Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Post

📣  #Grant Alert!!!! The National Forest Foundation's Matching Grant program awards #funds throughout the United States for projects connecting people to forests. Community engagement should be at the heart of funded projects’ goals and objectives, with stewardship activities as a secondary focus area. ✅ Projects must take place on U.S. National Forests or Grasslands or adjacent public lands and demonstrate benefit to National Forest System lands. ✅ Nonprofit organizations, tribal governments and organizations, and universities are eligible to apply, and a 1:1 cash match of non-federal funds is required. ✅ Eligible projects include public lands days or cleanup days, field trips for schools or collaborative groups, outdoor skills training, Indigenous ecological practices, ceremonies or celebrations related to natural resources, trail or site ambassadors, and nature-based therapeutic activities. 🗓 Deadline is June 21st. ➡ Check out the website for more information: https://lnkd.in/eurZXfGy

Are you part of a nonprofit? This article will tell you about basic trends to look out for in 2024.

Why are we launching #DocumentersDay? Local governments hold thousands of public meetings every day, and the vast majority receive no news coverage. Too often, they are inaccessible, hard to find, or empty of community voices. Started by the City Bureau in Chicago, the Documenters Network is a nationwide network making local government more accessible, transparent, and participatory. We pay and train local residents to take fact-checked notes at these public meetings, supporting local news and information ecosystems with a truly people-powered public record. Pillsbury United Communities joined the network and launched Minneapolis Documenters in 2022. Together with 15+ network partners, we’ve trained more than 2,000 community members and covered more than 5,000 public meetings. This includes more than 700 city, county, and school board meetings in Minneapolis. The Documenters Network equips residents to access and produce the information they need. Northside resident Tashawna Williams has regularly documented the North and Southside Green Zone Task Forces, which hold the city accountable for environmental justice in neighborhoods that have faced decades of pollution. “That's the most important thing - to share what people might not know and get people involved and get them seats at the table that they never had an opportunity to sit at,” Tashawna told CBS last year. The Documenters Network makes local governments more responsive and transparent. After our advocacy, the City of Minneapolis added several agencies to its livestreaming roster, including the Charter Commission and Board of Estimate and Taxation. Documenters power reporting across our communities. We partner with news organizations like KRSM, North News, Southwest Voices, SPEAK MPLS, MinnPost, and Sahan Journal to bring you resources like the Vote612 guide. We also create resources for understanding how local government changes our communities, like these explainers on redistricting, competing proposals for the Office of Public Safety, and new zoning laws.  The Documenters Network is not only serving our communities with critical information about their daily lives; we’re leveraging our neighbors as the solution and putting money back into communities to do so. Together, we’ve paid more than $500,000 (including over $60,000 in Minneapolis) to residents working as Documenters. So, on #DocumentersDay, we want to work together to amplify the amazing work that Documenters are doing every day and raise funds to power their work in the next year. https://lnkd.in/dT4k5cg7

Want to know what our clients are saying about the NYU Wagner Capstone Program? Check out these glowing reviews: - One nonprofit said, "Engaging in this project... has been a game-changer. The tremendous impact it had on our advocacy work... surpassed all expectations." - Another organization praised a Capstone team of students for their research and analysis skills, saying, "Their final report was well organized, beautifully presented and included findings that are making a difference in how we do our advocacy on climate change policy in Massachusetts." - Another Capstone team's professionalism and passion impressed one client who said, "The plan they developed will be a catalyst for greenway projects that will have a lasting impact on the City." - And the City of Trenton has been benefiting from our Capstone Program for five years running, with "quality work and implementable recommendations that have guided City initiatives." We're proud to offer a program that produces such impactful results for our clients. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/d55Khwe

At Habitat for Humanity, we believe shelter empowers communities, fostering strength and self-reliance. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the transformative projects unfolding across Europe and the Middle East! Together, we can pave the way for a brighter future, one brick at a time. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eWWT4i4t #BuildingBrighterFutures #HabitatForHumanity"

