Iowa Environment Grants

This funding opportunity supports cities, counties, and organizations in Iowa to implement urban conservation projects that reduce nutrient pollution and improve water quality through stormwater management and community education.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit organizations and government entities that aim to improve the quality of life in Howard County, Iowa, through projects in areas such as arts, education, health, and community betterment.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit organizations and government entities that enhance the welfare of residents in Fayette County, Iowa, through projects in areas such as arts, education, health, and community development.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and government entities in Benton County, Iowa, to support projects that enhance community life across various sectors such as arts, education, health, and environment.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit organizations and government entities that aim to improve the quality of life for residents in Floyd County, Iowa, through projects in areas such as arts, education, health, and community betterment.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and government entities that aim to improve the quality of life for residents in Kossuth County, Iowa, through various community-focused projects.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and government entities to support projects that enhance community life in Worth County, Iowa, across various sectors such as arts, education, health, and environment.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and government entities that aim to improve the quality of life in Butler County, Iowa, through projects in areas such as arts, education, health, and community betterment.

This grant provides financial support to nonprofit organizations and public institutions in Jackson County, Iowa, for projects that address community needs in areas such as development, diversity, education, health, and the arts.

The River Bluff Community Foundation in Iowa is offering the Impact Grant, ranging from $1000 to $10,000, to nonprofit organizations that aim to improve the quality of life in Clinton and Camanche through initiatives in health, education, community development, environment, family services, and arts and culture, with applications due by September 30, 2024.

The Pella Community Foundation Impact Grants, ranging from $15,000 to $25,000, are available to 501(c)(3) organizations and governmental agencies for projects that significantly improve Pella's quality of life, demonstrate community impact, and show evidence of long-term planning and sustainability.

The Rural Child Care Planning Program seeks to support the use of data and analysis by rural communities to determine the specific needs and solutions for child care in their area. Donor Name: Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 08/30/2024 Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000 Grant Duration: 2 Years Details: Child care is a challenge across rural communities in Iowa and across the nation. However, the solutions are often more complicated than the construction of a new facility. Many factors need to be carefully analyzed to determine the feasibility for development of a child care center, expansion of an existing one or support for in-home providers. Through greater understanding of their geographic market, demographics, competition, financials, and other factors, communities can be armed with the information needed to take proactive steps towards addressing child care challenges. Funding from the program will empower communities to assess their current child care environment and develop strategies. The program, defined in Iowa Administrative Code, is administered by the Center for Rural Revitalization, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative Task Forces. Funding Information Grant Recipients will be awarded $20,000. Grant Period All project activities and incurred expenses must occur within the eligible contracted funding period of October 1, 2024 – June 30, 2026. Uses of funds  The program provides funding for planning initiatives addressing child care needs through a professional third party partner. Eligible Project Requirements Requirements for Rural Child Care Planning Grant awards include, but are not limited to the following: Applicants must demonstrate the capacity for grants administration. Applications must provide 1:1/2 cash match. Applications must agree to contract with a professional third-party partner for completion of the market study and strategic goals. Applicant communities must identify the third-party organization in their application that will conduct the planning process.  Eligibility Criteria Iowa businesses, colleges and universities, city or county government, federally tax-exempt nonprofit agencies and foundations Projects/programs must exist in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer and not contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater. If a countywide project, must be in one of the 88 least populous counties. For more information, visit IEDA.

