Description: The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) Urban and Community Forestry Planning Grant provides funding to support urban forestry projects that will help municipalities and non-profit organizations collect baseline data that can be used to inform future management decisions.
Projects may include, but are not limited to, conducting inventories of street and/or park trees, creating urban and community forest management plans, developing monitoring programs to document tree condition, evaluations of local urban tree cover, and surveys of urban forested natural areas. Funds can be used to generate new materials and resources or to update existing ones such as previous inventories or out-of-date management plans.
Applicants will need to articulate how such projects will be used to promote data-driven forest management in their respective cities in the future. See the Request for Proposals (RFP) for more information.
$150,000 is now available, and additional funds are anticipated in 2024.
Expected Award Size: $2,500 - $65,000
Eligible Applicants: municipalities and non-profit 501(c)3 organizations
Cost-Share: 50:50. This match may be a financial match, done through the expenditure of additional funds, or it may be achieved through in-kind contributions of goods or services donated by grant partners, or a combination of both.
Evaluation Criteria (per Section 8 of the RFP): Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts at DEEP. These experts will score and rank individual applications based on the following rubric:
- Project Goals and Description (40 pts)
- Is the project clearly defined?
- Can the project be accomplished in the timeline proposed? [Approved projects must be completed by January 1, 2025, per Section 9 of the RFP]
- Can the project be accomplished with the budget requested? Is the match clearly stated?
- Is the work force for this project clearly defined and adequate?
- Is the methodology appropriate?
- Are the individuals responsible for seeing the project through to completion clearly defined and are their roles outlined?
- Are the final products clearly stated and achievable?
- Is there clear justification for the final products to be generated?
- Future Management Goals (40pts)
- Are the management goals clearly defined and does this project have the potential to achieve these goals effectively?
- If these goals are achieved, will that lead to both near-term and long-term improvements in the urban forest?
- Are potential future funding sources or strategies identified to help support future management?
- Does the applicant present a tangible vision for the future of their local urban forest?
- Community Impact and Involvement (20 pts)
- Is investment from leadership within the community or organization demonstrated including relevant letters of support?
- Are efforts towards community involvement and communications outlined clearly?
- Are the efforts towards community involvement and communications appropriate and sufficient, both in scope and design?
Application Deadline: October 24, 2023, at 5:00 PM via the online application.
Send questions to DEEP.UCF.Grants@ct.gov by September 26. A frequently asked questions document that will be published on this page by September 29.
Link to Program Website: Urban and Community Forestry Planning Grant
Application Templates:
This summary is based on a review of the Request for Proposals (RFP), dated September 7, 2023.
Please contact Elizabeth Sanderson, BIL Coordinator at CRCOG, with questions or if you would like additional information about this program.
