Biodiversity Conservation Grant

The 2025 Biodiversity Conservation Grant, supported by Toyota Motor North America and administered by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), offers $200,000 in funding to support shovel-ready habitat enhancement projects aimed at improving pollinator habitats on public lands in the United States. The primary goal of the grant is to support the restoration, creation, or enhancement of habitats for pollinators such as butterflies, bees, bats, and other species that play crucial roles in biodiversity. Projects must directly affect at least 500 acres of public land. Collaborations and partnerships that help meet this minimum acreage requirement are encouraged. Additionally, the grant emphasizes community engagement through education and volunteerism, with the aim of raising public awareness about the importance of pollinators. Funding priorities for the grant include habitat enhancement projects that focus on on-the-ground activities to improve the quality, quantity, and connectivity of pollinator habitats. Applicants must provide a detailed plan that includes site preparation, project area size, and the target pollinator species. The grant also considers projects that are part of larger, ongoing habitat restoration efforts. Applicants must ensure that their proposals are shovel-ready, meaning they should be prepared to implement the project within three months of the award date. The inclusion of community engagement activities, such as volunteer programs or educational events, is a required component of the proposal. The grant competition follows a two-phase application process. Interested applicants must first submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), which NEEF will review to select a small number of finalists. These finalists will then be invited to submit a full application. A maximum of $75,000 and a minimum of $50,000 can be requested by successful applicants, and the grant period lasts one year, running from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The grant's expected outcomes include improvements to pollinator habitats on public lands, increased community engagement in restoration activities, and measurable increases in visitation to the affected sites. In terms of eligibility, the grant is open to a wide range of organizations, including non-profit 501(c)(3) entities, state and federal government agencies, federally recognized tribes, local governments, and educational institutions. Private for-profit entities and individuals are not eligible to apply. Projects must take place on public lands, which are defined as land owned by local, state, or federal governments, or nonprofit entities, that is regularly accessible to the public for recreational purposes. Applications must also comply with specific funding criteria, including the prohibition of using funds for political advocacy or other restricted activities. The application timeline for the grant includes a Letter of Intent phase that opens on February 1, 2025, and closes on March 1, 2025. Finalists will be invited to submit a full application by April 1, 2025, and the full applications are due by May 1, 2025. The grants will be awarded in June 2025, with the project period running from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Grantees will be required to report on their progress, including community engagement metrics, by December 31, 2025, and July 15, 2026.