The Rural Housing Assessment Grant program supports the use of publicly available, online information and rural community efforts to interpret publicly available hard data to implement changes through development codes, local ordinances, and housing incentives specific to individual community needs. Donor Name: Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 08/30/2024 Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000 Grant Duration: 2 Years Details: In partnership with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach’s Rural Housing Readiness Assessment workshops, program funding will empower communities to assess the current development environment and enact changes resulting in the creation of policies and procedures attractive to potential developers. The program is administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) Center for Rural Revitalization in consultation with the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative Task Forces and ISU Extension and Outreach. The Rural Housing Assessment Grant Program provides funding for housing assessment data collection and ISU Extension and Outreach Rural Housing Assessment Readiness Workshop. Funds may be used to fulfill that process at the discretion of the grant recipient but must contribute to the completion of the housing assessment report, workshop or implementation of the workshop outcomes within the contract period. Funding Information Grant Recipients will be awarded up to $20,000. Funding Period All project activities and incurred expenses must occur within the eligible contracted funding period of October 1, 2024 – June 30, 2026. Eligible Project Requirements Requirements for Rural Housing Assessment Interpretation and Implementation grant awards include, but are not limited to the following: Applicants must demonstrate the capacity for grants administration. Applications must demonstrate the feasibility of completing the proposed activities with the funds requested and contract period. Applications must identify and describe any other sources of funding for the proposed activities. Applications must provide $5,000 cash match for each city or full county partnering on the application. Applications must agree to utilize information available on the Iowa Profile tool. Applications must agree to contract with ISU Extension and Outreach for the facilitated Rural Housing Assessment Readiness Workshop. Applications must identify any additional partner organizations that will be utilized in additional data collection or implementation processes. Eligibility Criteria Local city and county governments, or federally recognized tribal governments physically located in Iowa. Projects/programs must exist in and benefit a community in Iowa with a population of 20,000 or fewer and not contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater. If a countywide project, must be in one of the 88 least populous counties. For more information, visit IEDA.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) is seeking applications for its Community Forestry Grant Program. Donor Name: Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) State: Iowa County: Selected Counties Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement Deadline: 08/26/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The Iowa Legislature appropriated state infrastructure funds to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) to be used for a community-based tree planting program for derecho recovery tree planting. This Community Forestry Grant is available to state and local governments entities, schools and volunteer organizations and service organizations involved with local urban and community forest services, for planting trees on publicly owned lands owned by state, county or local governments and located within the State of Iowa (DNR lands are not eligible). Qualifying public planting lands include, but are not limited to, street right-of-ways, parks, school grounds, courthouse lawns, public buildings, fairgrounds, cemeteries, libraries and trails. Grant Priorities Priority will be given to: demonstrated need from the impact cost-effectiveness of the $1 for $1 cash match community involvement, meeting Tree City/Campus/Line USA designation, and (5) species/genera diversity and environmental impact. Funding Information The Community Forestry Grant Program provides reimbursable grants ranging from $500 to $10,000 to be used for the purchase and planting of trees suitable to Iowa. Uses of funds Allocated funds may only be used for tree or landscape plantings on public areas in Iowa identified in the application form. Special requests may be made (buildings and vehicles are not eligible) but will require a more detailed description of the request and need. Eligibility Criteria   Applicants must be regional or local units of Iowa state, county or city government, local governmental departments, school districts, volunteer organizations, and service clubs involved with local urban and community forestry resources. Eligible projects must occur on public lands within the state of Iowa (DNR land is not eligible). Examples of planting areas include street landscaping/right of ways, public schools, city and county parks, community sports complexes, public lands arboretums, courthouses, law enforcement facilities, public libraries, cemeteries, fairgrounds, and trails. Eligible areas include the 27 Iowa counties in the 2020 Governor’s disaster proclamation. EAB Reforestation eligible counties include: Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, O’Brien, Osceola, Page, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth, and Wright. For more information, visit Iowa DNR.

This funding opportunity supports local governments in beautifying roadside areas along primary highways by providing financial assistance for planting seeds or live plants.

This program provides funding to Iowa's local governments for the construction and improvement of public boat access facilities at lakes and streams.

Donor Name: Iowa Legislature (via REAP funds) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: August 15, 2024 Size of the Grant: Not specified (based on city size) Grant Duration: Not specified Details/Overview: The City Parks and Open Space Grant allocates 15% of REAP funds to cities through competitive grants, funded by gaming revenues. It excludes athletic fields, organized sports facilities, pools, and playgrounds. Grants are distributed across city size categories, and no local matching funds are required. Applications are due by August 15, 2024.

Donor Name: Iowa Legislature (via REAP funds) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Cost-Share Grant Deadline: August 15, 2024 Size of the Grant: 75% of land acquisition costs covered by REAP Grant Duration: Not specified Details/Overview: One-tenth of the Open Spaces portion of REAP is dedicated to cost-sharing land acquisitions with private organizations, covering 75% of acquisition costs while the remaining 25% is funded through private contributions. This program allows private conservation groups to collaborate with the state to provide outdoor recreation and protect critical habitats, with the state managing the property on behalf of the public. Applications are due by August 15, 2024.

Donor Name: Iowa Legislature (via REAP funds) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: August 15, 2024 Size of the Grant: Not specified (based on city size) Grant Duration: Not specified Details/Overview: The City Parks and Open Space Grant allocates 15% of REAP funds to cities through competitive grants, funded by gaming revenues. The program aims to support city parks and open spaces, excluding athletic fields, sports facilities, pools, and playgrounds. Grants are distributed across different city size categories, with applications due by August 15, 2024, and no local matching funds required.

Donor Name: Iowa Legislature (via REAP funds) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: August 15, 2024 Size of the Grant: Not specified (Ceilings based on city size) Grant Duration: Not specified Details/Overview: The City Parks and Open Space Grant, funded by REAP, supports cities through competitive grants to develop parks and open spaces. Funded by gaming revenues, the grant excludes athletic fields, organized sports facilities, swimming pools, and playground equipment. Grants are distributed across cities of various sizes with no local matching funds required, and applications are due by August 15, 2024.