Community Grant Program
Interactive and Supportive
Since 2003, 45 projects funded in the lakeshore basin with over $111,000 in small grants.
Our Main Goal:
To promote community solutions to problems that effect the overall health and welfare of the Lakeshore Basin ecosystem.
LNRP awards local community grants to further this goal.
- We support and facilitate local efforts to preserve or improve our natural resources.
- We promote wise stewardship of our ground and surface waters, forests, soils, wildlife and habitat by engaging citizens in education and action.
- We foster community partnerships, provide funding, promote discussion and support activities that advocate a balance between land use and natural resource conservation and protection.
The LNRP Grant Application Process is Designed to be Interactive and Supportive
- Applicants have the opportunity to work closely with a Grant Advisory Team (GAT) to explore ways to improve the proposal and ensure a successful project.
- Applicants have an opportunity to interview with the advisory team. This interview allows you to expand your project explanation and provide support materials in person!
- You may call the LNRP office to discuss your project idea or submit a one-page letter of intent briefly explaining your project and budget needs.
- We will send the application instructions to you or you can download them right here from the website. We will also put you in touch with the GAT representative most appropriate for your intended project.
To obtain grant forms visit our download forms page.
Eligibility
LNRP makes grants to organizations that are:
- Based in the Lakeshore Basin
- Not-for-profit and exempt from federal taxes under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, or
- Using a fiscal sponsor that is tax-exempt
- Grassroots group with limited funding sources.
Award Amounts
Our grants range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the scope of the project and fund availability. Organizations may apply for funding once each calendar year.
Grant Award Maximum of $5,000
Funding Priorities
Projects should work to improve the quality of drinking and surface water. Projects of strength will include other funding priorities as listed below:
LNRP gives preference to projects that:
- Promote partnerships and creative collaborations
- Foster a sense of pride and identification with watersheds in the basin
- Have the potential to leverage additional resources
- Demonstrate potential to be replicated elsewhere in the basin
- Advance creative ecological solutions or concepts
- Advance recommendations or best management practices of government or community agencies
- Protect unique natural areas
- Provide short-term benefits while maintaining a long-term ecosystem perspective
We are particularly interested in projects that address issues previously identified as the most pressing in the Lakeshore Basin:
- Loss of riparian buffers and shoreline habitat
- Inadequate identification and protection of wetlands and groundwater recharge areas
- Inadequate or unbalanced land-use strategies
- Habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity
- Absence of stewardship ethic
- Contamination of drinking water
Limitations and Restrictions
LNRP does not fund:
- Individuals
- Lobbying or electoral activities
- Capital campaigns, fund drives, or equipment purchases not directly related to a specific project
- Enhancement of private property, unless there is an overriding public benefit
- Projects or organizations located outside the Lakeshore Basin
- Research projects that lack an action component
Application Process
In 2009, the Pollution category was incorporated into three other topic areas: Water Resources Protection, Land Use Protection and Habitat Restoration, and Environmental Education and Outreach. The LNRP application process is designed to be interactive and supportive. Applicants have the opportunity to work closely with a Grant Advisory Team (GAT) to explore ways to improve their proposal and ensure a successful project.
You may call the LNRP office to discuss your project idea or submit a one-page letter of intent briefly explaining the project and budget needs. We will mail or email the application instructions or you can download them from the website. We can also put you in touch with the GAT representative most appropriate for your intended project.
Members of one of our four Grant Advisory Teams — Water Resources Protection, Environmental Education and Outreach, Land Use Protection and Habitat Restoration — are available to meet with you to offer technical assistance and advice on completing your application. Pre-application discussions can help you refine your ideas, learn about other available resources, and increase your chances of success.
You will also have the opportunity to meet with a GAT for a face to face interview. Giving you the opportunity to elaborate on your project ideas, beyond the written application.
We will route your project to the appropriate Grant Advisory Team according to the specific basin issue you propose to address:
-
Water Resources Protection: Projects that monitor or improve streams, rivers, lakes or
wetlands. -
Environmental Education and Outreach: Projects that establish or improve
communication and education about water quality issues for the general public, youth and
stewardship programs. - Land-Use Protection and Habitat Restoration: Projects
that focus on improving land
development decisions to restore or protect water quality.
The volunteer members of the advisory teams review applications, make funding recommendations, and monitor the progress and results of the selected projects. The LNRP Board of Directors, composed of volunteers from throughout the Lakeshore Basin, approves all grant awards.
The application consists of a simple form, project narrative and budget, limited to five typed pages.
Timetable and Deadlines
LNRP has funding cycles based on funds availability but you may make an inquiry or submit a grant application at any time during the year.
We encourage all potential applicants to contact the LNRP office well in advance of the fund cycle to discuss project ideas and request technical assistance.
The grant period is typically one year from the respective start date. LNRP will consider an 18-month or two-year grant period, if the scope of the project warrants, or in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
Applicants awarded an LNRP grant may apply for follow-up funding (in the next calendar year) to support new initiatives or to build on previously-funded efforts, provided that previous projects have been successfully concluded.
Contact Us
(920) 304-1919
Grants@LNRP.org
Board of Directors and Staff