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Need a Little Seed Money?

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Jar of pennies with a young plant growing out of itOur 2024 Green Grant applications are now available on our Green Grant Program webpage!  Each year we award thirty grants for environmental projects and programs to groups and organizations in Virginia.  The Green Grants program empowers groups all across Virginia to make an environmental impact in their own communities.  This is one of the ways we can engage the people who live in Virginia to improve our natural and scenic environment.

Applications can be submitted between now and April 30, 2024.  Thirty awards will be announced, one each day, in June.  Grant awards are available for $500, $750, or $1,000 proposals. You can read the general Grant Application Guidelines for more information, and can apply in any of the four categories:  Litter Prevention, Recycling/Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.

There is so much we can do within our own communities, and we hope a little seed money can help you start or enhance a program or try a new method of living in a more sustainable way.

Here are some ideas for projects and programs that you may need to solve a need for

  • Install cigarette butt receptacles in a no-smoking area or parking lot in your;Green Grants Logo
  • Host a Fix-it Fair to keep items out of the landfill that will have life left in them after small repairs;
  • Purchase grabbers, safety vests, and gloves for volunteers to clean up roads and the landscape;
  • Start a composting program with produce that would be thrown away at a restaurant or at a farmers market, to reduce food waste;
  • Supply your classroom with re-usable lunch boxes, water bottles, storage bags, cloth napkins, and utensils to see how much less trash you create each day.

Thank you for caring about the natural and scenic environment in your community, I hope that you’ll apply for a Green Grant this year.  Please reach out to Beckey Watson at [email protected] if you have any questions about the program.

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Grant Applications Now Open

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Green Grants LogoOur Green Grants program is one of our favorite ways to engage the people who live in Virginia to improve our natural and scenic environment.  We know there are so many innovative ideas out there, and we will fund thirty of them this year.

The grant applications are now open online!  Grants of $500, $750, or $1,000 will be awarded to groups, such as schools, parks, counties and towns, environmental groups, associations, nonprofits, and service organizations in four categories: Litter Prevention, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, and Recycling.  Just select the category that matches your project or program and submit an application before April 30, 2022.  Here’s a little more detail about the categories.

Litter Prevention

Grants are awarded to groups that aim to clean up, prevent, or reduce litter. Funding will support cleanup supplies, cleanup events, including water cleanups.  Studies show that an area that does not contain litter less likely to become littered in the future. The purpose of these grants is to support sustainable prevention and reduction of litter in Virginia.  Litter Prevention Grant Application

Cigarette Litter Prevention

Cigarette butts account for over 30% of all U.S. roadway litter and storm drain litter. Grants are awarded for projects that include public education and awareness of the issue of cigarette litter, placing cigarette butt receptacles at transition points (such as entrances to public buildings), and/or distributing pocket or portable ashtrays to adult smokers. Cigarette Litter Prevention Grant Application

Community Beautification

The purpose of this grant is to support beautification efforts within Virginia’s communities.  Grants are awarded to groups who create projects or programs that beautify and benefit the community, such as community gardens, renovating vacant lots, removing or repainting graffiti, creating green public spaces, and community revitalization projects. Community Beautification Grant Application

Recycling

Grants in the Recycling category are awarded to groups that implement or expand programs to reduce waste, increase recycling, and other inventive ways to reuse or repurpose recyclable/non-recyclable items in Virginia.  Funding will support recycling receptacles, fix-it fairs, re-usable produce and shopping bags, water refilling stations, and other efforts to eliminate the dependence on single-use items. Recycling Grant Application

Please visit our Green Grants page for more resources to inspire your projects, and follow this link to see last year’s Green Grant Awards for great examples.

If you have questions about the Green Grants program, or are interested in attending a virtual Q&A session, please contact Beckey Watson, Development Director.