Grants

2023 Environmental Education Grant Round:
Opens September 2022

DEP’s Environmental Education Grants Program welcomes applications for the development of innovative formal and non-formal environmental education projects that:

1) Address grant program priorities

2) Provide opportunities to expand the public’s understanding of Pennsylvania’s environmental issues

3) Develop skills required to make informed decisions and take responsible action on behalf of the environment.

A 2023 Grants Program webinar will be held Tuesday, September 27, 2022 from Noon - 1:30 pm. Registration is required. 2023 EE Grants Webinar registration

Grants are offered at 3 levels depending on scope of the project. Funding is provided on a reimbursement basis.

Mini Grants  up to $5,000 may be awarded for local (school, county, municipality or other defined area) environmental education projects. 

General Grants (Level I): From $5,001 up to $30,000 may be awarded for implementation of large-scale, regional and/or statewide environmental education projects.

General Grants (Level II): From $30,001 to $85,000 may be awarded for non-formal environmental education programs designed to widely* engage teachers and youth at the county, state and national levels. (*Teachers and students from at least 60 Pennsylvania counties must directly participate in the project). Additionally, the project must demonstrate that at least 30% of program participants are community members of an Environmental Justice Area.

2023 Project Period: July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024

Application Round Opens: September 2022

Application Deadline: December 9, 2022 at 4:59pm

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) created the Boating Facility Grant Program to provide grants for rehabilitation, expansion or construction of new boat ramps, bulkheads, courtesy floats, access roads, parking areas, restrooms, signs and localized landscaping to benefit and directly support recreational boating on Commonwealth waters. The goal of the program is to ensure Pennsylvania’s recreational boaters have access to the highest quality boating facilities. Grant recipients are responsible for at least 50% of the proposed project cost. This 50% match can be cash, the fair market value of any labor or materials, a combination thereof, or grants from other federal, state or local funding sources. https://www.fishandboat.com/Transact/Grants/Pages/BoatingFacilityGrantProgram.aspx

A grant program that supports underserved and vulnerable communities, and Indigenous communities, in Canada, Mexico, and the United States to prepare for climate-related impacts.This program is targeted to underserved and vulnerable communities, including Indigenous communities, low-income communities, and communities with heightened risk and increased sensitivity to climate change and that have less capacity and fewer resources to cope with, adapt to, or recover from climate impacts. The degree of risk and sensitivity stems from physical (built and environmental), social, political, and/or economic factors, which interact with each other and are exacerbated by climate impacts. These factors include, but are not limited to, race, class, sexual orientation and identification, national origin, and income inequality.

Partners across Greater Philadelphia are working to build a region-wide network of multi-use trails that people can use to bike, walk, roll, commute, exercise, relax, and meet neighbors and friends.  This network, called the Circuit Trails, connects communities across the nine counties of Greater Philadelphia and is a hub for national trails like the East Coast Greenway and 9/11 National Memorial Trail. About 370 miles of this 800-plus-mile network are complete.

Continuing to build the Circuit Trails and creating safe, accessible, and welcoming community connections to the network are two important goals to ensure the continuing success of this initiative. These goals are envisioned in the region’s long-range transportation plan, Connections 2050: Plan for Greater Philadelphia, and in DVRPC’s Regional Trails Program.

Capitalized with funding from the William Penn Foundation, a total of $1 million is available through this funding opportunity for projects in the nine-county Greater Philadelphia region to fund right-of-way acquisition, planning, design, and/or construction of multi-use trails and/or safe, accessible, and welcoming trailheads, gateways, and neighborhood connections.

 A strong emphasis is placed on equity and community engagement as part of this funding opportunity.