FY22 Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities, Under the IIJA | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2022 2007354

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2022 2007354

The FY22 Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number NOAA NMFS HCPO 2022 2007354; CFDA 11.463) is a NOAA discretionary grant program, administered by the Department of Commerce through cooperative agreements, and funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58). Its central purpose is to expand coastal habitat restoration in a way that is led by, shaped by, and demonstrably beneficial to underserved communities, tribes, and tribal entities. The solicitation is not only about restoring habitat in a technical sense; it is built around the idea of meaningful engagement, meaning these communities should be integral to visioning, decision-making, and leadership so that project goals reflect local priorities and so that resilience and restoration benefits clearly flow back to the people who face the greatest climate and coastal hazard risks.

The program focuses on marine, estuarine, coastal, and Great Lakes settings, with an emphasis on habitat restoration as a resilience strategy. NOAA frames restoration and natural or nature-based solutions as practical tools for reducing impacts from hurricanes, coastal storms, flooding, and sea level rise, while also supporting fisheries (commercial, recreational, and subsistence), helping recover threatened and endangered species, and protecting the natural assets that underpin coastal economies and local ways of life. In that context, this competition is positioned alongside other NOAA resilience investments (such as transformational restoration and coastal resilience grants, coastal zone management, and national estuarine research reserves), but this particular track is distinguished by its direct focus on underserved and tribal communities and on building the capacity needed for those communities to drive restoration work over the long term.

Applicants can propose one or both of two main types of work. The first is capacity building, which can include participating in municipal or regional resilience planning, conducting project planning and feasibility studies, organizing stakeholder engagement, developing stronger proposals for future funding, and delivering outreach and education that helps communities understand options and tradeoffs. The second is restoration project activities, which can include demonstration projects and the full pathway from engineering and design to permitting, on-the-ground implementation, and monitoring before and after construction to document outcomes. Projects that best align with the program priorities, especially those that show strong community leadership and clear benefit pathways to underserved groups, are described as more competitive.

Equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility are explicit expectations in how proposals are developed and carried out. NOAA encourages applicants to show proactive, meaningful, and equitable engagement of affected communities during identification, design, and implementation, rather than treating engagement as a box-checking step. Proposals are expected to clearly state whether the work occurs within tribal or underserved communities and/or whether a substantial portion of the resilience benefits will flow to those communities. In practice, this means applicants should be prepared to explain who benefits, how benefits are distributed, how decisions will be made, and how community members will have real influence over priorities, design choices, and project governance.

Funding is structured to support a portfolio of medium-sized projects. NOAA anticipated up to $10 million available in FY 2022, with an expectation of roughly 25 awards. Typical award sizes were projected at $250,000 to $500,000 over a three-year period, with hard limits that proposals could not request less than $75,000 or more than $1,000,000 in federal funds for the full award. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding IHEs); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The application window for this FY22 solicitation opened June 28, 2022, with an original closing date of September 27, 2022.

• The Department of Commerce in the infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY22 Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities, Under the IIJA" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.463.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 28, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 27, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2022 2007354

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