Oportunidades de Financiamiento

Are you an Indigenous student passionate about agriculture? The Tribal Agriculture Fellowship is your opportunity to participate in a fellowship devoted to sharing the Indigenous perspective and making a difference in Tribal agriculture. Our application will reopen again in Fall 2024. Become part of our mission to create a lasting impact for future generations.

Together, let’s shape the future of Native agriculture.

Eligibility
TAF was designed to aid Native students in achieving their educational goals leading to careers in agriculture. The fellowship program provides a generous benefits package that can include up to four years of fellowship status, with funding to earn agricultural degrees or technical certifications.

Rising and current technical, undergraduate, and graduate students
Provide proof of Tribal enrollment or community connectedness
Upon selection for TAF, provide acceptance/enrollment information for selected academic or certificate program
Upon selection for Tribal Agriculture Fellowship program, fellows will be required to:

Sustain suitable academic progress
Complete two (2) fellowship hours per month assigned by TAF staff
Participate in all TAF required activities
Provide semester updates to TAF Program Coordinator
Serve as a peer mentor to upcoming Fellows

Have questions about the application?
Reach out to April, our program coordinator. Her email is aprilp@taffellows.org or phone is 479-871-2135.

Supporters
In recognition of the need for more agriculture education opportunities specifically geared toward Native students, the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) established the Tribal Agriculture Fellowship (TAF) with additional support provided by John Deere, Farmer Mac and the Farm Credit.

The EPA’s Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, Tribal Nations, communities, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites. This funding opportunity will award assessment grants to develop inventories of brownfield sites, prioritize sites, conduct community involvement activities, conduct planning, conduct site assessments, develop site-specific cleanup plans, and develop reuse plans related to brownfield sites. A portion of the Assessment Grant funding must be used to conduct site assessments.

This opportunity provides funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the applicant. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, contaminant, controlled substance, petroleum, or petroleum product, or is mine-scarred land. This program is being funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”).

Community-wide Assessment Grants are for communities that are beginning to address their brownfield challenges, as well as for communities that have ongoing efforts to bring sites into productive reuse. This funding opportunity will provide funding for developing inventories of brownfield sites, prioritizing sites, conducting community involvement activities, conducting planning, conducting site assessments, developing site-specific cleanup plans, and developing reuse plans related to brownfield sites. A portion of the assessment grant funding must be used to conduct site assessments.

Assessment Grants provide funding for developing inventories of brownfield sites, prioritizing sites, conducting community involvement activities, conducting planning, conducting site assessments, developing site-specific cleanup plans, and developing reuse plans related to brownfield sites. A portion of the Assessment Grant funding must be used to conduct site assessments. Assessment Grant funds may not be used to conduct cleanup activities.

Community-wide Assessment Grants are appropriate for communities that are beginning to
address their brownfield challenges, as well as for communities that have ongoing efforts to
bring sites into productive reuse.

Applicants may request funding up to $500,000 to address sites contaminated by hazardous
substances (i.e., sites with potential contamination of hazardous substances, pollutants, or
contaminants) and/or petroleum7 (i.e., sites with potential petroleum contamination). For the purposes of this solicitation, the cost of assessment activities carried out at each approved, eligible site may not exceed $200,000 per site.

EPA will determine site eligibility after the award of the grant throughout the project period.

Applicants can only apply for one Community-wide Assessment Grant.

Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) are used to provide no-interest or low-interest loans for eligible brownfield cleanups, subgrants for cleanups, and other eligible programmatic costs necessary to manage the RLF. Applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: a vision for the cleanup, reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and a strategy for leveraging resources to help accomplish the vision; the environmental, social, health and economic needs and benefits of the target area(s); strong community engagement; reasonable costs, eligible tasks, and appropriate use of grant funding; the capacity for managing and successfully implementing the cooperative agreement; and other factors.

Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to a grant recipient to capitalize an RLF
program. RLF programs provide loans and subgrants to eligible entities to carry out cleanup
activities at brownfield sites contaminated with hazardous substances and/or petroleum. Site eligibility will be determined by EPA after grant award and prior to expending grant funds at any site. Sites where hazardous substances and petroleum contamination are distinguishable must meet eligibility requirements for both contaminants.
Only eligible entities that do not have, or are not a part of (i.e., a coalition member), an open
cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF at the time of application may apply for funding under this solicitation. An “open” cooperative agreement is one in which the Period of performance, as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1, has not yet ended. The period of performance is specified in EPA’s initial or amended “Notice of Award.”

Note for grant recipients that do have an open cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF:
Grant recipients with an open cooperative agreement will be given the opportunity to request
additional funding to capitalize their RLF program through the Brownfields Program’s annual,
non-competitive, supplemental funding process. As of Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), instead of
extending the existing RLF cooperative agreement period of performance when providing
supplemental funding, EPA may choose to award a new RLF Grant. Additional information on the timing, requirements, and procedures for supplemental funding requests will be available on EPA’s Brownfields Program Website (www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-revolving-loanfund-rlf-grants).

The American-Made Large Animal and Solar System Operations (LASSO) Prize offers more than $8 million in cash prizes to multi-stakeholder teams that develop impactful projects to deepen our understanding of the co-location of solar photovoltaics (PV) and cattle grazing operations (cattle agrivoltaics).

The LASSO Prize is designed to bring solar developers, farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders together to form teams; build pilot sites; identify best practices, use cases, costs, applicable business models, and associated energy and agricultural outcomes; host field days; and more!

Prize Overview
Agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar PV and agriculture, is a growing industry that shows promising benefits for both agricultural production and solar energy development.

Cattle agrivoltaics has the potential to reduce land use conflict, preserve agricultural land, increase landowner and farmer/rancher revenues, and may also benefit animal welfare and plant and soil health while easing some of the barriers to solar energy deployment.

This innovative practice is relatively new in the United States, and more pilot and pilot site projects are needed to de-risk designs and business models to prove that cattle agrivoltaics can yield agricultural and economic opportunities.

The LASSO Prize, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, will support pilot and pilot sites projects designed to gather and share information about costs, business models, and energy and agricultural outcomes associated with cattle agrivoltaics. The prize also aims to support relationship-building between the solar energy and agricultural communities and generate best practices that will help expand the industry.

Interested competitors are encouraged to create multi-stakeholder teams and compete in one of two available tracks: Standard Track and Operating Projects Track. Phase 1 submissions for both tracks are due March 6, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET.

Standard Track
The Standard Track is open to new cattle agrivoltaics projects. Through the three phases (Phase 2 consists of two subphases), this track focuses on teaming, system and grazing plan design, construction, implementation, and multi-year data collection.

Standard Track
The Standard Track is open to new cattle agrivoltaics projects. Through the three phases (Phase 2 consists of two subphases), this track focuses on teaming, system and grazing plan design, construction, implementation, and multi-year data collection.

Bonus Prizes
The LASSO Prize offers two bonus prizes: the Largest PV System Bonus Prize and the Data Bounty Bonus Prize.

The Largest PV System Bonus Prize is awarded to the team with the largest operational cattle agrivoltaics system in which cattle interact with a DC-rated PV capacity over 5 MW-dc, considering only teams from the Standard Track with eligible Standard Track Phase 2B submissions.

The Data Bounty Bonus Prize is awarded to the team that submits the most valuable datasets from cattle agrivoltaics projects that go above and beyond minimum requirements. Submissions from both Standard Track Phase 3 and Operating Projects Track Phase 2 are eligible for this bonus prize.

Who Is Eligible to Compete
The prize is open to U.S.-based individuals and organizations, including solar developers, ranchers, and farmers. Teams are encouraged to include members who are hardware and software manufacturers, local governments, utilities, commodity organizations, historically underserved producers, researchers, extension programs, and universities with expertise in cattle research and agrivoltaics. See the Official Rules for eligibility criteria.

