This funding opportunity’s grant priorities includes:

• Work rooted in community. This includes work proposed by and with support from Tribal or disadvantaged community members who understand, based on lived experience, what approaches will work best for their area.
• Entities or organizations that are seeking federal pass-through funding for the first time and/or have limited experience receiving charitable funds or grants.
• Projects that clearly demonstrate the benefits of their proposed activities to their community and their local trees.

Eligibility Requirements for this funding opportunity include:

• Applicants who are community-based nonprofit organizations that have 501(c)3 status or a fiscal sponsor are eligible
• All proposed projects must fund work that directly impacts disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) or the EPA IRA Disadvantaged Communities tool
• Applicants will need to provide the census tract number for the disadvantaged community that your proposed project will benefit. Applicants can select more than one community.

Click on the next section to learn more about the matching requirements for this funding opportunity.

Match or cost share is NOT a requirement for requesting grant funds.

Click on the next section to learn more about the eligible costs for this funding opportunity.

Examples of eligible costs include:

Urban and Community Forestry Planning and Implementation

• Planning and carrying out tree plantings as stand-alone projects or as part of larger green infrastructure projects;
• Integration of tree planting and/or tree care into watershed, climate resilience or other planning efforts;
• Community or volunteer-based tree inventories or programs to monitor tree/forest health;
• Incorporating tree plantings into existing greenways, parks and water trails, projects that support community health;
• Initiating partnerships with public health professionals and organizations to assess and mitigate extreme heat or air quality concerns in a neighborhood through trees;
• Tree care and maintenance including the removal of invasive species or hazardous tree removal, tree watering or the installation of tree protection;
• The promotion of native trees for residential or school based “stormwater-smart” programs or the planting of “edible forests” that provide people with cultural connections and access to food.
• Facilitating dialogue between renters and property owners to increase renter involvement in tree planting and tree care activities.
• Mangrove forest restoration or other forestry approaches that address coastal and river bank erosion through tree planting.

Urban and Community Forestry Education and Outreach

• Projects that build community support for trees, forests and green spaces through public programming, education campaigns, and volunteer opportunities;
• Support for the creation of grassroots, volunteer-led tree distribution and care program;
• Projects that provide educational activities for youth on the many benefits of trees and foster the next generation of tree stewards;
• Projects that increase languages that educational materials are provided in and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility of educational materials related to trees and urban forestry;
• Projects that build trust with disadvantaged communities by engaging residents in all steps of a tree-planting project, from selecting priority areas of where to plant trees to ways of measuring success.

Urban and Community Forestry Workforce Development

• Projects that establish or expand existing workforce development, job training, and youth training programs to include tree planting and maintenance activities.
• Support for expanded recruitment and access to workforce development programs by increasing language options and ADA accessibility for programs providing career pathways to urban and community forestry related jobs.

Click on the next section to learn more about this funding opportunity’s project timeline.

Grants will range over a 1-3 year period, dependent upon the project, its activities, and grantee capacity. Projects must start no later than January 1, 2025, and must be completed by January 1, 2028.Please contact grant administrators using the Contact Information section below.

Click on the next section for this funding opportunity’s application deadline and forms.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm ET, October 23, 2024 via River Network’s online application portal. River Network invites you to reach out to them before this deadline to discuss your project and see if it may be a good fit, and to access our free technical assistance to help you apply.

Click on the next section to access the Contact Information for this funding opportunity.

For assistance with this funding opportunity, please email:

 Rooting Resilience at River Network

Applicants can also schedule virtual office hours.