works with grantee partners to assess their professional development interests and facilitates on-line gatherings of staff or youth for skill shares, trainings, and networking opportunities.
• These network calls will likely happen 2-3 times per year. 

Overview

Pennsylvania has two coastal areas: 112 miles of coastline along the Delaware Estuary and 77 miles of coastline along Lake Erie:

• Delaware Estuary – Lies within Bucks, Philadelphia and Delaware counties. The coastal zone also contains islands, marshes and shorelands of tributary streams that are tidally influenced. The combined facilities of the Delaware Estuary comprise the largest freshwater port in the world. 
• Lake Erie – Located within Erie County and includes the shorelines of major tributaries. The coastal zone also extends to the middle of the lake, to the boundary with Canada and inland an average of 1.4 miles. The Lake also contains Presque Isle Bay and is one of the state ports for international shipping. 

In order to safeguard these resources from future adverse impacts, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), developed a unified approach to act as trustee to conserve and maintain the natural resources of Pennsylvania’s coastal regions known as the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The CZMP was finalized and approved in September 1980, under the authority of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. DEP’s Compacts and Commissions Office manages the Coastal Resources Management (CRM) Program in the two defined coastal areas within Pennsylvania.

As a result of the adopted CZMP, annual grants are provided to DEP by the Office for Coastal Management (OCM), NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Grant awards are used to implement the CRM Program and provide a grant-in-aid program if sufficient funds permit. Monies are dispersed to fund projects within the coastal zone and coastal non-point pollution boundaries, such as planning, design, engineering, education, outreach, construction, acquisition and research as authorized by Section 306A of the CZMA, as amended. 

Coastal Zone Focus Areas 

Program policies were developed to further the goals and objectives of the CRM Program: 

Primary Focus Areas 

• Coastal Hazard Areas: Includes Lake Erie bluff recession, shoreline erosion, wave action and coastal flooding, including flooding from projected sea level rise and storm surge.
• Fisheries Management: Involves activities supporting ecologically and economically important fisheries and their habitats.
• Wetlands: Involves the protection, enhancement, and creation of coastal wetlands to maintain benefits for wildlife habitat, flood control, water quality, water flow stabilization and environmental diversity (biodiversity).
• Public access for recreation: : Includes efforts to meet the public need for boating, fishing, birding, walking, picnicking, sightseeing and other recreational pursuits associated with waterfronts.
• Historic sites and structures: Preservation, restoration and enhancement of coastally significant historic sites and structures within the coastal zones.
• Port activities: Development and enhancement of coastal port infrastructure.
• Energy facilities siting: Proper siting of energy-producing facilities to protect fragile coastal ecosystems.
• Intergovernmental coordination: Includes intergovernmental efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s coastal resources, especially the quality of air and water.
• Public involvement: Increase awareness, provide information and create opportunities for public participation in a variety of coastal issues.
• Ocean resources/biodiversity:  Includes efforts directed toward the research, study, and/or management of non-native (invasive) aquatic or terrestrial plant and/or animal species.

Activities that protect coastal waters from nonpoint source pollution resulting from marinas and recreational boating, urban activities, hydro-modifications, agriculture and other nonpoint sources are eligible for funding.

Project Eligibility

CZ grants may be applied to a wide variety of studies, plans, designs, research, acquisition and construction projects pertaining to one or more of the established program policies, which guide the competitive selection process.

Examples of some typical project proposals are as follows: 

• Efforts to educate the public regarding issues of environmental protection, non-point source water pollution, protection of coastal resources or efforts to promote such action to the public. 
• Preparation or revision of local comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, sub-division regulations and special ordinances containing provisions in support of CRM Program policies. 
• Plans, studies or other projects to improve port facilities and infrastructure, future use of coastal ports or providing public access for recreational use of docks, piers and wharves. 
• Improving resource management and environmental protection programs at the state or local level, including disseminating information or providing technical assistance to coastal communities and the public. 
• Plans, studies or projects that enhance economic development within the coastal zone, including activities to help economically revitalize under-used coastal and/or port facilities.
• Studies for interpretation and enhancement of coastal features and habitats and restoration and preservation of historic coastal sites and structures. 
• Land acquisition of coastal properties, including real estate appraisals, to improve or provide for public recreational access or open-space preservation.
• Preparation of designs, engineering plans and specifications for coastal recreational sites owned or legally controlled by a ‘government’ applicant. 
• Low-cost (defined by NOAA as no more than a total project cost of $400,000) construction projects for recreational access facilities or for rehabilitating significant historic buildings and structures located within the designated coastal zones. *Note: rehabilitation work on buildings and structures should be supported by a structural feasibility study, architectural assessment, engineering plans or similar planning products included as part of the application. If awarded, grantee must wait for NEPA approval from NOAA and notification from DEP. 

