Grants

The PENNVEST per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remediation program is an annual funding program created by Act 101 of 2019.  The program provides funding for eligible applicants to treat and eliminate PFAS compounds from drinking water systems.

The primary goal of the UAIP projects is to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production. The UAIP grants being made available for application under this NFO support planning and implementation activities. Planning activities will initiate, develop, or support the efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools, members of tribal communities, and other stakeholders in areas where access to fresh foods are limited or unavailable. Implementation activities will accelerate existing and emerging models of urban and/or innovative agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers or gardeners. Innovation may include new and emerging, as well as indigenous or non-traditional agricultural practices.

Grants can include Planning or Implementation activities:

Planning Activities
Planning activities may include:

• assessing community needs within the local food system;
• researching how food is grown, distributed, or marketed and/or recommending safe growing practices such as soil tests and environmental assessments.
• evaluating how urban agriculture and innovative production can address issues of food access, nutrition, education, conservation, and economic development.
• creating partnerships to improve growing, distributing and marketing of nutritious food;
• conducting business planning, feasibility studies, and other strategies, such as community resource development;
• developing local policy on zoning laws supporting urban agriculture and innovative production; and/or
• creating educational materials and programs that increase knowledge about food and agriculture and encourage careers in urban agriculture and innovative production;

Implementation Activities
Implementation activities may include:

• increasing food production
• promoting agricultural businesses
• providing mentoring, job training, and resources for underserved populations;
• implementing best practices to address food access, zoning, composting, land access, soil health;
• integrating emerging technologies, infrastructure needs (such as access to water and utilities);
• supporting community education about food systems, nutrition, agriculture production, and environment impact;
• operating community gardens or nonprofit farms that offer hands-on training in farming or gardening through virtual or web-based formats; and/or
• providing K-12 schools with educational resources or programs that increase student knowledge and access to locally grown foods.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before applying via Grants.gov.

This program provides federal grants to assist organizations that work with farmers of color and military veterans in owning and operating successful farms. They can also be used to help historically underserved farmers directly access USDA programs. 

GARP funding is available to companies or project aggregators who are able to develop a stormwater management plan on properties that total at least 10 acres in project size located in Philadelphia’s combined sewer service area only. The aggregator will be the direct recipient of funds but must provide agreements or contracts with all participating property owners as part of the grant application. All property owners must execute an Operations and Maintenance Agreement with PWD, and the project aggregator must execute an Economic Opportunity Plan as part of the subgrant agreement. Competitive applications will reduce costs to PWD as much as possible. Once the project is constructed, participating property owners (or customers) will be eligible for credits against their stormwater charges.