Urban Waters Capacity-Building Grants

PART I: SUMMARY INFORMATION

PART II: APPLICATION FOR FUNDING AND CAPACITY BUILDING ASSISTANCE
PART III: REVIEW CRITERIA

Purpose: The goal of the Urban Waters Capacity-Building Grants is to improve our nation’s impaired urban water resources – rivers, lakes, wetlands and more – and the socioeconomically challenged communities around them by providing local organizations, tribal and local governments with the skills and techniques to effectively restore these resources over time. The Grants provide two equally important sources of support to recipient organizations working in disadvantaged communities or communities facing environmental injustices: 1) funding for activities that build organizations’ capacity and result in tangible community, stream and environmental outcomes, and 2) 400+ hours of technical and organizational assistance tailored to build the capacity of each recipient organization.

By the end of the project, we expect recipient organizations to show demonstrable change in one or more of the following areas:
• Watershed Skills - Increased watershed protection and restoration skills and awareness within the organization and in the broader community in order to meet the unique challenges of communities adversely affected by urban environmental impairments;
• Organizational Sustainability - Increased organizational sustainability through diversified funding, growth in community outreach activities, larger membership and a more effective Board;
• Volunteer Diversity and Participation - Increase in the diversity and number of volunteers and community members engaged in the organization;
• Project Effectiveness- Increased ability to plan and implement successful projects that help meet community-based goals.

The Urban Waters Capacity-Building Grants are administered by River Network in partnership with Groundwork USA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Eligibility: Nationwide (including Tribal Lands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories). Public and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (501c3 or sponsored), local governments, federally recognized Indian tribal governments and interstate agencies that have a developing or existing urban waters or watershed initiative are eligible to apply. Urban Waters Initiatives are those designed to help distressed urban communities with environmental justice challenges protect, restore, have access to, and derive benefit from their urban waters and surrounding lands. “Urban areas” are defined as those in which the majority of land use is marked by a high density of created structures and developments. They are also marked by a high population density.

Targeted water resources may include any natural body of water, all or an important part of which flows through or is located in an urban area. These may include groundwater, wetlands, rivers, lakes, bays, and estuaries. Please note: Organizations with urban water initiatives that have built experience over several years but are not well-established or well-funded are particularly encouraged to apply.

Amount and Duration of Funding: A total of $300,000 is available under this RFP. Individual awards may range from $30,000 to $70,000. The project period is 24 months. We expect to award 5-7 projects. This is a reimbursable grant, although “advance payment” arrangements may be authorized on a limited basis.

Match and Related Requirements: An organization must match 33% of its grant award. Matches may be satisfied through any combination of the following: local or state funds; foundation or corporate support; individual donations; program fees; membership dues; and in-kind contributions (including volunteer efforts in project activities). Federal funds may not be used as matching funds except where authorized specifically by federal statute (e.g. HUD’s Community Development Block Grants are allowed as match, while EPA 319 funds are not). Applicants are encouraged to discuss match issues with Grant Contacts prior to submission to help identify and secure matching resources that abide by governing regulations (40 CFR 30.23 or 40 CFR 31.24). As needed, technical assistance will be provided to final awardees to detail and secure the final matching resources.

The recipient agrees to conduct all procurement actions under this grant in accordance with the procurement standards set forth in 40 CFR 30.40 to 30.48. No grant funds shall be used to reimburse the grant-funded share of any procurement action found to be in noncompliance with the procurement standards.

Anticipated Activities: While a broad range of activities is eligible for funding, successful applicants will demonstrate an integrated approach that combines on-the-ground, urban waters work with activities designed to strengthen their organization’s performance and impact.

Allowable Expenses: This is a capacity building grant. Anticipated expenses include salaries and benefits, support for training, consultants, standard office supplies, design and printing of promotional materials, and modest travel and equipment costs, among others. Capital costs and the purchase of land are NOT allowable.

Application Process: Please address all sections in your proposal, preceding each section of your proposal with the topic heading in bold. Use 12-point font, single-spacing, spacing between paragraphs and questions, page numbers and 1-inch margins. Please adhere to the page limits provided - attachments will NOT count toward the page limit.

Please do NOT:
• Submit more than one proposal per organization.
• Attach newspaper/magazine articles, videos or lengthy reports. Such material will not be reviewed by the Review Committee.
• Send your application by fax.
• Call River Network or GroundworkUSA to determine the status of your application. All applicants will be notified once initial and final selection decisions are made.

Application Due Date: Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, March 14th, 2011.

Submission Process: Application submittals will include both an online and an email component. Please submit the Cover Sheet online by following the link listed below. The remainder of the application - Executive Summary, Narrative and Attachments A-E - should be submitted as attachments to a single email. These may be Word or PDF documents. This portion of the application package should be emailed to Dawn DiFuria of River Network (ddifuria@rivernetwork.org). Please prepare the entire application package before submitting the online Cover Sheet, so that you submit the online Cover Sheet at the same time you submit the email portion of your application.

Review Process: Applicants will undergo a two-step review process. The first step is intended to gather enough information to adequately evaluate the capacity of the applicant and the likelihood of success. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of this initial review by mid-April. Those applicants that proceed to the second round may be required to submit additional information to clarify and/or expand on the proposal. In addition, reviewers may ask to contact Project Partners listed in the application. Award recipients will be announced by early May. Please Note: All awardees are expected to attend National River Rally, to take place in North Charleston, S.C. on June 3-6th 2011, as it will include specific training workshops designed for awardees. All related costs will be covered by River Network.

