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Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grant Program - FY 2025 (2)

Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture
CFDA: 10.675
Office: U.S. Forest Service
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 06/16/2025 (Proposal)
Solicitation Date: Unknown
   
Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $200,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $25,000 (Min) / $100,000 (Max)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to restore, sustain, and manage urban and community forest lands for the benefit of the nation's communities. For the current cycle, projects must address goal five of the National Urban and Community Forestry Ten-Year Action Plan, which is to improve urban and community forestry management, maintenance, and stewardship. Projects are expected to develop comprehensive programs, policies, and resources for enhancing urban and community forestry stewardship; and to promote better use of technology and tools in urban forestry.

Specifically, projects must address the end portion of the life cycle of community trees by promoting tree wood utilization. The funding agency seeks creative and innovative ways to assist communities in initiating or enhancing their urban and community wood utilization programs. This will not only keep trees out of landfills and avoid costs to local government, but also provide potential wood products, green training, and jobs for communities. Applicants should complement existing urban and community forestry management plans, thus creating a comprehensive full cycle outcome. Successful proposals will serve as case studies for other communities. Key factors to be addressed in an existing or proposed urban and community forest tree utilization program are:

  • Identifying/quantifying urban tree wood materials generated and current uses
  • How project will increase utilization of urban tree wood and have a positive impact on an urban and community forestry management program
  • Safety standards and procedures
  • Identification of successful existing urban and community forestry management program(s) and how they could be improved and supported by a tree wood utilization program.
  • Identification of any training certification opportunities
  • Identification of any green job opportunities
  • Partnerships and collaborations with key professional organizations
  • Identification of barriers that may prevent community members from participating
  • Inclusion of successful business development protocols
  • Identificaiton of any applicable or innovative technology to assist projects

Refer to page 3 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding key project factors.

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Any U.S. states or territories
  • Local governments
  • Educational institutions of higher learning
  • Federally recognized tribal organizations, including those operating in U.S. territories

Partnership collaboration is required, as two or more related partners must be involved in the proposal and include formal letters of partnership. Letters of support from other key stakeholders may also be included, as applicable. All federal partners must provide letters of support clearly stating their pro-bono roles in the project.

Private entities are not eligible, but may be partners in the project.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Academic Institutions
Consortia
Non Profits
State Government
Tribal Organizations/Institutions
Application Notes:

Proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 16, 2025.

Proposals must be submitted online using the link that will be made available at ucfgrants2025.urbanandcommunityforests.org.

The contents of the proposal will become available upon initiation of the online application process. Proposals must include a proposal narrative that does not exceed ten single-spaced pages and is submitted as a .pdf file. Proposals must also include a budget narrative/justification submitted as a separate .pdf file. Proposals must include formal letters of partnership, and may also include letters of support from other key stakeholders, as applicable.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Proposal description (20 points)
  • Literature review (5 points)
  • Product (15 points)
  • Collaboration (15 points)
  • National distribution/scalability of messaging campaign (10 points)
  • Project evaluation (5 points)
  • Experience/personnel/adequacy of resources (15 points)
  • Budget justification (15 points)

Refer to the NOFA, NarrativeTemplate, and EvalCriteria files for additional application information.

Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $200,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $25,000 (Min) / $100,000 (Max)
Match Notes:

Applicants must provide at least a one-to-one match of the total award amount via nonfederal contributions, which may include in-kind donations, volunteer assistance, and private and pubic monetary contributions.

While other federal dollars or technical support may contribute to the project, they may not be used as matching contributions.

Funding Notes:

Approximately $200,000 is available to support awards ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 through this program.

The proposal review and award process may take up to six months.

All projects must be completed within three years.

Funds may not be used for federal employees' salary, travel, or per diem.

Contacts:

Nancy Stremple
National Urban and Community Forestry Specialist
SM.FS.nucfac@usda.gov
nancy.stremple@usda.gov

Agency Address
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
U.S. Forest Service
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-0003

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Nancy Stremple.

Proposals must be submitted online using the link that will be made available at ucfgrants2025.urbanandcommunityforests.org.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
Other Pre-Award File: US0987_NarrativeTemplate_FY2025_2.doc (74.5 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US0987_EvalCriteria_FY2025_2.pdf (164.8 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US0987_Definitions&Resources_FY2025_2.pdf (218.4 Kb)
Award File: US0987_Award_FY2025_2.pdf (363.1 Kb)
NOFA File: US0987_NOFA_FY2025_2.pdf (278.6 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains detailed program information and application guidelines. The NarrativeTemplate file contains a sample of the project narrative portion of the online application and should be used for reference purposes only. The EvalCriteria file contains the program's proposal evaluation criteria. The Definitions&Resources file contains definitions and additional resources for this program. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients. Additional program resources are expected to be made available online at ucfgrants2025.urbanandcommunityforests.org.

Grant Keywords
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Grant Categories
Environment/Natural Resources
Parks & Recreation