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Coral Reef Conservation Funding Opportunities

CRCP supports projects through grants and financial assistance in the following six programs. The general information about each grant program can be found below. Not all programs have annual competitions and information for past competitions can be found below and be used as a general guide for the next competition. If a competition is “OPEN SOON!”, please check back frequently here and on Grants.gov (search CFDA 11.482 for all opportunities except Fishery Management Councils (11.441) and Coral Reef Conservation Fund), or set up automatic notifications (see below). Please visit https://www.grants.gov/ for the full competition information once posted.

You can sign up for automated Grants.gov alerts of funding opportunities according to topics or federal agencies. For more information on the notification process, refer to: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/manage-subscriptions.html and use CFDA 11.482.

Funding Competition Overview

Ruth Gates Coral Restoration Innovation Grants competition is a tribute to the work and life of Dr. Ruth Gates and aims to build on her efforts to address the decline in coral reefs through innovative science and research. The work funded through this program is aimed at promoting long-term survival of corals by supporting the science needed to incorporate resilient corals into restoration activities and to enhance the efficiency of asexual and sexual coral restoration. The principal objectives of this grant program are to support innovative coral restoration research, to apply these innovative techniques to create resilient, genetically diverse, and reproductively viable populations of coral species, and to support the development of creative methods to improve coral outplanting efficiency and build resilient coral reef ecosystems. Projects funded through the Ruth Gates Restoration Innovation Grants will support: 1) research and development of interventions to improve coral resilience to environmental stressors, and 2) research, development, and field-testing of novel techniques to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of coral population enhancement.Click here for more information

  • Competition Information
  • Eligible Entities: Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profits, commercial (for profit) organizations, U.S. territories, state, local and Native American tribal governments. All in-water work must be conducted within the U.S. coral jurisdictions.
  • Timeline: This competition runs every two to three years. The last competition closed at 11:59 PM ET on February 23, 2022.
  • Award Amounts: Applicants may request a minimum of $100,000 and no more than $1,000,000 total over three years. The average award size is expected to range from $100,000 to $250,000 per year for a total of $100,000 to $750,000 over one to three years.
  • Project Periods: Proposals may cover a 12 to 36-month period..
  • Matching Funds: Matching funds from non-U.S. Federal sources are required at a 1:1 ratio for all proposed projects.
  • Federal Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2022-2007121. Download the latest full funding description at grants.gov.
  • Point of Contact: Liz Fairey, 301-427-8632,or Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov

Fishery Management Council Cooperative Agreements support sustainable coral fisheries management in cooperation with regional fishery management councils. Click here for more information

  • Competition Information
  • Eligible Entities: U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils. Councils are encouraged to work with local fishery management agencies.
  • Timeline: This competition runs every two to three years. The last competition closed 11:59 PM ET on January 20, 2022.
  • Award Amounts: Applicants may request between $125,000 to $500,000 per project.
  • Project Periods: Proposals may cover a three year period.
  • Matching Funds: This competition has waived the matching requirement as per section 6403(b)(2).
  • Federal Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2022-2007086. Download the latest full funding description at https://www.grants.gov.
  • Point of Contact: Liz Fairey, 301-427-8632,or Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov

International Grants and Cooperative Agreements build local coral reef management capacity and support coral reef monitoring in priority international geographies. Click here for more information

  • Competition Information
  • Eligible Entities: Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, non-U.S. government natural resource management agencies, foreign public entities and foreign organizations, and for-profit organizations.
  • Timeline: This competition runs every other year and is currently open.
  • Award Amounts: Applicants can request between $75,000 and $300,000 per year. The last competition closed at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time (NY) on December 1, 2021.
  • Project Periods: Proposals may cover up to a 24-month period.
  • Matching Funds: Matching funds from non-U.S. Federal sources are required at a 1:1 ratio for all proposed projects.
  • Federal Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2022-2006993. Download the latest full funding description at https://www.grants.gov/.
  • Point of Contact: Scot Frew, scot.frew@noaa.gov;

Domestic Capacity-Building Partnerships provide funding to nonprofits and NGOs, institutions of higher education, and for-profits with specialized experience in building capacity for local coral reef management agencies by supporting the ongoing coral reef conservation efforts of our state and territorial partners. Applicants who have previously applied under the NGO Partnership Cooperative Agreement and Domestic Grant competitions should consider applying through this opportunity. Click here for more information

  • Competition Information
  • Eligible Entities: Nonprofit, non-governmental organizations institutions of higher education, and for-profits that have demonstrated expertise and experience in supporting coral reef management in U.S. States and Territories.
  • Timeline: This competition runs every 2 to 4 yearsand is currently open. The last competition closed on March 4, 2022.
  • Award Amounts: Applicants can request between $50,000 and $750,000 per year (approximately $90,000 per state or territory and up to $150,000 for a national project).
  • Project Periods: Proposals may cover up to a 2-year period for the current announcement.
  • Matching Funds: Matching funds from non-U.S. Federal sources are required at a 1:1 ratio for all proposed projects.
  • Federal Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2022-2007044. Download the latest full funding description at grants.gov.
  • Point of Contact: Scot Frew, scot.frew@noaa.gov

The Coral Reef Conservation Fund, a competitive grant program administered on behalf of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), implements a long standing public-private partnership that was created to support domestic coral reef conservation projects. Applicants who have previously applied under the Domestic Grant competitions should consider applying through this opportunity. Click here for more information

  • Competition Information
  • Eligible Entities: Eligible applicants include all persons, organizations, and non-U.S. Federal agencies, including parties within and outside of the United States.
  • Timeline: This is an annual competition through https://www.nfwf.org in the winter/spring of each year.
  • Award Amounts: Average grant awards range from $80,000 to $150,000.
  • Project Periods: Proposals may cover up to a 12-18 month period.
  • Matching Funds: Matching funds from non-U.S. Federal sources are required at a 1:1 ratio for all proposed projects.
  • More information and a request for proposal description and registration for new opportunity notifications is available on the NFWF Coral Reef website at: https://www.nfwf.org/coralreef/Pages/home.aspx

State and Territorial Government Cooperative Agreements sustain coral reef management and monitoring in the states and territories of American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. Click here for more information

  • Competition Information
  • Eligible Entities: Select State, Territorial and Commonwealth natural resource management agencies that conduct coral reef conservation activities in each of the jurisdictions of American Samoa, Florida, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • Timeline: This competition runs every other year. The next competition will be announced in August 2022.
    1. PROJECT LISTS are optional and should be submitted via email to the appropriate NOAA Coral Reef Management Liaison and Dana Wusinich-Mendez by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
    2. PRE-APPLICATIONS were due to NOAA no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, October 14, 2022 via coral.grants@noaa.gov and to the appropriate NOAA Coral Reef Management Liaison.
    3. FINAL APPLICATIONS are due to NOAA no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 via http://www.grants.gov.
  • Award Amounts: Applicants may request between $500,000 to $900,000 per proposal. The average award size is expected to be $600,000 per year.
  • Project Periods: Proposals may cover a 24-month period.
  • Matching Funds: Matching funds from non-U.S. Federal sources are required at a 1:1 ratio for all proposed projects.
  • Federal Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2023-2007487. Download the latest full funding description at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=NOAA-NOS-OCM-2023-2007487.
  • Point of Contact: Dana Wusinich-Mendez.