A $75,000 grant limit is generally imposed on any single project. Applicants with proposals requesting more than $75,000 in grant funding should discuss funding alternatives with CRMP staff before submitting an application.

Project Requirements

• Be environmentally sound and consistent with current state, regional, county and local ordinances and plans. 
• Obtain applicable federal, state and local permits and/or approvals for all construction projects before any construction may commence.
• Obtain concurrence of any municipal government whose approval is required for project implementation, via letter of support or resolution, if the applicant is a non-governmental agency.
• Benefit the public at large and may not be for the purpose of private gain, benefit or profits.
• Be made available and useful to all members of the general public; therefore cannot be for exclusive use of any particular group of persons.
• Be accessible to persons in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
• Be constructed on public property and open to the public.

EQIP

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is NRCS’ flagship conservation program that helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands.

EQIP provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns, such as:

• Improved water and air quality;
• Conserved ground and surface water;
• Increased soil health;
• Reduced soil erosion and sedimentation;
• Improved or created wildlife habitat; and
• Mitigation against drought and increasing weather volatility.

How It Works

NRCS works one-on-one with producers to develop a conservation plan that outlines conservation practices and activities to help solve on-farm resource issues. Producers implement practices and activities in their conservation plan that can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving their agricultural operations. EQIP helps producers make conservation work for them. Financial assistance for practices may be available through EQIP.  Some producers may also qualify for advance payment.

Benefits

Some of these benefits include:

• Reduced contamination from agricultural sources, such as animal feeding operations.
• Efficient use of nutrients, reducing input costs and reduction in nonpoint source pollution.
• Improved soil health, which mitigates against increasing weather volatility, improves drought resiliency and can positively affect climate change.
• Implementation of climate-smart practices that improve carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building resilient landscapes.

Pennsylvania EQIP Options

• Animal Feeding Operations/Livestock & Poultry Operations
  • Provides funds to help producers implement practices to reduce environmental concerns associated with livestock and poultry operations.
  • Includes manure storage and treatment, barnyard management, erosion and sediment control, nutrient management, feed management.
• Beginning Farmer
  • Producers who have operated a farm for less than ten years may qualify as Beginning Farmers in a fund pool option which only Beginning Farmers can be considered.
• Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP)/Nutrient Management Plan (NMP)
  • Financial assistance is available for developing a CNMP or Nutrient Management Plan.
  • A CNMP is required for a producer to receive NRCS funding for an animal waste storage, treatment or handling practice.
• Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)
  • Conservation grants for organizations or individuals designed to stimulate the development and adoption of conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a likelihood of success and to be candidates for eventual technology transfer.
• Conservation Activity Plans,
  • Including Ag Energy Management, Comprehensive Air Quality Management, Conservation Plan Supporting Organic Transition, Drainage Water Management, Feed Management, Fish and Wildlife Habitat, Grazing Management, Integrated Pest Management, IPM/Herbicide Resistant Weed Management, Pollinator Habitat, Prescribed Burning Plan.
• Cropland
  • Funding for conservation practices on cropland such as waterways and diversions, as well as for management practices, such as nutrient management, pest management, no-till, and cover crops.
• Forest Management
  • Funding for implementing practices in a Forest Stewardship Plan or other approved Forest Management plan.
• Forest Management Plan
  • Funding for development of a Forest Management Plan.
• Golden-Winged Warbler
  • Funding to develop or improve habitat for golden-winged warbler, a migratory at-risk species for which Pennsylvania provides important habitat, especially young forest habitat that is critical for species survival and restoration.
• Grazing
  • Funding for establishing or improving grazing systems.
• Historically Underserved Producers
  • EQIP has special funding set-asides specifically for Beginning Farmers and for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers. Farmers in these groups plus those qualifying as Limited Resource Farmers also qualify for higher payment rates.
• National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI)
  • The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers financial and technical assistance to farmers and forest landowners interested in improving water quality and aquatic habitats in priority watersheds with impaired streams.
• On-Farm Energy Conservation
  • NRCS can provide funding for energy audits to assess the energy consumption from your cooling/heating system, milking/feeding equipment lighting,  pumps and machines located in the production buildings of any agricultural operation. 
  • The information is analyzed to provide recommendations for cost-effective improvements that will reduce energy consumption. 
  • Farmers with approved energy audits can apply for funding to implement energy conserving practices.
• Organic Farming
  • For operations that are either Certified Organic or are Transitioning to Organic Production.
• Seasonal High Tunnels
  • Funding for installing high tunnels and associated supporting practices.
• Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
  • EQIP has special funding set-asides specifically for Producers in groups that have historically been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice.
  • These groups are American Indians or Alaskan Natives, Asians, Blacks or African Americans, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.
• Stream Corridor Management
  • Funding for practices to in and along stream corridors, including stream fencing; buffers; streambank erosion control, and fish habitat.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Mission Statement

