2025 Environmental Literacy for Community Resilience Program

The Environmental Literacy for Community Resilience grant is a collaborative initiative led by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program (GRP) in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Environmental Literacy Program. This opportunity is designed to support efforts aimed at enhancing community resilience and increasing environmental literacy through place-based education in the U.S. Gulf States, specifically Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The grant seeks to address local environmental challenges by engaging learners of all ages in educational activities that foster understanding, action, and leadership in response to environmental hazards. The primary objective of this funding opportunity is to support projects that educate community members on local environmental challenges and promote community resilience through educational and experiential programming. Eligible projects should incorporate evidence-based educational practices, scientific information, and community engagement strategies that are contextually relevant. Target audiences can include children, youth, and adults in both formal K-12 educational settings and informal environments such as museums and community centers. Projects tailored to children and youth should align with formal education standards and learning objectives. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with community-based organizations and ensure that projects are co-designed and implemented with meaningful community input. Preference is given to projects that target vulnerable communities with fewer resources to address environmental challenges. Applicants are also encouraged to leverage NOAA’s regional resources and expertise. Each application must include a comprehensive evaluation plan, managed either by an external evaluator or by qualified internal staff not directly involved in project delivery. The budget should allocate 10 to 20 percent for evaluation. A total of $4 million is available, with individual project awards ranging from $100,000 to $750,000 for durations of 12 to 36 months. The application window opens on February 26, 2025, and closes on May 21, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Award announcements are expected in August 2025, with funding starting on October 1, 2025. Applications must be submitted online, and required documents include resumes, budget justifications, a data management plan, and forms disclosing collaborators and current/pending support. Eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, K-12 schools, nonprofits including museums and aquariums, and government agencies at the state and local levels, as well as Indian tribal governments. Federal agencies, for-profit organizations, foreign entities, and individuals cannot apply but may serve as project partners. Each individual may only serve as a Project Director for one application and may be listed as Key Personnel on up to two additional proposals. Evaluation criteria include the project's potential to enhance environmental literacy, feasibility and design quality, alignment with formal educational standards, and capacity to empower communities. Awards will be contingent on compliance with human subjects research protocols, if applicable, and must adhere to GRP’s data management and reporting requirements. Selected applicants must accept GRP’s grant agreement terms, with modifications allowed only under exceptional circumstances.