Five for Friday: January 24, 2025
Five for Friday: Grant Opportunities and More!
Curated by: The Western Nevada Development District…
This edition of Five for Friday focuses on opportunities for economic development around the region in the areas of clean energy, Brownfields, infrastructure, watersheds and fire protection.
Grant Opportunities & More
USDA Rural Development Launches New Clean Energy Website
The US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program is committed to making it easier for rural communities to identify federal funding for clean energy projects. The Program has launched a new website to access clean energy program funding and incentives to expand clean energy.
The goals are to transform rural power production, create jobs, and accelerate economic growth. These funds will also help eligible organizations in renewable energy infrastructure, zero-emission systems, and improve energy efficiency.
The new Clean Energy website contains information necessary to develop clean energy projects, training resources, income potential, current clean energy projects by state, and more.
Webinars: Building a Brownfields Program
The Center for Creative Land Recycling and EPA Region 9 staff are offering a three-part Vacant to Vibrant webinar series on brownfield revitalization for beginners. The webinars will demystify the world of brownfields by breaking down key terms, examining program structures, and exploring the resources you need to kick off a successful redevelopment program.
As part of the series, you will also learn how to engage your community effectively, from visioning meetings to navigating the process. To wrap up, programming will dive into the funding game by exploring key characteristics of grant applications, and strategies for building valuable partnerships to get your project off the ground. Staff and community champions will explore what has made brownfields projects work for their communities.
Webinars Start: January 29, 2025
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program makes federal funds available to states, territories, federally recognized tribal governments, and local governments for hazard mitigation activities.
The program encompasses growing hazards associated with climate change, natural hazard risk mitigation, and activities that promote climate adaptation and resiliency. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future.
Awards up to $150 Million
Application Deadline: April 18, 2025
WaterSMART: Cooperative Watershed Management Program
The Bureau of Reclamation’s Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) contributes to the WaterSMART strategy by providing funding to watershed groups to encourage diverse stakeholders to form local solutions to address their water management needs.
Funding Available:
Watershed Group Development and Watershed Restoration Planning:
A watershed group is a self-sustaining, non-regulatory, consensus-based group that is composed of a diverse array of stakeholders, which may include, but is not limited to, private property owners, non-profit organizations, Federal, state, or local agencies, and tribes. As part of Phase I activities, applicants may use funding to develop bylaws, a mission statement, complete stakeholder outreach, develop a watershed restoration plan, and watershed management project design.
Phase I Project awards up to $100,000 per year for a period of up to three years with no non-Federal cost-share required.
Implementation of Watershed Management Projects:
Cost-shared financial assistance to watershed groups to implement watershed management projects. These on-the-ground projects, collaboratively developed by members of a watershed group, address critical water supply needs, and water quality concerns.
Award ceiling is $300,000.
Application Deadline: May 30, 2025
Federal Excess Property & Firefighter Property Program
The Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) program refers to Forest Service-owned property that is on loan to State Foresters for the purpose of wildland and rural firefighting. Most of the property originally belonged to the Department of Defense (DoD). Once acquired by the Forest Service, it is loaned to state cooperators for firefighting purposes. The property is then loaned to the state forester, who may then place it with local departments to improve local fire programs.
State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service have mutually participated in the FEPP program since 1956. Property includes such items as trucks, fire tools, hoses, vehicle parts, nozzles, generators, air compressors, fire protection clothing, aircraft, and aircraft parts. Nevada Division of Forestry utilizes FEPP to assist in reducing state fire budgets by loaning federal-owned property to fire departments. To qualify for this program, a partner must be responsible for providing fire protection within the department’s jurisdiction.