The Department of Environmental Protection’s mission is to protect Pennsylvania’s air, land, and water resources and to provide for the health and safety of its residents and visitors, consistent with the rights and duties established under the Environmental Rights Amendment (Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution). We will work as partners with individuals, organizations, governments, and businesses to conserve and restore our natural resources and to address all current and future environmental challenges including climate change and environmental justice.

Pennsylvania Grid Resilience Grant Program (GRG)

Funded by a state formula grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Section 40101D, titled Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid, the GRG program is a funding opportunity to implement resilience measures throughout PA intended to mitigate the impact of electric grid disruptive events.

Round 2 

Approximately $8 million is available for new awards under Round 2 of this competitive grant program. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is seeking applications for innovative, advanced, and transformative projects throughout PA that will result in a more resilient and reliable electric grid while promoting the expansion of clean energy generation, workforce benefits, and positive outcomes in rural and urban communities. Projects funded will have an initial Period of Performance of five years. Awards may be extended to span the amount of time necessary for recipients to complete all project efforts, up to ten years.

At least five percent of the program funding is being set aside for eligible entities that sell not more than 4,000,000 MWh of electricity per year. This funding portion is referred to as “Small Utility Set Aside.”

Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program

The Chesapeake Bay Trust has been designated to receive federal funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team Funding Program. The work funded by this initiative advances outcomes identified in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Each year, certain outcomes are chosen by the Chesapeake Bay Program as top priorities to address, and these stretch across all Goal Implementation Teams (GIT) and workgroups.

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement contains five themes consisting of 10 goals that will advance the restoration and protection of the Bay watershed. These goals are interrelated: improvements in water quality can mean healthier fish and shellfish; the conservation of land can mean more habitat for wildlife; and a boost in environmental literacy can mean a rise in stewards of the Bay’s resources. Our environment is a system, and these goals will support the health of the public and of the watershed as a whole. Each goal is linked to a set of outcomes, or time-bound and measurable targets that will directly contribute to its achievement. Each outcome has a Management Strategy and Logic & Action Plan which offer insight into how the partnership will achieve each outcome, as well as how we will monitor, assess, and report progress toward abundant life, clean water, engaged communities, conserved lands, and climate change resilience.

GIT 2 – Habitat – Scopes # 1, 2, and 3

The goal of the Habitat GIT is to restore, enhance, and protect the network of land and water habitats to support fish and wildlife and to afford other public benefits, including water quality, recreational uses, and scenic value across the watershed. To learn more about the Habitat GIT visit their website at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/who/group/habitat-goal-implementation-team. 

Scope #3 - Increasing Effectiveness of Landowner Engagement to Accelerate Wetland Restoration Across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Purpose and Outcome of Scope #3: In a recent Delmarva Wetland Partnership project, the contractor leveraged biophysical targeting and social science research to develop an innovative restoration practice engagement strategy for the Delmarva Peninsula in Maryland and Delaware (Houser et al. 2022). Social science questionnaires were subsequently used to identify the status of priority landowners’ interest in, knowledge of, and potential motivations for restoration practice adoption. This work revealed that among the surveyed landowners, the vast majority were unaware of the opportunities to implement restoration practices on their land (65%) and were interested in exploring these practices and programs (77%). The findings from the questionnaires allowed the Delmarva Wetland Partnership program to tailor engagement and deliver a social-marketing mail-based recruitment effort (Rickenbach et al. 2017), which approximately doubled the number of priority Maryland and Delaware landowners pursuing restoration programs. It is estimated to generate over five hundred acres of restored or enhanced wetlands over the next three years, in addition to adding more projects to the pipeline.

This Scope #3 will expand on the Delmarva Wetland Partnership’s restoration engagement program by designing, implementing, and analyzing complementary landowner social science data canvasing in the Pennsylvania and Virginia portions of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to understand the best ways to engage these landowners in restoration activities and expansion. Scope #3 will facilitate partnership development by collaborating with a diverse group of organizations and accelerate wetland restoration. This will be completed by 1) identifying current landowner interest and barriers and 2) generating a contact list of potential interested landowners and offering restoration program insights with both federal and state wetland program staff.

Key Tasks of Scope #3:

• Creation and approval of a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
• Questionnaire Design: To ensure generated data directly supports outreach/implementation teams, the contractor will co-produce questionnaires with state-specific restoration partners to gain insight applicable directly to partner-led outreach and broadly to state/federal restoration programs.
• Data Collection: Following a Tailored Design Approach (Dillman et al. 2014), the contractor will design and deliver questionnaire packets via mail to approximately 3,000 landowners per state (6,000 total). Questionnaire mailings include: (1) A pre-questionnaire post-card; (2) a questionnaire mailing packet that contains a (a) Cover letter including human subjects research participant information; (b) Questionnaire; and (c) Return envelope.  Non-respondents will receive up to three “reminder” mailings, per best practice for increasing response rates (Dillman et al. 2014).
• Data Processing and Analysis: Upon receiving returned and completed questionnaires, the contractor will enter reported data into a raw-data file and subsequently clean and analyze the data to determine cross-cutting and geographically specific themes related to wetland restoration interest, motivations, and barriers. This analysis will be compared and combined with our existing data from Maryland and Delaware landowners.
• Report Writing and Sharing: From the analysis of social data, the contractor will write reports summarizing the results and recommendations. The contractor will also present the results to the Wetland Workgroup and other interested organizations.

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Pennsylvania River of the Year

POWR administers the River of the Year program with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Pennsylvania’s River of the Year is an honor designed to elevate public awareness of specific waterways and recognize important conservation needs and achievements. Waterways selected through a nomination process go up for public vote on the POWR website (www.pawatersheds.org) Voting is restricted to one vote per email address.

Once a waterway is designated, the host organization plans a comprehensive series of events throughout the year to honor and highlight the waterway, including a kick-off sojourn. The host organization receives a $10,000 grant to support the events celebrating the River of the Year.

Our History

Colcom Foundation is rooted in a philanthropic tradition that supports important causes whether or not they are embraced by popular culture. For example, the Foundation’s benefactor was among the most generous supporters of women’s reproductive freedoms long before the majority of Americans supported these rights. Colcom continues this legacy by promoting a public dialogue on ecologically sustainable immigration policy. Additionally, the Foundation supports physician aid-in-dying and individual autonomy at the end of life.

The Foundation’s work in southwest Pennsylvania reflects its deep roots in the region; efforts focus on remediating environmental damage from a history of heavy industry and supporting the region’s rich cultural heritage.

Colcom Foundation’s funding interests include:

Local Environment

Colcom Foundation supports environmental and conservation projects in southwestern Pennsylvania.

• Advocacy
• Land Conservation
• Education and Media
• Conservation Research
• Stewardship
• Trails
• Waste Cleanup and Diversion
• Youth

Local Community

Colcom Foundation supports projects that enrich and improve quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania.

• Arts and Culture
• Community and Economic Development
• Education
• Health and Human Services
• Leisure and Recreation

Just Born Quality Confections strives to bring sweetness to the communities where we live and work. Our corporate granting program allows us to be a catalyst for change by bringing smiles to our community, nurturing kids, helping families in need, and being a collaborative partner.

When applying for our grants, please know, particular interest will be paid to programs that specifically help underprivileged, underserved, and underrepresented children and families.

Our purpose is to bring sweetness to people’s lives and can only be fully realized by pledging to value all people, all races, all cultures, all religions, all love, all genders and all abilities, because Together We Are Better. As part of our commitment to DEI, we will provide at least 15% of our funds to non-profits with diverse leadership reflecting the communities they serve.

The health and well-being of children and their families is the primary focus of Just Born’s corporate giving program. We make grants in these areas:

Arts and Culture –The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures. They are also a fundamental component of a healthy community. They strengthen us socially, educationally, and economically. Programs supported by our Arts and Culture grants should increase access to the arts, preserve history, and help enhance the overall cultural climate in our community.

Programs supported by our Arts and Culture grants include, but are not limited to:

• Music and art education
• Improving access to the arts
• Participation in visual, theatrical and musical arts
• Conservation of arts and culture
• Art therapy

Education – Providing academic opportunities for youth in our community helps to prepare them for a stable and productive future. Just Born Quality Confections is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide or supplement a high-quality education. 

Programs supported by our Education grants include, but are not limited to:

• Early Childhood Education
• School Readiness
• Early Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities
• Literacy Initiatives – Especially those aimed at reading by a 3rd grade level
• STEM/STEAM Initiatives
• Summer Learning Opportunities
• College Preparatory Programs
• Career Readiness Programs
• Programs that improve & increase academic achievement, school attendance, and positive social behavior
• Inclusion programs

Health and Human Services – Just Born Quality Confections supports programs that strive to meet the basic needs of our vulnerable and/or underserved populations. These programs should promote character building, encourage mental and physical health, create safe neighborhoods, improve food access, improve access to shelter/housing, and promote equitable opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged children and families.

Programs supported by our Health and Human Service grants include, but are not limited to:

Nutrition and Food Access:

• Programs that increase access to sufficient and nutritious food
• Meal service programs that ensure homebound people have access to nutritious food
• Projects that increase cold storage and handling or that make other modifications necessary to serve more people

Health Care Needs:

• Providing medical care to unhoused populations
• Nurse Family Partnership programs
• Health Education Programs
• Mobile Healthcare Programs
• Mindfulness and Mental Health Initiatives
• Pediatric Therapy Programs – (e.g.: Equine and Developmental therapy…)
• Programs serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Programs enabling older adults to remain independent

Trauma, Abuse, and Safety:

• Programs that support trauma informed practices
• Programs that reduce the long-term traumatic effects of abuse and exposure to community violence.
• Domestic violence programs that provide safe shelter, counseling, legal assistance, and other support services.
• Shelter for those fleeing physical, mental, economic, and sexual abuse.
• Prevention and treatment programs that strive to reduce, and alleviate the effects of, sexual and physical abuse and human trafficking
• Drug education and prevention programs

Community Building and Development – Just Born Quality Confections believes that behind every successful business is a strong community. We support causes that encourage community collaboration and improve the general well-being of our community. Programs supported by Community Building grants should invest in people by increasing skills, knowledge, abilities or well-being, and strengthen community resources.

Programs supported by our Community Building grants include, but are not limited to:

Housing:

• Stable affordable housing for individuals, children, and families
• Emergency Shelter
• Rapid Re-housing programs that include case management, limited financial assistance, job services, and career development
• Housing for veterans, young adults with developmental disabilities, those escaping domestic violence, and other vulnerable populations
• Services that allow young adults with disabilities and seniors to live independently at home

Workforce Development:

• Job-training programs that collaborate with local businesses to educate students on high-priority occupations and career pathways. Particular interest will be placed on programs supporting workforce development in the field of manufacturing.
• Life-skills and job-readiness training
• Hard and soft-skills training
• Paid internship opportunities
• Opportunities for young adults with disabilities who are transitioning from a school environment into the workplace
• Programs to reduce recidivism and encourage job readiness

Financial Literacy and Economic Stability:

• Financial coaching programs to help participants decrease debt, increase savings, and set long-term financial goals.

