Seed money Archives - Keep Virginia Beautiful

March 25 2024

Need a Little Seed Money?

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1, $500, $750, 000, cigarette butt receptacles, Fix-it-fair, Grant Awards, Grants, Green Grants, recycling, Seed money, Waste Reduction

Our 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;
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.

March 6 2023

Time to Apply for a Green Grant

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, $500, $750, awards, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, Green Grants, Litter Prevention, recycling, Seed money

Our spring Green Grants Program is ready for your application!

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. We believe in a shared responsibility to end littering, improve recycling and beautify communities, and we know with your determination and our support, much can be accomplished!

Grant applications will be accepted from March 1 through April 30, 2023.

The applications are evaluated and scored by a panel of experts in their fields. In June, one Green Grant award is announced one each day. The grants are awarded to schools, parks, counties and towns, environmental groups, associations, nonprofits, service organizations, and other groups. Individuals are not eligible.

Here are the general Grant Application Guidelines. You should apply for the category that matches the project or program you plan to put in place: Litter Prevention, Cigarette Litter Prevention, Community Beautification, or Recycling. Please see the Green Grant Program webpage for more information on how to submit an application.

Here are some past awards to inspire you!

The “Litter Critter Project” at DuPont Elementary School has positively impacted Dupont and our school community by using litter grabbers and other cleanup equipment we purchased through a Green Grant. Students have been learning about various ways to help take care of the environment and are inspiring others by encouraging them to not litter!

The Children’s Museum of Richmond now offers refillable water stations to visitors! Through the Green Grant Award, upgraded the water fountain to include a state-of-the-art refillable water bottle stations in effort to help reduce the amount of single use plastic that ends up in landfills. By encouraging visitors to reduce their use of plastic and reuse their bottles for water consumption, the Children’s Museum of Richmond hopes to help reduce their carbon footprint and raise awareness about the importance of reducing use of plastic materials.

Dorey Park Farmers Market partnered with Troop 501 Boy Scouts to design and build a three-compartment recycle, compost, and trash bin for use at the Saturday morning farmers market. The recycle and compost bin will be used for many market seasons. It will serve to educate the community about good environmental practices.

Dickenson County Chamber of Commerce placed 18 cigarette receptacles throughout the county, and distributed pocket ashtrays to smokers during this grant period. The town employees and county workers at the park had been picking up cigarette butts that were littered, but as time goes on there are more and more in the receptacles instead of on the ground.

To see all of the 2022 Green Grant Awards, follow THIS LINK!

To learn more about this year’s application process, please visit the Green Grants Program webpage.

For questions about the Green Grants Program or the application, please contact Beckey Watson [email protected].

Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $282,000 for 385 programs and projects throughout the state. We are grateful to the 2022 sponsors of our Green Grants program: