The Environmental Grant Landscape in 2026
Environmental grant funding has expanded significantly in recent years, driven by the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and sustained foundation investment in climate and conservation. Federal agencies now administer billions of dollars in competitive grants for clean energy, environmental justice, climate resilience, conservation, and clean water programs. The challenge for nonprofits, businesses, and municipalities is identifying which programs match their work and have accessible application processes.
This guide covers the major federal sources, foundation funding, and practical guidance for building competitive applications.
EPA Environmental Grant Programs
Environmental Justice Grants
EPA's Office of Environmental Justice administers several grant programs for communities disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards:
- Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS): Grants of $1M over three years to build collaborative partnerships between community organizations and industry, academia, and government to address local environmental health issues.
- EJ Small Grants Program: Awards of $30,000–$75,000 to community-based nonprofits and tribal organizations. These are among the most accessible federal environmental grants—the application is manageable, and the program is designed for community organizations without large grants staff.
- Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers: Regional hubs providing free technical assistance to environmental justice communities seeking federal funding.
Clean Water and Air Programs
EPA administers Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Clean Air grants through states. While these primarily fund infrastructure, nonprofits and community organizations can sometimes access funding through state revolving fund programs, particularly for green infrastructure projects like stormwater management, wetlands restoration, and riparian buffer programs.
Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields grants fund assessment and cleanup of contaminated properties for community reuse. Assessment grants (up to $500,000) cover environmental site assessments; cleanup grants (up to $500,000 per site) fund remediation. These are available to municipalities, nonprofits, land banks, and some for-profit entities. Brownfields funding often pairs with community development goals—turning a contaminated site into a park, housing, or commercial development.
Department of Energy Clean Energy Grants
Inflation Reduction Act Programs
The IRA created and expanded several DOE grant programs relevant to organizations pursuing clean energy:
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: $27 billion in competitive grants to state green banks, CDFIs, and community development organizations for clean energy financing. The National Clean Investment Fund and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator are the two major programs.
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG): Formula grants to states, tribes, and local governments for energy efficiency programs.
- Rural Energy Savings Program: USDA loans to rural electric cooperatives for on-bill financing of energy efficiency improvements.
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
EERE runs competitive grant programs for clean energy technology development and deployment. Relevant programs for nonprofits and community organizations include weatherization technical assistance, community solar, and energy resilience grants. Solar for All, funded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, specifically targets low-income communities for rooftop and community solar deployment.
USDA Conservation and Environment Programs
USDA administers several conservation grant and cost-share programs for landowners, farmers, and rural organizations:
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): Cost-share payments to farmers and ranchers for implementing conservation practices—cover crops, nutrient management plans, irrigation efficiency, wetlands restoration.
- Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP): Payments to producers who maintain and enhance conservation activities on their land.
- Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP): Competitive grants to partner organizations (nonprofits, states, tribes) to coordinate USDA conservation investments in specific geographies. RCPP is one of the most significant conservation funding opportunities for nonprofit organizations with a regional focus.
- Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grant: Supports urban farming, community gardens, and innovative production in urban and suburban areas.
Foundation Environmental Grants
Major environmental foundations include:
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation: Conservation science, marine ecosystems, freshwater conservation, and climate change. Awards range from $50K to several million dollars.
- Moore Foundation: Environmental conservation, including scientific research and practical conservation programs.
- Patagonia Environmental Grants: Small grants ($5,000–$25,000) to grassroots organizations working on specific environmental campaigns. Known for accessibility to smaller organizations.
- 11th Hour Project (Schmidt Family Foundation): Clean energy, food and agriculture, and human rights-environment intersections.
- Wilburforce Foundation: Conservation in specific North American landscapes.
- Local community foundations: Many community foundations have environment or sustainability grant programs. These are often underutilized compared to national environmental foundations.
State Environmental Grant Programs
State environmental agencies administer EPA pass-through funds and state-funded programs. Common programs include:
- State wildlife grants (USFWS pass-through for state fish and wildlife agencies)
- Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants for public outdoor recreation (administered by states)
- Clean energy revolving loan funds and grant programs through state energy offices
- Environmental education grants through state environmental agencies
- Stormwater and green infrastructure grants through state water quality programs
Building a Competitive Environmental Grant Application
- Quantify environmental outcomes: Acres of habitat protected, tons of CO2 reduced, pounds of pollutants prevented, stream miles restored. Environmental funders are data-oriented. Vague claims of "environmental benefit" don't hold up to scrutiny.
- Show monitoring and evaluation: How will you measure whether the environmental outcomes were achieved? A credible monitoring plan is essential for science-based programs.
- Connect to community co-benefits: Funders increasingly value projects that deliver environmental outcomes and community benefits simultaneously—clean energy that reduces utility costs for low-income households, habitat restoration that provides community green space, clean water programs that protect drinking water for underserved communities.
- Demonstrate partnerships: Environmental projects often involve land managers, agencies, research partners, and community organizations. Showing a functioning partnership network strengthens your application.
- Align with policy priorities: Environmental justice, climate resilience, and equity are federal and foundation priorities right now. Applications that address these dimensions score higher than narrowly technical projects.
Finding Environmental Grants for Your Organization
Environmental grant opportunities span EPA, DOE, USDA, NOAA, Interior, and dozens of state agencies and foundations. FindGrants.io aggregates environmental grants from all of these sources and matches them to your organization's profile—your focus area, geographic location, and organization type. Use the ranked results to prioritize programs where you have genuine alignment before investing in applications.