NOTE: For this prize, cattle agrivoltaics entails the co-location of solar PV arrays and cattle grazing. It does not include rooftop PV systems, projects without interaction between the cattle and the PV array, or projects with any livestock other than cattle.

Purpose:
Priorities for RMC LLAR Prop 68:

Develop urban recreation projects and habitat protection or restoration projects,Provide workforce development opportunities,Expand access to diverse populations,Secured matching funds

RMC’s LLAR Grants are specific to the Lower LA River corridor, considered within 1.5 miles of the main stem or tributary of the Lower LA River. Projects should be consistent with the Lower LA River Revitalization Plan.

Description:
Lower Los Angeles River:

The Lower Los Angeles River program area encompasses 1.5 miles on each side of the river’s lower 19-miles, from the City of Vernon to the City of Long Beach. The Lower Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan (LLARRP) describes opportunities for improving the environment of the Lower Los Angeles River. The plan was developed through a watershed-based, equitable, community-driven process and it identified 155 potential multi-benefit projects that would improve community economics, health, and equity; the public realm; and water and the environment along and in the vicinity of the river. The Plan has been incorporated into the watershed (LLARRP) describes opportunities for improving the environment of Lower Los Angeles River. The plan was developed through a watershed-based, equitable, community-driven process and it identified 155 potential multi-benefit projects that would improve community economics, health, equity; public realm; water along in vicinity river. Plan has been incorporated into Los Angeles River Master Plan Update. Funding will support projects in line with the LLARRP, immediate drought response, and long-term water resilience.

Funding for the SDAC specific grant program shall support Severely Disadvantaged Communities as defined by the state of California.

Applications:

Applications will be submitted in two phases: a Concept Proposal and a Full Application. Applicants will first submit a Concept Proposal that will be reviewed by RMC staff for consistency with RMC goals, any specific program priorities, and the strength of the proposed project. In addition, RMC staff will look at all Concept Proposals for location, need, project type, readiness, threats, cost, and cost share. RMC staff will offer applicants feedback regarding alignment with priorities, overall merit, and any ineligible costs. RMC staff will select Concept Proposals to move forward and will invite selected applicants to submit Full Applications. Applicants will be provided the Full Application upon RMC invitation. RMC staff are available to work with Applicants during the preparation of the Full Application, as needed. RMC may request Applicants to revise and resubmit Full Applications, as necessary.

It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants contact RMC staff for a consultation prior to submitting a Concept Proposal.

Eligible Applicants:
Nonprofit Public Agency Tribal Government

Eligible Applicants Include:

State agencies

Federal agencies

Tribal entities recognized on the current US Federal Register or the Native American Heritage Commission as a California Native American tribe

Local public agencies, including:

City or county

Water districts

School districts

Certified local conservation corps

Non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation

Joint Powers Authority (JPA)

Eligible Uses
The following uses are eligible for reimbursement from RMC grant funds:
■ Grant funds may be used for the acquisition, development, rehabilitation, restoration, and
protection of land and water resources.
■ Land acquisition costs may include appraisals, land, improvements, relocation costs, title reports, surveying, and escrow.
■ Land must be acquired from willing selle rs.
■ Facilities development projects must demonstrate a strong relationship and value to natural resource stewardship or environmental education.
■ Rehabilitation and restoration projects must be biologically and technically feasible.
■ Planning and pre- project costs can be included, though shall not exceed 20 percent
of total Grant Funds. (For complicated and extensive projects, this maximum may be increased to 25 percent on an exceptional basis. Please contact RMC with questions.) These costs may include consultant fees, plan documentation, specifications, CEQA/NEPA planning, and direct project management costs.
■ Indirect and Overhead expenses are allowed, though shall not exceed 10 percent
of total Grant Funds. Projects that have lower overhead will be deemed more competitive.

Ineligible Uses
The following uses are not eligible for reimbursement from RMC grant funds:
■ Operations and Maintenance related costs.
■ Projects that are located on school properties and not open to the general public or designed solely for school students, unless part of a multi - use project which allows for access from the general public.
■ Playground equipment and/or infrastructure such as swing sets and skate parks.
■ Facilities that do not have an environmental education focus or theme, such as basketball courts, hockey courts, etc. Multi- use projects may include these elements, but this program will not fund planning or development of such facilities.
■ Projects that cause erosion or contribute to flooding.
■ Projects on land or improved property acquired by condemnation from an unwilling seller.
■ BMP (Best Management Practices) directed projects that lack an improved habitat, low impact public recreation access, or environmental education components.
■ Projects traditionally provided by the private, non- government sector or by concessionaires, such as gift shops, equipment rentals, concession stands, etc., unless it can be shown that no private entrepreneur is willing to provide services, and there is demonstrated need for the Project.
■ Projects that exclusively fulfill other mitigation requirements.

The Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper Challenge (LQC Challenge) is a new challenge grant program from Patronicity. Changemakers with projects that use Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper strategies to make improvements to communities that are inexpensive, flexible, and quick to deploy are eligible to participate! Have a brainstorming session and fill out the prescreen form, which should take about 5 minutes, to join for your chance to win up to an additional $5,000 grant for your project!

Not quite ready to jump in? Join us for a group coaching webinar! If you want ideate on project possibilities, or learn more about crowdfunding and building your outreach strategies, join us in the webinars before or after you complete the prescreen form! Webinars are scheduled for August 28th and September 11th at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.
REGISTER BELOW.

How It Works
Challenge Grants are a new program from Patronicity where participating changemakers crowdfund for their projects at the same time, and one project will win the Challenge Grant–a bonus up to $5,000 in prize money to add to their project budget. The campaign that has the highest number of unique Patrons at the end of the program will win the Challenge Grant allowing them to add up to an additional $5,000 to their project budget and make it even bigger!

The process for the LQC challenge is:
Review the qualifications and guidelines below to make sure your project fits this challenge.
Complete the prescreen form to confirm eligibility.
After approval, or adjusting your project plan, you will be invited to create your crowdfunding campaign page.
Two LIVE group coaching webinars sharing best practices in crowdfunding and tips for building your page will be held on August 28th and September 11th at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Webinars will be recorded. Webinar attendance not required to participate in program.
Crowdfunding pages are submitted for final review & approval before your campaign begins.
All LQC Challenge campaigns must run between October 1st and December 7th, 2024.
The winning campaign will be announced December 10th, 2024.
Funding for all campaigns is disbursed.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for $9,169,076 in competitive grants for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Public Transportation on Indian Reservations (Tribal Transit) Program under Assistance Listing Number 20.509.

This is an initial announcement for the FY 2024 round of this program.
As required by Federal public transportation law, funds will be awarded competitively for any purpose eligible under FTA’s Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program, including planning, capital, and operating assistance for tribal public transit services in rural areas.
Planning awards are capped at $50,000.
If more funding becomes available for the program before projects are selected, FTA may add it to the total funding available for award under this NOFO.

Eligible activities include planning, capital, and operating assistance for tribal transit services in rural areas.

Public transportation includes regular, continuing shared-ride surface transportation services open to the public or open to a segment of the public defined by age, disability, or low income.
Specific types of projects include:
capital investment for start-ups, replacement, or expansion needs;
operating assistance; and
planning projects up to $50,000.
Applications that include requests for more than one project type must identify the specific funds requested for each project type (planning, capital, or operating).
Indian tribes applying for capital replacement or expansion must describe the source of operating funds that will be available to support existing or expanded transit services.

Background
Outdoor activities are increasingly popular across the United States, and many communities are seeking to grow their outdoor recreation and tourism economy, while investing in their Main Streets and conserving forests and other natural lands. Encouraging growth on Main Streets and in existing neighborhoods while promoting outdoor recreation can help foster community revitalization, protect air and water quality, create jobs, support economic growth and diversification and offer new opportunities for people to connect with the natural world.