Contact Information: For questions or guidance regarding this proposal, you may contact:

Diana Toledo
River Network Project Manager
Email: dtoledo@rivernetwork.org
Phone: 828-258-2109

Ann-Marie Mitroff
Groundwork USA Project Manager
Email: annmarie@groundworkusa.org
Phone: 914.375.2151; Cell: 914.815.5872

PART II: APPLICATION FOR FUNDING AND CAPACITY BUILDING ASSISTANCE

I. COVER SHEET
Submit Cover Sheet

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (1 PAGE)

III. NARRATIVE (NOT TO EXCEED 6 PAGES)

1. Applicant Organization and Training Needs
Describe your organization, your programmatic and organizational strengths and your most pressing organizational challenges. Include any pertinent information that can help reviewers understand your group as it relates to efforts to address urban water concerns (e.g. organizational history, staff size, current or planned programs, past accomplishments, etc.)

Describe the capacity-building activities you will undertake as part of this project to help your organization become stronger and more viable. Be specific as to the particular technical assistance, mentoring, training(s) or other direct consulting services that you are seeking to help strengthen your organization. These may include:
• Development of organizational strategic, fundraising and/or fiscal management plans;
• Development of volunteer and leadership recruitment and management plans to increase organizational and volunteer diversity;
• Development and assistance implementing effective partnership and/or community involvement plans and strategies;
• Training sessions on specific urban water issues, including watershed restoration and watershed knowledge;
• Assessment of water-related human health concerns; and
• Training on the use of web-based tools developed by federal agencies, River Network and others.

2. Targeted Body of Water and its Significance
Describe the physical characteristics of the water resource: its location, habitat values, current state of health and water quality impairments, the historical or current conditions and uses that affect it and its potential as a community resource. Describe the status of current or past watershed planning efforts and how this project fits into plans to protect or restore the targeted body of water.

3. Targeted Community and Key Partnerships
Briefly describe your urban community, providing any information that would help us develop a clearer sense of its water-related environmental concerns, community health or community development challenges. Describe how the proposed project will help address the broader needs of the community.

Describe the key partnerships that are currently in place or that you would like to develop during the implementation of this project, such as government agencies, businesses, community organizations (including environmental and environmental justice groups) and others.

4. Project Vision
Please explain your vision of how this project will improve the urban and disadvantaged community or address urban environmental justice issues. Describe where you are in the development of your organization or urban waters initiative (Point A) and where you would like to be (Point B) at the end of the project. Tell us how you will get from Point A to Point B and how grant funds and technical support will help you accomplish this.

5. Project Strategies and Activities
Describe the on-the-ground strategies and activities you will lead to build community support and help protect and restore the targeted body of water. These may include, but not be limited to the following:
• community outreach and/or organizing
• partnership development and/or coalition building
• community education efforts that raise awareness of particular water issues, promote sustainable watershed practices and techniques and/or engage specific audiences;
• assessments of waterbody health
• research of community-health impacts of historic chemical use in the watershed
• evaluation of historical changes to local hydrology

6. Project Evaluation
Describe the process and activities you will use to evaluate the effectiveness of this project, in particular as related to one or more of the following four areas:
• Watershed Skills – Increasing watershed protection and restoration skills and awareness within the organization and in the broader community in order to meet the unique challenges of communities adversely affected by urban environmental impairments;
• Organizational Sustainability - Increasing organizational sustainability through diversified funding, growth in community outreach activities, larger membership and a more effective Board;
• Volunteer Diversity and Growth – Increasing the diversity and numbers of volunteers and community members engaged in the organization;
• Project Effectiveness – Increasing the organization’s ability to plan and implement successful projects that help meet community-based goals.

IV. ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A: A one-page, line-item budget. Indicate other sources of secured or potential funding or support that will be applied to the project, including in-kind assistance. No budget narrative is required at this time.
Blank Budget Template
Sample Budget

Attachment B: A clear map of your target area, including the body of water that is the focus of this project and the community that will be most directly impacted and involved. Where possible, note areas of potential projects for this grant.

Attachment C: A list of partners that will work with you to achieve your goals for this project. These may be government partners, other nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, corporate supporters and private foundations, influential individuals, etc. Please provide contact information.

Attachment D: Brief biographies for relevant staff, volunteers, or partners integral to this project. These should not exceed 2 pages in length.

Attachment E: List of Board of Directors and, if applicable, their affiliations and relevant experience.

PART III: REVIEW CRITERIA

(55 pts.) Project Impact. The project demonstrably increases the capacity of the recipient organization to protect and restore watersheds by:
• Increasing both the organization’s and the broader community’s watershed skills and awareness in order to meet the community’s urban environmental impairments (15 pts.)
• Creating a more sustainable organization (15 pts.)
• Increasing and diversifying the individuals, communities and volunteers that support the organization (15 pts.)
• Increasing the organization’s ability to plan and implement successful projects (10 pts.)

(10 pts.) Watershed Context. The applicant demonstrates the importance of the natural body of water, its impairments, its impact on public health, its historical significance and/or its potential as a community or educational resource.

(10 pts.) Partnerships. The applicant demonstrates a commitment to engaging a diversity of project partners such as government, business, community organizations (including environmental and environmental justice groups), and non-traditional partners.

(10 pts.) Community Needs. The applicant demonstrates a clear need in an urban and disadvantaged community or a community with environmental justice challenges and how the project is likely to address the community’s priority needs.

(15 pts.) Project Feasibility. The project has strong potential for long-term success based on project feasibility, project leadership, extent of partner/community support and realistic budgeting.

Urban Waters Capacity-Building Grants