Environmental Education Grants

 

The Environmental Education Grants Program supports projects to design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate practices, methods, or techniques related to environmental education and teacher training. As required by Public Law 101-619, this grant program provides financial support for environmental education projects implemented by schools, universities, state and local government environmental and educational agencies, tribal education agencies, and nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organizations that increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provide the skills that participants in its funded projects need to make informed environmental decisions and take responsible actions toward the environment. .

Active 66.951 Environmental Protection Agency B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 Approximately 470 applications were received for the EE Local Grants program in FY16. It is anticipated that 33 - 35 awards will be made for EE Local Grants with FY16 funds, and 3 grants will be awarded at headquarters for EE Model Grants with FY16 funds (selected in June 2015 from the pool of applicants received for the 2014/2015 solicitation notice). Approximately 470 applications were received for the EE Local Grants program in FY16. 33 awards were made for EE Local Grants with FY16 funds, and 3 grants were awarded at headquarters for EE Model Grants with FY16 funds (selected in June 2015 from the pool of applicants received for the 2014/2015 solicitation notice).
Fiscal Year 2017 36 grant awards were made with FY 2017 funds for applications received under the 2016 EE Local Grants solicitation.
Fiscal Year 2018 37 grant awards are anticipated to be made in 2018 out of 550 applications received. The 2018 grant projects will use agricultural education, community projects, and career development to educate the public about such local environmental issues as those involving air and water quality, chemical safety, food waste and recovery, school and community gardens, and recycling. National Environmental Education Act, Section 6, Public Law 101-619 Assistance under this program is generally available to local education agencies, colleges and universities, state education and environmental agencies, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service, and noncommercial educational broadcasting entities as defined and licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. Applicant organizations must be located in the United States or territories and the majority of the educational activities must take place in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. "Tribal education agencies" that are eligible to apply include a school or community college which is controlled by an Indian tribe, band, or nation, which is recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians and which is not administered by the Bureau of Indian Education. Tribal organizations do not qualify unless they meet that criteria or the environmental agency or non-profit criteria listed above. The terms for eligibility are defined in Section 3 of the Act and 40 CFR 47.105. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this CFDA description, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy. Education (0-8), education (9-12), education (13+), nonprofit institutions and organizations, state and local government agencies. Documentation of nonprofit status may be required. Applicants must demonstrate that they have appropriate background, academic training, and experience in the field, and may be asked to demonstrate the necessary equipment or facilities to carry out the project. Preapplication coordination is required. The annual solicitation notice for proposals and grant tutorials are available on the Agency's website listed below. Regarding pre-application/pre-proposal assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this program description, EPA will generally specify the nature of the pre-application/pre-proposal assistance, if any, that will be available to applicants in the competitive announcement. For additional information, contact the individual(s) listed in the competitive announcement. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applications are accepted for one or two solicitations on an annual grant cycle and are due at the deadline(s) stated in each solicitation. Applicants submit an application package in the format required in the annual Solicitation Notice(s). Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through https://www.grants.gov. After being submitted to https://www.grants.gov, some applications will be reassigned by the EE Grants Manager to the appropriate EPA Regional Offices, depending on specifications in each Solicitation Notice and where the project activities will take place. Applications for Environmental Education assistance agreements will be evaluated by the appropriate EPA Headquarters or Regional Offices based on where the proposed project will take place and the nature of the awards as described in the solicitation notice. For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications, proposals, and/or submissions in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria stated in the competitive announcement. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. The Agency will then advise the applicant if funding is being considered. A final work plan will then be negotiated with the applicant. All awards are competed through the annual announcement(s) and no proposals are awarded non-competitively. Each competitive announcement has a specified deadline for submitting applications. Approximately 180 days. Assistance agreement competition-related disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR (Federal Register) 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005). Copies of these procedures may also be requested by contacting the individual(s) listed as "Information Contacts." Disputes relating to matters other than the competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable. Not applicable. Basis and priorities for selecting proposals are listed in Section 6 of Public Law 101-619, National Environmental Education Act, and in the annual Solicitation Notice which can be accessed (when available) at www.epa.gov/education on the internet. The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this CFDA assistance listing description will be described in the competitive announcement. The Environmental Education Grants Program may fund projects that educate the public on environmental issues, especially those of local concern, and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills needed to make decisions about actions that can be taken to protect the environment and create lifelong stewardship practices. Performance Reports: Performance reports are due on the same schedule as program and progress reports. Note that a cumulative final report is also due within 90 days of the end of the project period. Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff, or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year. Financial records, including all documents to support entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes to each assistance agreement, must be kept available to personnel authorized to examine EPA assistance accounts. All records must be maintained until the expiration of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. If questions still remain, such as those raised as the result of an audit, related records should be retained until the matter is completely resolved. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is mandatory. 25%. In accordance with the National Environmental Education Act (Public Law 101-619), federal funds for any project under this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of such project. The project has a 25 percent non-federal match required by statutory formula. For the purposes of this section, the non-federal share of project costs may be provided by cash or by in- kind contributions and other non-cash support.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. One or two year project periods are possible in this program, depending upon the nature and complexity of the project. Activities must be completed within the time frame of the budget period agreed upon at the time of the award. Two or more concurrent grants to the same organization for the same project are not allowed in this program. Grants are usually fully (rather than incrementally) funded. This determination is made by the EPA. Funding is provided to the grantee, as needed, from an account established at the start of the project period. Contact the appropriate EPA Regional Office listed on the website: https://www.epa.gov/education/environmental-education-coordinators-epas-regional-offices Karen Scott
Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Education Grant Program, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (Mail Code: 1704A)
Washington, DC 20460 US
scott.karen@epa.gov
Phone: (202) 564-2194
Fax: (202) 564-2753 https://www.epa.gov/education 68-0108-0-1-304 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 18$3,000,000.00; FY 19 Estimate Not Available FY 20 Estimate Not Available FY 17$3,306,600.00; FY 16$3,306,600.00; - The dollar range stated in the FY 2016 EE Local Grants solicitation notice was no more than $91,000 per grant. In FY16 and FY17 the average amount awarded per EE grant was approximately $90,000. The FY 2018 solicitation notice listed a range of $50,000 - $100,000, and the selected proposals are expected to be awarded grants mostly in the $80,000 - $100,000 range. 2 CFR Parts 200 and 1500. 40 CFR Parts 7, 12, 32 Subpart F, 33, 47; Public Law 101-619, and the Office of Environmental Education annual Grant Program Solicitation Notice(s). Not applicable.