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WHICH
AWARD PROGRAM IS RIGHT FOR MY ORGANIZATION?
Think your organization
is eligible for our Matching Awards Program or
our Community Assistance Program, but aren’t
sure which one? Maybe this page can help. To start,
let’s look again at each of the programs.
Community
Assistance Program - The CAP provides non-matching
“start-up” grants in the $5,000- $15,000
range to newly forming and reorganizing grassroots
nonprofit community groups that intend to proactively
and inclusively engage in National Forest management
and conservation issues. The grant is awarded
to promote the creation and build the capacity
of locally based forest partnerships nationwide.
Eligible groups represent a broad base of community
interests, need CAP funds in order to effectively
organize, and benefit national forests and/or
grasslands through engaging the local community
in revitalizing forest, community and economic
health. CAP applicants may or may not have their
501(c)(3) status, an executive director or president,
a board or a mission statement, or the resources
for necessary training, facilitation, outreach
and workshops. If this sounds like your group,
you may be eligible for a CAP grant.
CAP funds can be used for a wide array of “start-up”
needs, including, but not limited to: basic start-up
and operating costs, materials and equipment,
technical assistance, training, consultants,
community outreach, obtaining 501(c)(3) status,
program development, group facilitation, nonprofit
management skill-building, and communications.
For a list of programs that were successfully
funded through the highly-competitive CAP, see “CAP
Awards”. CAP applicants must have 501(c)(3) non-profit status or a fiscal sponsor.
Matching Awards Program
- The MAP provides federal funds matched on at
least a 1:1 basis by non-federal dollars to nonprofits
who work at the local or community level to accomplish
action-oriented conservation projects located
on and around National Forests and Grasslands.
The NFF currently maximizes its effectiveness
by focusing its efforts in four geographic areas:
the Central Colorado Rockies, the Oregon Coast
and Cascades, the Selway-Bitterroot in Montana
and Idaho, and the Southern Appalachians. About
80 percent of resources are directed to conservation
initiatives in these areas, with the remaining
20 percent available to groups outside these areas.
Are you looking for support for a specific
on-the-ground conservation project that directly
benefits National Forests or Grasslands? If so,
you may be eligible for a MAP award. Again, your
group is NOT required to be working in one of
our geographic areas to receive funding, but your
group must be seeking funding for a hands-on conservation
project that promotes stewardship of National
Forests and Grasslands, benefiting people, water,
and wildlife.
To apply for a MAP grant, you must provide evidence
of nonprofit status, through 501(c)(3) letter, community involvement,
and Forest Service support, and the ability to
come up with the non-federal cash match on at
least a 1:1 basis. Groups that receive CAP grants
are on the way to building the capacity necessary
to apply for a MAP grant.
The quick and easy:
CAP grants go to newly forming community-based
natural resource groups looking for start-up funds
to build organizational infrastructure.
MAP funds are awarded to established community
groups who have funding needs for specific on-the-ground
conservation projects.
More information:
* MAP program FAQ
* NFF, Forest
Service Partnership Guide
* Partnership Resource
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