Opportunities for Funding

Welcoming proposals related to data validation, life cycle assessment, biodiversity and more.

About this CFP

Amazon Sustainability works to make Amazon one of the most environmentally and socially responsible places to buy or sell goods and services. We conduct research to map, model and measure the end-to-end environmental and social impact of the company and vet sustainability topics that will have the greatest future impact to Amazon to inform business planning and resilience. We develop and test strategies that support revenue growth while reducing negative environmental and social impact. We work with the external science community to drive our vision and mission. We accelerate sustainability practices at Amazon by guiding critical decision makers with crisp recommendations backed by scientific rigor. We remove ambiguity around sustainability and provide them scientifically credible mechanisms, data, tools and solutions that they can use to make informed decisions.

We welcome proposals in the following research tracks:

Validating sustainability data at scale

Accurate and verifiable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data across the supply chain is critical for organizations to make informed procurement decisions, set meaningful carbon and other environmental impacts reduction targets, and drive meaningful progress towards their climate goals. However, the current process of validating supplier-reported GHG metrics is often manual, costly, and lacks consistency. Proving the accuracy of abatement data is further complicated by the complex and ever-changing nature of business operations. Key challenges include verifying that supplier-reported GHG emissions reductions adhere to established standards of being real, additional, and permanent, as well as socially-beneficial. We invite proposals for innovative, open-sourced projects that leverage machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to improve data resolution and validate GHG emissions and carbon accounting data by harnessing data from diverse sources, including data shared by suppliers, with the goal of streamlining the process and lowering the overall cost of verification for all organizations. The validations should be sufficient for GHG emissions and carbon accounting claims. Where possible, we encourage proposals to incorporate current standards for producing (e.g., Product Category Rules) and sharing carbon data (e.g., WBCSD Pathfinder Initiative). Additional challenges include the difficulty in aggregating accurate, comparable GHG emissions data across complex, global supply chains due to inconsistent or costly data sharing practices, and the limited ability for organizations to quickly identify and address discrepancies or anomalies in supplier-reported carbon performance.

Machine learning applications for life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an instrumental method for corporations disclosing their environmental footprint. The primary challenges associated with corporate footprinting are scalability, automation, transparency, and lack of appropriate data to measure impacts of a wide range of products and services. Currently, much of the LCA work remains manual, and requires subject matter expertise. We solicit proposals that primarily focus on machine learning application in life cycle assessment ranging from to automating assessment and validation, completing life cycle inventories using approximation, computing product carbon footprint (PCF) in supply chain and BOM data, use of large language models (LLMs) and ontologies / knowledge graphs in LCA settings, and building tools to conduct scenario analysis and assess emissions abatement potential at a web-scale. As lack of groundtruth data is a perennial challenge in this field, proposals are encouraged to contribute open-source benchmark datasets and reduce reliance on large-scale, expensive data collection.

Data-driven sustainable product design and manufacturing

There is a lack of methods, tools, and systems to enable product manufacturers to incorporate sustainability performance metrics into decisions made across the product’s life cycle, from product development to manufacturing to post-use recovery and treatment. We are welcoming research proposals focused on innovative approaches to create, test, and implement decision support capabilities for multiple sustainability criteria (e.g., carbon, waste, and water) to increase the velocity and lower the cost of more sustainable product development. Proposals that demonstrate broad applicability across different product sectors, supply chain complexity, and manufacturing types (discrete and continuous) are highly encouraged.

Climate risk assessment

We invite proposals that leverage novel methods and modeling approaches to advance climate risk assessment and resilience at scale. Traditional methods for monitoring impacts/damages from climate hazards to point assets (e.g. buildings, infrastructure), linear assets (e.g. roads), and supply chains often require expert assessment and are limited in their ability to assess risk at a local level. We seek innovative proposals that utilize artificial intelligence, remote sensing (e.g. pre- and post-disaster imagery), and new modeling techniques to enhance the assessment of vulnerabilities (damage functions). Projects should demonstrate how the proposed approaches can enable scalable, high-resolution risk evaluation without relying on traditional expert assessments. Moreover, proposals investigating the application of emerging technologies to better assess climate-related risks to nature and forests are highly encouraged. Climate risks to forests threaten permanence of carbon storages, durability of nature-based solutions, biodiversity, and supply of commodities within supply chains. We are interested in proposals that use new methodologies to quantify climate-related reversal risks and risks to ecosystem services, for example the inter-connections between carbon, biodiversity, and climate risks. We strongly encourage open-source contributions.