Environmental, Conservation, and Sustainability – Just Born Quality Confections invests in initiatives that foster sustainable communities. This includes projects that protect threatened ecosystems, preserve the health of our planet, and promote environmental education.

Programs supported by our Environmental, Conservation & Sustainability grants include, but are not limited to:

• Programs to protect and restore our waterways and preserve land
• Opportunities for children to participate in nature-based programming
• Environmental education initiatives
• Waste reduction and recycling programs

Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition

We strive to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States.

Conservation

Wildlife flourishes and people thrive in once-imperiled habitats, through strategic land protection, stewardship, and activation, and sustainable economic development that deploys renewable energy and new technologies that foster livable communities and healthy natural systems.

Economic Development

To help make Southwestern Pennsylvania an engine for economic growth and vitality by investing in the ingenuity and creativity of its population, enhancing individuals’ economic prosperity, and strengthening our sense of community.

Economic Mobility

All children and youth living in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will be able to access their most promising future. We invest in pathways to opportunity for vulnerable children and youth to overcome the obstacles to achieving economic mobility.

Health & Well-Being

Everyone in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, particularly the most vulnerable, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.

Organizational Effectiveness

Our partners will have the organizational strength and agility to pursue big ideas and take risks in service of accelerating the achievement of their strategic priorities.

Social-Impact Investments

The Foundation is currently accepting applications for its annual Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition.

The Foundation's social-impact investing enables mission-driven for-profit companies to secure the risk capital, networks, and resources they need to develop products, deploy services, and address societal issues at the individual and community level.

Vision and Focus Areas

We commit to creating a vibrant, equitable and just Pittsburgh region that supports everyone – regardless of race, identity or circumstance – to thrive and fulfill their potential.

Under our strategic plan, we strive to strengthen our focus on community and the positive impact that can be achieved through our grantmaking. Our current areas of focus are: Basic Needs, Equity and Social Justice, Arts and Culture, Economic Mobility and Environmental Action. From time to time, we have special grant-making opportunities related to specific regions or to issues such as juvenile justice or senior care. 

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas listed below.

Basic Needs

We seek to improve the stability of low-income people by supporting direct assistance to obtain food, housing, health care, mental health supports, child care, education and employment.

Across our basic needs grantmaking, we are committed to expanding knowledge of, improving access to, and improving coordination among local resources and human services.

• Food Access: We seek to support programs and services that assist low-income individuals and families to obtain enough food.
• Child Care: We seek to ensure equitable access to quality child care.
• Education: We strive to ensure access to high-quality in-class education as well as culturally-responsive,  out-of-school time programs.
• Mental and Physical Health: We aim to support the mental and physical health needs of residents by ensuring access to quality, affordable and culturally responsive services.
• Housing: We seek to support or fill gaps in a county-wide eviction prevention system, and help support those living in transitional housing and/or facing unexpected loss of housing.
• Employment: We seek to support youth and adults who experience significant barriers to employment.

Equity and Social Justice

We seek to support civic participation and community organizing to achieve policy changes.

Our equity and social justice grantmaking places strong emphasis on leadership by individuals who have been directly impacted by systemic injustice, as we believe that they are best positioned to propose solutions that remove barriers that impeded their ability to thrive.

• Civic Participation
  • Voter Engagement: We seek to support the ability of the nonprofit sector to engage historically underrepresented populations and communities that have documented low voter turnout.
  • Access to Information: We seek to support public media  outlets and other platforms that produce professional, regionally focused, fact-based news coverage and information.
• Community-Driven Solutions
  • Protect Basic Needs:  We seek to support grassroots organizations and resident-informed initiatives that address barriers that prevent families from being able to meet their basic needs and thrive.
  • End Mass Incarceration:  We seek to uplift and provide resources for community-led efforts to change policies and practices that result in over-policing and over-incarceration.
  • Youth Justice:  We are interested in supporting intervention and prevention activities that support youth who have any involvement with the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Environmental Action

We seek to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment.

