Grants

The Chester County Department of Parks + Preservation Municipal Grant Program advances the County's Strategic Plan by awarding funds to local governments to assist them with providing parks, trails, and preserves for their citizens. Please contact Judy Thomas at 610-344-5499 or jthomas@chesco.org to find out more about these programs and the grant application process.

Act 13 of 2012 establishes the Marcellus Legacy Fund and allocates funds to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for funding orphan or abandoned well plugging projects using the Orphan or Abandoned Well Plugging Program (OAWP). Pennsylvania has hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells drilled since 1859. This program provides a mechanism to plug abandoned and orphaned wells that have the potential to cause health, safety or environmental concerns. Projects which involve the cleaning out and plugging of abandoned and orphan oil and gas wells; stray gas mitigation systems; and well venting projects.

Applications will be accepted between February 1st and May 31st of each year. All applications and required supplemental information must be received by May 31st.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals to conserve, restore, and connect people with fish and wildlife habitat in the Delaware River watershed. The Delaware River Program will award matching grants of $75,000 to $1,500,000 each to conserve, restore and protect habitats on public and private land that contribute to the overall health of the Delaware River watershed—as well as benefit the quality of life and economic vitality of the communities in the Delaware River watershed. 

Full Proposal Due Date: Thursday, March 21 2024 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time

• In 2024, NFWF will award DWCF grants in four grant categories including: Implementation Grants; Capacity Building Grants; Planning Grants; and Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Grants. More information on the anticipated grant amount range and match requirements per category is located in the RFP.
• As with previous years, the DWCF seeks to support projects which increase equitable access and community engagement, especially for underserved communities, with the goal of providing opportunities for all to experience the benefits of a healthy Delaware River Watershed. Proposals should include specific demographic details (age, race, ethnicity, poverty rates, unemployment) to highlight communities disproportionately vulnerable to environmental hazards.
• One million dollars of the available funding will be set aside for proposals that support management, research, monitoring, and/or outreach activities that have direct conservation benefits or meet other priority needs of ESA-listed species, at-risk species, or NFWF business plan species (see the related content section of the RFP for a list of species and additional guidance on priority species conservation).
• New in 2024, NFWF has approximately $400,000 in dedicated funding from NRCS to support projects under the DWCF working on private, working lands that provide technical assistance to direct staff resources to help agricultural producers design and implement conservation practices benefitting American Black Duck and Golden-winged warbler, target species under USDA's Working Lands for Wildlife program, within the watershed.  

The new Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities opportunity will finance pilot projects that create market opportunities for U.S. agricultural and forestry products that use climate-smart practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits. USDA is now accepting project applications for fiscal year 2022.