Biodiversity

We request proposals that advance biodiversity measurement, monitoring, and impact assessment. Despite growing recognition of biodiversity risks, critical gaps remain in our ability to systematically quantify changes in ecosystems, species populations, and genetic diversity across spatial scales. Traditional methods for biodiversity assessment have limited scalability, often relying on sparse validation data and expert-driven scoring systems. We invite projects that harness in-situ and remote sampling, artificial-intelligence, and new statistical techniques to enable continuous, high-resolution, and reliable biodiversity tracking at local levels. Additionally, we encourage proposals that advance biodiversity impact quantification and attribution. Innovative approaches are needed to translate the tangible interactions between biodiversity and ecosystems, human systems, and organizations. We are interested in approaches that quantify biodiversity co-benefits of nature-based solutions and climate change mitigation strategies. We encourage open-source contributions and pathways enabling real-world implementation.

Lower-carbon cement and concrete

Amazon seeks research proposals to address a critical gap in validating lower-carbon cement and concrete innovations. Cement and concrete production is highly carbon-intensive, contributing significantly to global emissions. While new solutions emerge, a key challenge is the lack of standardized methods to confirm these new materials can be manufactured, transported, and placed as easily as existing products. We are interested in research that comprehensively evaluates the performance, workability, and constructability of lower-carbon cement and concrete mixes across the value chain. The goal is to generate data-driven evidence supporting broad adoption of sustainable alternatives. Proposals demonstrating collaborative industry partnerships and practical, scalable solutions are encouraged.

Responsible supply chain

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within supply chains is a critical area of research, addressing the ethical, environmental, and social impacts of global supply networks. Traditional supply chain auditing practices, while prevalent, face significant challenges related to scalability, transparency, and the absence of universal evaluation standards. These audits often rely on manual data collection processes, limiting their effectiveness in addressing complex and dynamic social risks.

This call for papers seeks to explore fundamental and academic problems in CSR within supply chains. We invite research that advances the theoretical foundations of CSR in supply chains, particularly through the lens of data-driven approaches and machine learning.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Development of universal standards and frameworks for CSR evaluation in global supply chains.

Methodologies for real-time social risk detection and hotspot analysis.

Predictive modeling for supplier risk assessment and compliance.

AI to support humans in performing audits, such as generating strategies and guidance.

Innovative strategies for automating and enhancing the transparency of social responsibility audits.

Theoretical exploration of the ethical implications of AI in CSR decision-making processes.
CO2 Mineralization

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is a critical decarbonization lever across several hard-to-abate industrial sectors. However, the potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is constrained by the availability of suitable CO2 pipeline infrastructure and nearby geological storage sites. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, such as ex-situ mineral carbonation, offer a viable alternative for industrial sites that lack underground storage infrastructure. Nevertheless, the potential of ex-situ carbon mineralization is also limited by the cost of carbonation and the availability of suitable feedstocks besides industrial waste materials. This call for proposals aims to identify solutions that can maximize the impact of mineral carbonation for permanent CO2 sequestration, for example the identification/development of direct carbonation of Mg-rich minerals, processes to broaden the application of magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) produced through mineral carbonation, or AI-driven models for optimization of ex-situ/superficial mineralization.

We provide funding to support those who are critical to the infrastructure of the documentary film impact ecosystem. We seek to build a robust network of organizations, initiatives and thought leaders in the documentary impact space who make the work more equitable, effective and sustainable.

We offer two primary areas of funding:

GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Unrestricted support towards the ongoing work and mission of strategic organizations who are focused on amplifying impact-focused films and the documentary impact field.

PROJECT SUPPORT
To catalyze specific programs or initiatives that are focused on amplifying impact-focused films and the documentary impact field.

We prioritize the following dimensions when assessing projects for Organizational Support:

Increasing Access & Capacity
Increasing access and capacity across the entire documentary storytelling pipeline, from content creation to distribution and long-term community engagement, prioritizing historically excluded creators, strategists and audiences

Removing Barriers
Removing barriers to long-term sustainability for organizations, creators and strategists

Fostering Collaboration
Fostering models that promote a field-wide increase in collaboration and redistribution of power including funds, attention and the space to problem solve creatively

Centering Communities
Strengthening community-informed organizing, programming and initiatives for their ability to contribute to cultural shifts by fostering the conditions necessary for social change.

Strengthening Systemic Changes
Contributing to the systemic shifts necessary for the field to amplify spaces and resources for experimentation in impact-oriented tools, tactics and philosophies

We don't have any requirements for project or organization budget minimums or maximums and approach the funding possibilities for each grant based on their unique needs.

If projects do not hear from our team within one month of submitting the inquiry form, the project has not advanced in consideration at that time. For inquiries that do advance, there are a series of conversations between the project team and the relevant program officer before an invitation to apply for a grant may be extended. Your program officer will be able to provide an estimated consideration and application timeline at that point.

Season for Sharing, the annual holiday campaign of The Arizona Republic, and azcentral.com, in partnership with the
Arizona Community Foundation and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, raises awareness and dollars for nonprofit 501(c)3 agencies that help the Valley’s neediest.
Specific funding priorities
Grants will be made to organizations that match the criteria:
Children & Families
◼ Support of programs that focus on preventing child abuse, protecting children from abuse, finding permanent
appropriate placements and providing support for children in the foster care system.
◼ Programs that offer access to free or low-cost food including food banks and meal programs for children.
◼ Programs that help people receive emergency short term shelter and long-term affordable housing.
◼ Programs that provide for short term emergency needs including personal care or hygiene items, clothing, rental
or utility assistance or disaster relief.
◼ Programs that help disadvantaged populations with job training and support for the under-employed and
unemployed youth and adults.
◼ Programs that help victims of domestic violence.
Arts & Education
◼ Programs that support early childhood education and quality child care for disadvantaged populations.
◼ Programs that enhance and/or improve K-12 core curriculum including tutoring and academic after school
programs.
◼ Programs that provide for school readiness (back to school clothing, supplies, school food programs).
◼ Programs that ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college or the
workforce.
◼ Programs that support adult and family literacy programs.
Season for Sharing, the annual holiday campaign of The Arizona Republic, and azcentral.com, in partnership with the
Arizona Community Foundation and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, raises awareness and dollars for nonprofit 501(c)3 agencies that help the Valley’s neediest.
Specific funding priorities
Grants will be made to organizations that match the criteria:
Children & Families
◼ Support of programs that focus on preventing child abuse, protecting children from abuse, finding permanent
appropriate placements and providing support for children in the foster care system.
◼ Programs that offer access to free or low-cost food including food banks and meal programs for children.
◼ Programs that help people receive emergency short term shelter and long-term affordable housing.
◼ Programs that provide for short term emergency needs including personal care or hygiene items, clothing, rental
or utility assistance or disaster relief.
◼ Programs that help disadvantaged populations with job training and support for the under-employed and
unemployed youth and adults.
◼ Programs that help victims of domestic violence.
Arts & Education
◼ Programs that support early childhood education and quality child care for disadvantaged populations.
◼ Programs that enhance and/or improve K-12 core curriculum including tutoring and academic after school
programs.
◼ Programs that provide for school readiness (back to school clothing, supplies, school food programs).
◼ Programs that ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college or the
workforce.
◼ Programs that support adult and family literacy programs.

The mission of the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) is to lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better Arizona. With charitable funds established either for the common good or for special purposes, ACF works to achieve this goal. Nonprofit organizations providing services for animals anywhere in Arizona are invited to compete for a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation's animal-related funds. Grants will be awarded to projects that aim to support the welfare of wild animals and domestic pets that are ill or injured, need placement in a home, or need to be returned to their natural habitat.

ACF encourages proposals that:
- Leverage matching funds
- Engage strategic, mission-driven collaborations/partnerships
- Build the capacity of the organization
- Support direct service projects
- Support one-year proposals
- Support direct administrative costs associated with carrying out the program, such as staff salary/wages, project management, marketing, consultants, supplies, postage, travel, training, or equipment, newly-acquired information technology, etc. will be allowed. Direct costs can also include directly attributable administrative support, legal or accounting functions, with distinct and measured effort on the project.

ACF will accept proposals that benefit and support:
- The welfare of wild animals and domestic pets that are ill or injured
- The welfare of domestic pets that need placement in a home
- The welfare of wild animals that need to be returned to their natural habitat

Since 2013, the Bayne Foundation has provided grants to organizations for community development, education and human services projects.

The Bayne Foundation supports qualifying programs and organizations which produce cost-effective results that can be measured and evaluated, demonstrating innovative and long term strategies that address recognized needs and demonstrate an ability to be sustainable.

The Bayne Foundation provides discretionary grants to qualifying charitable organizations with an eye towards advancing principles of liberty and charitable giving.

The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six AFRI priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. The six priority areas are: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. Research-only, extension-only, and integrated research, education and/or extension projects are solicited in this Request for Applications (RFA). See Foundational and Applied Science RFA for specific detail.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This notice identifies the objectives for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
Foundational and Applied Science program projects, deadlines, funding information, eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and application forms and associated instructions. AFRI is America’s flagship competitive grants program that provides funding for fundamental and applied research, education, and extension projects in the food and agricultural sciences. In this RFA, NIFA requests applications for the six AFRI priority areas through the Foundational and Applied Science Program for 2024. The goal of this program is to invest in agricultural production research, education, and extension projects for more sustainable, productive, and economically-viable plant and animal production systems. The global agricultural output needs to be expanded significantly to meet the food needs of the population expected in 2050; thus, it is imperative to develop innovative, safe, and sustainable management strategies for livestock (including poultry and aquaculture species), crops, and critical underlying resources.

Applications that address climate change, food and nutrition security, expanding markets for producers, indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, and equity for underserved producers are welcome. Also welcome are applications that incorporate virtual learning options, where appropriate and practical for integrated programs.

In 2024, applications are sought in the following priority areas:
1. Plant health and production and plant products;
2. Animal health and production and animal products;
3. Food safety, nutrition, and health;
4. Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment;
5. Agriculture systems and technology; and
6. Agriculture economics and rural communities

The amount available for programs included in the FY 2024 AFRI Foundational and Applied
Science (FAS) RFA is approximately $300,000,000. Funding from FY 2025 appropriations will
be used for the programs solicited in this RFA. The amount available to support the AFRI
program is anticipated to be approximately $407,000,000, of which $300 million will be used to support AFRI FAS programs.

This RFA solicits Standard Grants, Conference Grants, Coordinated Agricultural Project Grants, and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants, whereas project types solicited in this RFA are Research, Extension, Education and Integrated Research, Education and/or Extension projects. Grant types and project types solicited vary by program area priority and not all grant types are solicited within each program area priority. See Part I § C (Program Area Descriptions) for grant and project types solicited by each specific program area priority, and Part II § C for a description of each individual grant type and project type.

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requests applications for the AFRI’s Education and Workforce Development program areas to support:

1. professional development opportunities for K-14 educational professionals;

2. non-formal education that cultivates food and agricultural interest in youth;

3. workforce training at community, junior, and technical colleges;

4. training of undergraduate students in research and extension;

5. fellowships for predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars.

OVERVIEW
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals to strategically protect and enhance essential habitats in Hawaiʻi, from mauka to makai (from the mountain to the ocean), to reduce extinction risk and sustain resilient populations of native species relating to NFWF’s Hawai‘i Conservation Program Business Plan. Species and habitats of interest include palila (finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper), kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill), Oʻahu elepaio (monarch flycatcher), ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel), ‘alalā (Hawaiian crow), and conservation objectives on Lānaʻi. The Hawaiʻi Conservation Program anticipates awarding approximately $2.1 million in grants. Major funding partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, and Pūlama Lānaʻi.

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
To be eligible for funding, projects must occur within the areas illustrated in Maps 1-3 below.
Priority geographic locations include those found on the islands of Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Lānaʻi, and Oʻahu.

PROGRAM PRIORITIES
All proposals must specifically address how projects will directly and measurably contribute to the accomplishment of one or more of the program priorities as identified in the Hawaiʻi Conservation Program Business Plan. Projects that incorporate community outreach, foster community engagement, and pursue collaborative management while elevating traditional knowledge that will lead to measurable conservation benefits are encouraged.

In 2025, the Hawaiʻi Conservation Program will award grants to projects that address the following program priorities.

Bird Conservation: Reduce extinction risk for a suite of endemic bird species by addressing direct threats and improving habitat conditions. Pervasive and ongoing threats for Hawaiian birds include avian malaria, habitat loss and degradation, invasive predators and plants, and climate change. In 2025, NFWF seeks projects that support listed birds on Oʻahu, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island with a primary emphasis on the following priorities:

Landscape-scale mosquito control for endemic forest birds – Support the deployment of the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to suppress populations of the invasive southern house mosquito to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of avian malaria at a landscape-scale to prevent the extinction of endangered forest birds. Project activities may include implementation planning, data collection to inform prioritization of control locations, coordination and planning among Birds, Not Mosquitoes partnership, and community outreach and education on the conservation need and tool(s) available.
Kiwikiu – Support the kiwikiu steering committee’s efforts to address short and long-term conservation needs. Activities may include establishing a captive population or establishing a new population by translocation to reduce extinction risk. Specific actions such as captive rearing or translocation planning and/or assessments, locating and capturing individuals, infrastructure support, and species monitoring, will be considered.
ʻAlalā – Support the establishment of a self-sustaining population of ʻalalā on Maui. Project activities may include implementing a monitoring program to learn about survival, health, and space use of released ʻalalā through data obtained by radio telemetry and monitoring the effectiveness of predator control. The monitoring program will inform adaptive management actions for current and future releases.
Palila – Prevent extinction of palila. Support one of several key activities to insulate palila from continued decline. Project activities may include predator control and fencing with an emphasis on cat control, supplemental feeding during chick rearing, establishing a captive population, fire management including invasive vegetation management, outplanting native plants, maintaining ungulate-proof fences, and removal of ungulates within fenced units.
Oʻahu elepaio – Increase Oʻahu elepaio territorial occupancy. Project activities may include rodent control through trapping, predator surveys, and efficacy monitoring.
Kuahiwi a Kai: Lānaʻi Watershed Conservation Program: Lānaʻi is home to unique natural and cultural resources, stretching from the island’s mountain to its surrounding ocean. However, the landscape faces threats from uncontrolled ungulate populations, sedimentation runoff, invasive plants, and non-native predators. Over the past 150 years, mismanagement of and overgrazing by non-native ungulates, including axis deer and mouflon sheep, has led to unnatural erosion patterns, burying historic cultural sites near the coast, smothering the island’s coral reefs and white sand beaches with sediment, and destroying terrestrial habitats that are home to native fauna. Invasive plants, such as strawberry guava and fire-tolerant grasses, have changed the hydrology of the watershed, increasing soil compaction and flash flooding, and decreasing water infiltration to the island’s aquifers.

The Kuahiwi a Kai Program was launched in 2019 to protect and enhance Lānaʻi’s watershed health, coral reefs, native plants and animals, endangered Hawaiian petrel habitat, and sensitive coastal cultural sites, while fostering coordinated connection between Lānaʻi’s community and the land. In 2025, the Kuahiwi a Kai Program seeks projects in the following program priority areas:

Installation of ungulate-proof fence – Install the second segment of ungulate exclusion fencing, approximately 4.53 miles long, to enclose a core segment of the Kuahiwi a Kai program area. A grant to install the first segment of fencing was awarded through the program’s 2021 RFP and is currently under construction. The purpose of creating mauka to makai fenced management units is to strategically manage invasive ungulate populations, improve watershed conditions, and protect native habitats.
Restoration implementation planning – Develop a comprehensive restoration strategy and implementation plan for the Kuahiwi a Kai Program focusing on priority habitat management for: 1) lowland mesic forest within the completed Hiʻi predator exclusion fence to benefit ʻuaʻu, 2) lowland mixed native and introduced mesic forest across Lānaihale (see ʻuaʻu focal area on Map 2), 3) lowland scrub-shrub and bare earth at mid-latitudes on windward slopes of Kuahiwi a Kai program area, and 4) coastal kiawe (Prosopis pallida) forest and shrub lands. Successful project(s) will:
Engage program partners and stakeholders to create a framework for landscape habitat restoration.
Integrate data and findings from past grants to the U.S. Geological Survey for vegetation and sediment modeling.
Classify and prioritize management sub-units within identified ecosystems. Detail specific restoration actions and plant production goals for each management sub-unit, and include proposed schedules and budgets in alignment with the Kuahiwi a Kai program’s priorities and objectives. Results should clearly state a cost opinion related to each proposed management area and year-over-year cost schedule.
Integrate seed collection and propagation efforts, currently underway by Kuahiwi a Kai grantees, in proposed native plant production schedules.

Include implementation recommendations at a fieldwork-level specification for:
Invasive species management such as herbicide type and concentrations, treatment methods, debris management, equipment, and recommended PPE.
Native plant revegetation including recommended species and densities for each management unit based on verifiable reference ecosystems.

Adaptive management protocols including survey methodology, schedules, and benchmarks for monitoring of implementation areas, thresholds for amended actions, and proposed and projected schedule budgets.

Community engagement – Integrate the community and its cultural history into the priority conservation activities referenced above. Potential project activities may include engaging students and/or community members in educational, hands-on internships and/or volunteer projects focused on invasive plant management, native plant restoration, ungulate monitoring, and ungulate control.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is requesting proposals to restore, protect and enhance aquatic and riparian species of conservation concern and their habitats in the headwaters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande watersheds. Up to $1.3 million in funding is expected to be available through support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Trinchera Blanca Foundation, an affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation.

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS/PROGRAM FUNDING PRIORITIES
This Request for Proposals (RFP) is part of NFWF’s Southwest Rivers Program and will provide funding to projects that produce measurable outcomes for species of conservation concern in the riparian corridors of the headwaters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande. The Rio Grande Headwaters Focal Area includes the mainstem and headwater tributaries of the Rio Grande in Colorado and northern New Mexico, as well as the headwaters of the Rio Chama, Jemez River, and Rio Puerco. The Colorado River Focal Area includes selected tributaries and headwaters of the Colorado River including the Escalante, Gila, Salt, San Juan, Verde and Virgin Rivers (see Figure 1). Projects located in the San Juan River watershed in southwestern Colorado should be submitted to the concurrent RESTORE Colorado 2025 RFP. Applicants are encouraged to consult NFWF's Southwest Rivers Business Plan mapping portal in informing potential geographic focus.

Priority projects will address the leading factors in aquatic and riparian species decline such as loss of natural processes and habitat, environmental change and invasive species. Projects employing process-based methods of wetlands and riparian restoration are highly encouraged. Maintaining healthy headwater wetlands and riparian areas provide security by improving the reliability of late season flows for water users, fish and wildlife downstream. Proposals should strive to contribute to goals detailed in NFWF’s Southwest Rivers Business Plan, and specifically the strategies related to focal species (see below) conservation. Projects benefiting one or more of the following species and their habitats are priorities for funding.

Business Plan focal species in the Rio Grande Headwaters Focal Area include Rio Grande cutthroat trout, North American beaver and southwestern willow flycatcher.
The focal species in the Colorado River Focal Area is North American beaver.
NFWF expects that projects creating potential beaver habitat will benefit a number of other native aquatic species in these focal areas.

PRIORITY ACTIVITIES
Priority restoration activities that address key limiting factors for focal species in the Colorado River and Rio Grande headwaters include:

Process-based wetland, riparian and instream habitat restoration and enhancement – Restore natural fluvial process that increase floodplain connectivity, dynamic channel processes and recruitment of native riparian vegetation. Activities may include beaver mimicry structures, livestock exclusion fencing and riparian vegetation planting, removal of channel stabilizing structures, and science-based design and analysis for process-based restoration projects.

Riparian habitat restoration and enhancement – Restore stream banks to increase floodplain connectivity and recruitment of native riparian vegetation. Activities may include streambank re-contouring and native vegetation planting, and engineering design and analysis for riparian restoration projects.

Instream restoration and enhancement – Restore and enhance stream channels that have suffered from channelization, thereby restoring the natural variety of stream substrate and flow patterns that benefit the life cycles of the focal species. Specific activities may include stream channel engineering and bank re-shaping.

Increase water availability for species and their habitats and/or remove barriers to flow – Make available more water for environmental flows that are necessary to drive process-based restoration and sustain species and their habitats through voluntary leasing or acquisition of water rights in the focal geographies. Remove or improve infrastructure at road crossings, culverts and check dams that act as barriers to the movement of aquatic species or promote natural dynamic processes to ensure habitat connectivity and fluvial development of the whole valley bottom.