With Recreation Economy for Rural Communities assistance, a planning team will help communities bring together local residents and other stakeholders to decide on strategies and an action plan to grow the local outdoor recreation economy. The planning assistance process will take place over 8 to 12 months, with a focal point being a facilitated community workshop. At the workshop, participants will work together to identify a vision, goals, and specific actions to realize the locally set goals.

Partner communities are encouraged to pursue activities that foster environmentally friendly community development and Main Street revitalization through the conservation and sustainable use of public or private forests or other natural resources. Examples could include:

Ensuring local residents, including young people, have connections and opportunities related to nearby outdoor assets to foster community pride, good stewardship, and local economic benefits.
Creating or expanding trail networks to attract overnight visitors and new businesses and foster use by local residents.
Developing in-town amenities, such as broadband service; electric vehicle charging; housing; or shops, restaurants, or breweries, to serve residents and attract new visitors and residents with an interest in nearby outdoor assets.
Marketing local downtowns and Main Streets as gateways to nearby natural lands to capture and amplify outdoor recreation dollars.
Developing a community consensus on the management of outdoor assets to reduce potential conflicts and ensure sustainable use of resources.
Engaging in stewardship of outdoor recreation assets and mitigating and adapting to climate change and other environmental challenges.
Ensuring that all residents and visitors, particularly those who have not historically been engaged in outdoor recreation and Main Street revitalization efforts, have equitable access to and can benefit from the growing outdoor recreation economy.

The application includes the following questions:

What is the geographic scope that you would like to focus on for your RERC project (e.g., neighborhood, town, county, region)?
What is the area's demographic makeup (race, ethnicity, socioeconomic, age, etc.)?
What environmental challenges is your community facing? These issues could include mitigating and adapting to climate change; addressing invasive species, wildfire, flooding, and other disasters; land conservation and stewardship of natural resources and outdoor recreation assets; addressing challenges resulting from a transition from resource extraction to non-extractive uses; and others. How will this assistance help address the environmental challenges that you’ve identified?
What outdoor recreation assets and natural resources does your community have that you would like to build upon?
What challenges does your community face around economic development and creating access to economic opportunity for all?
What challenges does your community face in terms of Main Street and downtown revitalization? If your community doesn’t have a traditional “Main Street,” please share any relevant placemaking themes and challenges.
What plans and programs does your community envision and/or have underway to support outdoor recreation and Main Street revitalization (e.g., local comprehensive plan, regional economic development plan, state comprehensive outdoor recreation plan, etc.)? How will this assistance support or advance the development or implementation of those plans?
What strategies and opportunities to build on the outdoor recreation economy and strengthen Main Street revitalization would you like to explore? How would you like to build upon your natural assets with a focus on economic development?
How would a community workshop through the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program help you achieve your outdoor recreation and Main Street revitalization goals?
How will your community engage with, encourage participation from, and/or increase access to outdoor recreation for underserved community members, including people of color, people with disabilities, people who are experiencing economic distress, and others who have been underserved or otherwise left out of previous planning efforts? How would a RERC workshop assist in engaging these community members in conversations about outdoor recreation and Main Street revitalization?
As part of the RERC program, each selected community is asked to form a diverse steering committee to guide the project and participate in planning meetings in advance of the workshop. Having a steering committee that represents all segments of the local community leads to more meaningful participation among residents, community organizations, and other stakeholders. Local steering committees often include representatives from local, regional, and/or state government; community organizations that represent various interests within the community; businesses; residents; and others. Please identify who could participate in your local steering committee (name and organization they represent) in the space below.
Applicants must identify a point of contact from the lead organization who will be available for the duration of the project to lead coordination of local participation and to work with the planning assistance team.

Letters of support are not required. However, some applicants might wish to strengthen their applications by having partner organizations or local elected officials pledge to support the process and implementation of the resulting action plan. All letters of support should be uploaded as a single combined PDF file on the application page.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 16, 2024.

If you have questions about Recreation Economy for Rural Communities planning assistance or the application process, please read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Recreation Economy for Rural Communities.

If your question is not answered there, please email receconomy@epa.gov.