Green infrastructure grants available for small communities

Ann Arbor, Mich. — The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the Great Lakes Emerging Champions Mini-Grant Program. The Mini-Grant Program will provide funding to help small and medium sized communities improve water quality, manage stormwater, and enhance community well-being. Grants of up to $20,000 will support green infrastructure (GI) implementation in U.S. or Canadian municipalities with fewer than 500,000 people.

Eligible projects include GI pilot installations, removing institutional or policy barriers, educational programming, developing partnerships with other agencies, or community GI planning efforts. Applicants are restricted to municipal government agencies, regional authorities, or registered nonprofit organizations serving eligible communities.

Mini-grant recipients will join the Great Lakes Green Infrastructure Champions Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Network and be paired with a mentor who has successfully implemented GI in their community. Both the mini-grant program and mentoring network are part of the Great Lakes Green Infrastructure Champions Pilot Program, led by the GLC with support from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation. The goal of this program is to catalyze the adoption of GI practices and policies across the Great Lakes basin by providing mid-sized municipalities with resources they frequently lack.

For more information about the RFP and Mentorship Network, visit https://www.glc.org/work/champions/network.

The Great Lakes Green Infrastructure Champions Pilot Program will also hold webinars to discuss the RFP and Mentorship Network on June 13, 2017 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and July 10, 2017 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. (register at https://goo.gl/forms/DSmvxF4V44RAjZbI3). The deadline to submit proposals is July 31, 2017.