Grant priorities include:

• Building organizational capacity that supports underserved communities resilience to climate hazards including participation in municipal or regional-scale resilience planning, project planning and feasibility studies, stakeholder engagement, proposal development for future funding, and outreach and education
• Restoration project activities that enhance underserved communities resilience to climate hazards including demonstration projects, such as engineering and design, permitting, on-the-ground restoration, and pre- and post-project implementation monitoring

Click on the next section to learn more about this funding opportunity’s eligibility requirements.

The following threshold requirements must be met to be eligible for this funding opportunity:

• NOAA does not have one tool, or a preferred method for you to use to identify and/or prove your underserved status. The applicant’s responsibility is to describe how the community has been underserved. There are a variety of resources available to identify underserved communities, such as interviews, surveys, studies or plans developed by local governments, U.S. Census Bureau Information, etc. For more information, please click here.

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

A non-federal match not required to apply, and non-federal match is not included in the Evaluation Criteria, and therefore not included in scores during the technical review process. Non-federal match and/or leverage funds may be optionally included within the application to demonstrate stakeholder support for the proposed work.

Stakeholder support, such as documentation demonstrating contributions of time, meeting space, funding, etc. that demonstrate the community’s commitment to the project and/or its chances of success is part of the evaluation criteria.

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

Eligible costs:

• Through this funding, NOAA will help support community-driven habitat restoration and build the capacity of tribes and underserved communities to more fully participate in restoration activities, including nature-based solutions. Projects selected through this opportunity will span several types of activities, including capacity building, actionable science support, and restoration.

Ineligible costs:

• A proposal that is focused SOLELY on the acquisition of real property, such as land is not eligible.
• Funding for hard infrastructure ONLY for water quality improvement is not eligible.
• Basic research is not eligible under this funding opportunity.

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

The recommended project period is three years. A shorter project period is acceptable, and there is potential for up to five years, if necessary and approved by NOAA.

Click on the next section to learn more about this funding opportunity’s application deadline and forms.

Proposals must be received through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern time on December 19, 2023.

Applicants should apply through the Grants.gov website. A complete standard NOAA financial assistance application package should be submitted in accordance with the guidelines in the Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement posted to Grants.gov. Each application must include the application forms from the SF-424 form family.

Click on the “Contact Information” section below to find out about current grant cycles and to get in touch with this funding opportunity’s program officers.

For questions regarding the funding opportunity or referrals to a regional point of contact, please contact:

Julia Royster, Competition Manager
Phone: (301) 427-8686