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

• Equitable Access to Land, Water, and Air: To promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources.
• Learning and Action: We seek to address the harms of chronic pollution and mitigate future impacts, translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and support resident voice in environmental decision-making in their communities.

Arts and Culture

We seek to strengthen small-to-mid-sized arts organizations and support individual artists by fostering a diverse, healthy and just arts ecosystem. 

• Small-to-Mid-Sized Arts Organizations: Small and Mid-Size Arts Organizations face disparities in their ability to access resources.
• Support for Careers and Lives of Individual Artists: Through this funding to individual artists, the Foundation hopes that the Pittsburgh region will be exposed to the breadth of human experience and the unparalleled talent the region has to offer.

Economic Mobility

We seek to reduce the wealth gap in Allegheny County.

• Access to Post-Secondary Education: We seek to support programs that enable students to earn college credit while in high school; admissions navigation support and academic and financial counseling; re-engagement strategies for students who have stopped attending school; and supports for non-traditional students.
• Career Advancement: We are interested in supporting organizations that offer technology training with career potential. 
• Entrepreneurship: We are interested in efforts to increase entrepreneurship.
• Homeownership: In 2025, applications for the Homeownership focus area will be by invitation only.

Types of Grants

Recognizing that nonprofits need flexible support that allows them to adapt to changing community needs, we offer applicants the opportunity to apply for two types of grant support:

• Project/Program Support:  Funds are used to develop and/or implement a specific set of programmatic activities. These grants are usually time-bound and aimed at achieving specific goals and milestones.
• General Operating Support: Funds can be used at the discretion of the organization to cover any costs necessary to carry out its mission. This means that the grant award can be used to cover day-to-day activities or ongoing expenses such as administrative salaries, rent and office supplies, etc., as well as for program costs, software and hardware purchases, and professional development

Our Priorities

We will prioritize funding for organizations that reflect one or more of the following:

• Primarily serve communities disproportionately impacted by poverty.
• Have a demonstrated commitment to addressing the historical and present-day impact of social injustices on the specific communities it serves.
• Have an established history in the communities in which it works.
• Are representative of the communities it serves, including but not limited to, leadership and staff who have lived experience in the community issues that it addresses.
• Meaningfully integrate the experience and perspectives of the communities that it serves in the design, implementation, evaluation and/or decision-making process for its strategies and/or programs.

Funding

Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds. One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000.

In limited situations, proposals that align with one or more of our grantmaking focus areas and with grantmaking priorities, and that clearly demonstrate the need and potential impact, may be considered for a larger grant. Organization leaders should have a conversation with a program officer before submitting a request for more than $150,000.

Pittsburgh Foundation

Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and as of 2022 is the 18th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States.

As a community foundation, its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of improving quality of life for all in the region.

Foundation-Directed Grantmaking

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas: Basic Needs; Equity and Social Justice; Environmental Action; Arts and Culture; and Economic Mobility.

Duration: Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds.

Amounts: One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000. Actual grant amounts are determined based on staff review of each individual application and consideration of the funding available at the time the application is received.

Environmental Action

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

Environmental Action Grants: Equitable Access to Land, Water and Air

To promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources. We recognize the constitutionally protected right of all residents to clean air and water and the multiple benefits of connection to safe and accessible outdoor greenspaces.

Specifically, we are interested in supporting strategies that:

• Increase access to greenspace for environmental justice communities.
• Support conservation and stewardship projects that center community voice, mitigate or help communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and advance public health and increase social impact (i.e., workforce development opportunities, outdoor school, increased human-powered mobility).
• Address safety and community priorities through local and regional clean water initiatives.
• Seek to examine and improve regional air quality.
• Address health disparities attributed to environmental pollution and risk exposures.

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.

Partnerships projects are collaborative statewide or regional initiatives that help build local, county, regional and statewide capacity to better develop and manage recreation and park facilities and to promote the conservation of natural and heritage resources through plan implementation, education and training.

Project Types for Partnerships

Convening, Education, or Training

Projects that develop, promote, and/or conduct training or education programs; prepare and distribute technical assistance or educational materials, brochures or videos and/or otherwise provide for the training and education of professionals and/or the general public on a local, county, regional or statewide basis. These projects address issues related to plan implementation, capacity building, training or education programs related to natural resource and community conservation, land and open space preservation, greenways, trails and recreation and parks.