What specific actions can #grantmakers take to support communities in accessing federal resources to address the climate crisis? At the 2024 Winter #EGABriefing yesterday, we were joined by leaders from across the #movement, #government, and #philanthropy driving transformative investments in climate and community. 🌍 Our esteemed plenary panelists, Adrienne Hollis, VP of Environmental Justice at National Wildlife Federation, Ava Richardson, Director, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Kacey Wetzel, VP of Programs, Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Charmel Gaulden, CEO of Foundation for Louisiana, dug into how funders can leverage their power to support equitable access to federal funds, while restoring agency to communities. 🔑 Key takeaways: 👉 Exercise your power of being advisors and experts to government funders to build effective partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies to address roadblocks. 👉 Know your problem and use your funder voice to help identify barriers to access that are practices and preferences, versus policies. Many barriers are preferences. 👉 Support community members in attending legislative meetings to determine how dollars are being allocated to specific projects. When a foundation president shows up at the legislature, your presence can be a rallying call to address an issue. 👉 Lean in and listen to the specific community’s needs. #ParticipatoryGrantmaking is one way for communities to lead the decision-making process. Many of our panelists discussed this practice as an effective way to make space for communities at the table, including Baltimore City, which has brought in community organizations to highlight specific funding needs and priorities. 👉 Understand your role to support capacity building at two levels: capacity to intervene at a high level, and to sustain and support networks of communities. 👉 Lean into pool fund work to address these systemic issues. Double down funding on racial equity commitments, and invest in BIPOC-led pro bono legal nonprofits. 📢 “We are the communities that we are trying to help.” #EGAbriefing #EGAconnects #RacialEquity #WomensHistoryMonth

Appreciate William Penn Foundation, The Lyme Timber Company, and Open Space Institute for pulling together leaders, including Trust for Public Land's Director of National Trails Initiative J.T. Horn, to discuss how to unlock federal funding that is available right now. One of my main takeaways? Act now. Dream big, and dream deep. It's critically important that NGO's collaborate with municipal, county, state, regional, and MPO partners to demonstrate demand for these programs. The time is now, folks. How are you/your organization working to secure federal funds? What barriers to accessing these funds are impacting your work? How are you ensuring that these funds address the systemic root of issues in our most climate/transportation/health vulnerable communities?

Florida is at a crossroads in the clean energy race. Our leaders must seize every opportunity there is to increase our energy independence with the power of the sun, reduce energy costs, create new jobs all while increasing our resilience in an ever increasing warming world. 346 MILLION dollars for energy rebates and energy efficiency are at play for Florida now. It is up to Governor DeSantis, our legislators, and Florida’s Department of Agriculture to not turn this down and make proud of our Sunshine ☀️ State name! If not, we might as well change our name to the “Missed-the-Boat State” 🚢……🏃♀️🏃🏾♂️ #solarenergy #solarindustry #solarpower #energyefficiency #solarpanels #Solar

Are you on a planning board? Town board? Supervisor? This is pertinent information for any municipality considering housing reform. Sign up! See you there

In June, NCEL launched a new partnership with Native Americans in Philanthropy to foster stronger connections between philanthropic funders, Tribal leaders, and state officials. We are so grateful for NAP’s insight and collaboration this year. Learn more about our partnership: https://lnkd.in/eyHHuaWg We joined forces to co-host a learning series to educate state legislators on strategies to enhance and fortify state-Tribal partnerships. We kicked it off in July with a session on “Tribal Relations 101 for State Legislators,” which helped build a foundation of knowledge around how states can best center Tribal priorities in policymaking: https://lnkd.in/gT8C-dms In November, our “Policy Pathways to Land Back” session highlighted efforts to restore ownership of ancestral homelands to Tribes through federal, state, and private land transfers. State legislators gained insights into meaningful ways to engage in policy solutions that promote Indigenous knowledge of lands and waters for environmental protection and to address the impacts of climate change: https://lnkd.in/gtJzWj7S #NCELYearinReview