NCFS-Home >>Urban Forestry >> Urban and Community Forestry Financial Assistance >> Urban and Community Forestry Funding Sources and Opportunities
Urban and Community Forestry Funding Sources and Opportunities
Funding assistance for urban and community forestry practices and activities is available from a variety of sources including the federal government and other organizations. Below is information about N.C. Forest Service (NCFS) funding programs and other funding sources we are aware of that may help meet your needs.
N.C. Forest Service
We apply for and are granted funding to assist you with completing your urban and community forestry work. Detailed below is information on our current funding programs to help you understand the required funding guidelines that will be presented in a respective request for application offering.
- In August 2022, Congress approved the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has unprecedented funding specifically designated for urban and community forestry projects as well as other program areas. We applied for and have received a five-year U&CF grant in the amount of $5.5 million to assist communities in the completion of U&CF projects in disadvantaged communities. We will issue requests for applications until the funding is exhausted.
- Federal Program Details
State agencies, including the N.C Forest Service, received a Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Advice Supplement in December 2022 requesting funding proposals. The following excerpted language is the funding guidelines for the development of proposals and distribution of grant funding provided in the Advice Supplement.
- States were strongly encouraged to develop proposals that substantially invest in the long term growth and development of state and local urban and community forestry programs to support:
- increased and equitable access to urban tree canopy and associated human health, environmental and economic benefits in disadvantaged communities,
- broadened community engagement in local urban forest planning and
- improved resilience to climate change, pests and storm events through best management and maintenance practices.
- States were also encouraged to pursue and leverage competitive subgranting, contracting and direct granting authorities to local government, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, and other strategic partners to maximize urban and community forestry investments in disadvantaged communities. A minimum of 80% of federal funding awarded to states must be competitively subawarded to deliver urban and community forestry program benefits at the community level.
Urban and Community Forestry in IRA
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Subtitle D, Sec. 23003 (a). State and Private Forestry Conservation Programs -Appropriations
2) $1,500,000,000 to provide multiyear, programmatic, competitive grants to a State agency, a local governmental entity, an agency or governmental entity of the District of Columbia, an agency or governmental entity of an insular area (as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)), an Indian Tribe, or a nonprofit organization through the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance program established under section 9(c) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(c)) for tree planting and related activities.
- Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) is a covered program under the Agency’s Justice40 Initiative established through Executive Order 13985. To advance the mission of Justice40, proposals that deliver 40% of the benefits of IRA investments through established partnerships with local organizations working to support disadvantaged communities experiencing low tree canopy and environmental justice will receive priority consideration.
- USDA is a partner on the Interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Promoting Equitable Access to Nature in Nature-Deprived Communities, which seeks to reduce the number of people without access to parks and nature in their communities. The America the Beautiful Initiative supports the prioritization of locally led conservation and park projects in communities that disproportionately lack access to nature and its benefits.
- In addition, the USDA Forest Service also directed the following:
- Funding allocated to states is only available for disadvantaged community projects.
- Projects must be located within a disadvantaged census tract as defined by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
- There is no cost/match share requirement for awardees.
- Funding will be made available through competitive subawards to nature-deprived populations and disadvantaged communities for urban and community forestry practices and activities including urban wood utilization, urban food forests, extreme heat mitigation and workforce development.
- Every year, Congress provides federal support to states for urban and community forestry through the USDA Farm Bill and authorized by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-313) as amended. The amount of funding each state receives is contingent on the federal budget and an allocation matrix based on state population and performance history.
- The NCFS applies for and receives U&CF funding from this federal program each year. The monies fund NCFS U&CF staff and operating expenses, the N.C. Urban Forest Council, and include funding for grants to communities to fund U&CF projects. From 2010 through 2020, $1.6 million in financial assistance was provided to communities to fund 142 projects.
- The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), provides the U.S. Forest Service with resources to reduce the risk of wildland fire, restore ecosystems and invest in natural resources related to infrastructure. The BIL provides approximately $5.5 billion for the U.S. Forest Service to work at larger scales with federal, tribal, state and local government partners, as well as all members of the public, to restore ecosystems and reduce wildfire risk to communities. The BIL also provides important tools to support agency efforts in establishing resilient landscapes for future climate conditions. The intention of BIL funding is to produce actions on the ground and in communities.
- A portion of the U.S. Forest Service, state and private forestry BIL funding is to be granted to states to implement priorities in their state forest action plans. Program authorities included in state forest action plan implementation funding are Forest Stewardship and Rural Forestry Assistance, Forest Health Management, Urban and Community Forestry and State Fire Assistance. FY22 allocations as requested by the states in conjunction with the Southern Group of State Foresters (SGSF), National Association of State Foresters (NASF) and the U.S. Forest Service Washington Office were distributed in early FY23.
- The NCFS U&CF program applies for and has received funding from this program to fund U&CF projects. Monies received through this program have funded sample tree inventories, tree canopy cover assessments, and development and maintenance of the North Carolina Urban and Community Forestry Cloud.
- Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
- The following NGOs offer several programs that provide financial assistance to U&CF programs, as well as plant trees in communities and on forested lands. Visit their websites for more information.
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)
- In addition to funding for urban and community forestry projects discussed above, the BIL provided funding for infrastructure projects that could include tree planting. We do not have any specific guidance to share at this time, but if we learn of details and specific guidance, we will share it here in the future.