• Example of these types of projects include: Advancing awareness of rivers, greenways, trails, recreation and/or conservation issues through educational conferences, workshops, materials, publications, sojourns and websites.

Special Purpose and Planning Studies

Special Purpose Planning is a comprehensive planning process that will define a long-range (5-10 year) plan of action to organize, implement, manage and market natural resource and community conservation, heritage resources, land and open space preservation, greenways, trails, recreation and parks, or cultural preservation.

Special Purpose Study is a more concentrated study or plan necessary to implement one or more of the recommendations of a previously completed planning study. These projects will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

The Bureau requires that project consultants are selected using a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process.

• Examples of special purpose studies would be management action plans, economic assessments, marketing plans, specialized inventories, preservation and interpretive plans, as well as, special feasibility studies.

Implementation Projects

Implementation Projects are non-planning projects that implement recommendations of previously completed special purpose plans or studies. Examples of implementation projects include the construction of interpretive/educational exhibits, programs, signage and materials, as well as, promotional/marketing products.

The Bureau requires an open and competitive process for the award of all sub-contracts.

Mini-Grants

Statewide and regional partners may request mini-grant funding to develop small grant programs that will implement multiple projects through their local partners. These projects should advance priorities identified through previous completed plans. The request can include a combination of project types eligible for funding under the Statewide and Regional category.

About

The Preservation Leadership Forum of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is a network of preservation leaders — professionals, students, volunteers, activists, experts — who share the latest ideas, information, and advice, and have access to in-depth preservation resources and training.

Henry A. Jordan, M.D., Preservation Excellence Fund - Mid-Atlantic States

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Henry A. Jordan, M.D., Preservation Excellence Fund provides funding to deserving organizations demonstrating commitment to the protection of natural and cultural resources in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Jordan Preservation Excellence Fund was established in November 1996 in recognition of Dr. Jordan’s distinguished service to the National Trust and his visionary leadership of the national preservation movement. Applicants can apply for up to $5,000.

The fund awards programs and activities that:

• Facilitate positive dialogues between the diverse interests of historic preservation, land conservation, business development, transportation, and government in a search for common ground in protecting the environment
• Stimulate the development of local and state policies that protect the cultural landscape and its resources
• Heighten public awareness of or increase involvement in issues relating to the livability and sustainability of communities
• Encourage innovative partnerships and approaches to open space conservation and historic preservation

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Northeast Environmental Partnership Awards

 The Northeastern Pennsylvania Environmental Partnership Awards are presented annually to recognize the achievements of individuals or organizations that, through partnerships, have achieved excellence in environmental protection or conservation. The Evening also showcases the recipient of the Thomas P. Shelburne Environmental Leadership Award, which was established to recognize an individual who stands out for his or her lifetime achievement and long-term commitment to environmental quality through inspirational leadership, dedication, and commitment to partnering. The 2025 Emerging Environmental Leader Award will also be awarded to an individual 30 years of age and under who demonstrates environmental leadership, creativity, and dedication to inspire others to adopt similar actions to protect the environment. 

Susquehanna Riverland Conservation Landscape Mini-Grant Program

The Conservancy and its partners are excited to announce that we are accepting applications through July 1 for the 2025 Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape (SRCL) Mini-Grant Program. This program provides small competitive grants, ranging from $2,000 to $20,000, towards projects that advance the SRCL mission.

The SRCL is a collaboration of communities and organizations working to protect land, steward natural and cultural resources, connect people with natural spaces, and promote sustainable economic development. Susquehanna Riverlands, which includes municipalities along the Susquehanna River in Lancaster and York counties, is one of eight conservation landscapes in Pennsylvania where partners work together to protect natural assets and improve quality of life for community members.

Are you proposing or working on a public-facing project in the SRCL that will improve habitat/trail connectivity, promote sustainable river access, benefit ecosystem health, or facilitate community partnership/collaboration?

If yes, consider applying for a 2025 Mini-Grant! Among the many potential project ideas is funding to assist with hiring a consultant for professional services – including planning – before applying for a bigger implementation grant, interpretive or wayfinding signage, or accessibility improvements.