Reintroduction and translocation of focal species – Translocation of focal aquatic species to stream reaches with improved habitat and protection from invasive species. Reintroduction of or attraction projects benefitting North American beaver in a manner compatible with ongoing agricultural use and irrigation and land management objectives, and which benefits other focal species dependent on the habitat created by beaver activity.

Protect focal species from invasives – Remove invasive fish that compete with and/or threaten to hybridize with Rio Grande cutthroat trout from streams which are or could be occupied by the native species. Construct barriers to protect established populations from hybridization where appropriate.

Increase Capacity for Low-tech Process-based Restoration implementation in and among conservation organizations working in the southwest region. Here we define increased capacity broadly, from new positions within an organization to funding for contracting with external partners that bring knowledge or manpower to extend the reach of low-tech process-based restoration techniques throughout the southwest.

Increase Capacity for Implementation of NRCS Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) conservation programs

Increase capacity for implementation of priority conservation activities through NRCS partner positions and technical assistance. Capacity grants should address the following priorities:

Increase Farm Bill program participation and conservation practice implementation among agricultural producers, especially farmers and ranchers in the Historically Underserved and Special Emphasis categories.
Grant recipients will provide technical assistance to interested farmers and ranchers to develop management plans, design and implement conservation practices, share their experiences and lessons learned, and participate in Farm Bill programs, especially the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). A particular emphasis should be placed on promoting, designing, and implementing climate-smart agriculture and forestry (CSAF) conservation practices.
Applications are encouraged which support new full-time or part-time partner positions at applicant organizations such as foresters, wildlife biologists, rangeland specialists, and/or other natural resource professionals that will work in conjunction with NRCS personnel in New Mexico on a daily basis to carry out the provisions of the IRA. Duties of IRA partner positions include, but are not limited to, the following:

Providing technical assistance in the development of conservation plans and checkouts of completed practices.
Preparing and/or monitoring various contract management reports.
Preparing and issuing correspondence to participants such as annual practice reminders, deferral letters, preapproval letters, and eligibility letters.
Providing assistance with the application process such as reviewing documents for completeness, verifying control of land, irrigation history, signature authority, required electronic registrations, and troubleshooting eligibility/vendor issues.
Assisting with contract management by uploading and maintaining documents in electronic systems; removing expired contracts from active contract filing cabinets; and ensuring appropriate signatures on documents.
Assisting with the completion of reviews and audits by compiling documentation needed to support audit samples.

This funding opportunity under the Recycling Education and Outreach grant program aims to fund projects that will meet the following objectives and reduce GHGs:

Decrease wasted food from households (project #1);
Expand markets for and sales of compost (project #2); and
Inform the public about new or existing residential food waste composting programs; provide information about the materials that are accepted as part of a residential food waste composting program; and increase collection rates and decrease physical contamination in residential food waste composting programs (project #3).

Applications must include all three projects:
Project #1: Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign;
Project #2: Expand the Market and Sales of Compost; and
Project #3: Increase Education and Outreach to Households on Composting.

These projects should demonstrate how they will meet the objectives listed in Section I.D: Program

Vision and Goals.
The total amount of funding available under this funding opportunity is $39,094,000. The budget for project #1 must be no less than $30,000,000 and no more than $34,094,000, and the budgets for projects #2 and #3 combined must be no less than $5,000,000 and no more than $9,094,000 in total.

Applicants must demonstrate that they will subaward a portion of the total award funding to competitive campaign implementation subrecipients (see Section I.C: Key Definitions) to implement education and outreach locally for project #1 and #3, and they must plan to use a competitive process to select those subrecipients. Those competitive campaign implementation subrecipients could use the funds for staffing and local campaign implementation, including media planning and buying. Entities do not have to request a subaward from the grant recipient to implement campaigns locally, but some may wish to do so. For purposes of this NOFO, the subrecipients brought on by subawards to be part of the coalition that will administer the grant are referred to as “coalition member subrecipients” or “coalition members” to distinguish them from the subrecipients who receive subawards to implement education and outreach locally, who are referred to as “competitive campaign implementation subrecipients.” Coalition members would not be brought on via a competitive process.