Great Lake Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

The Great Lake Thriving Communities Grantmaking Partnership will distribute $40 million to organizations working in and for underserved communities throughout the Great Lakes region. All grants will be given to environmental and public health efforts in underserved communities across Region 5 as defined by EPA.

Eligible applicants include:

• Tribal governments (both federally and state-recognized) and intertribal consortia (i.e., a partnership between two or more tribes that work together to achieve a common objective).
• Native American and Indigenous organizations, including groups, cooperatives, nonprofit corporations, partnerships and associations that have the authority to enter into legally binding agreements.
• Community-based and grassroots nonprofit organizations.
• Philanthropic and civic organizations with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
• Local governments (as defined by 2 CFR 200.1), including cities, towns, municipalities, counties, public housing authorities and councils of government.
• Institutions of higher education, including private, public, and community colleges and universities.

Grant applications will be accepted from Dec. 5, 2024, until November 2026. Grant announcements will be made several times a year until the end of 2026.

For more information, please visit the Great Lake Thriving Communities Grantmaking Partnership webpage.

Cooperative Forestry Funding

The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives is pleased to invite proposals to receive $5,000-$25,000 to fund the development of Wisconsin-based cooperatives or cooperative groups (e.g. associations, networks or informal collaborations) in the following areas:

• Forest management
• Forest-related products
• Biomass energy
• Forest-owner policy initiatives
• Support for existing forestry cooperatives or associations

Applicants must be a non-profit or cooperative organization to apply and will be required to match at least 50% of the grant funds received. Please note that in previous years UW/County Extension offices were encouraged to apply. Given the reorganization of UW Extension within UW-Madison, we can no longer award grant funds to UW/County Extension. However, UW Extension offices and agents can be partners on projects and otherwise support other types of applicants.

Please direct grant related questions to Kelly Maynard at Kelly.Maynard@wisc.edu or 608-262-9751.

Proposals are due by Feb. 15, 2025. To apply, please send a description of your proposed project (two to four pages) and letters of commitment from individuals or organizations providing in-kind match to Kelly Maynard, University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, at Kelly.Maynard@wisc.edu.