Grant Funding Now Available for Local Ohio Watershed Groups
MORELAND HILLS, OH (September 20, 2023) – Dominion Energy and Western Reserve Land Conservancy are teaming up to offer grant funding to local watershed groups working to reduce pollution in our rivers, lakes and streams. Now in its seventh year, the Watershed Mini Grant Program has already distributed more than $280,000 supporting water quality projects.
Applications are accessible by clicking here. The deadline for submitting completed applications is Sept. 29, 2023 at 5PM. Winners will be announced in November.
Understanding that many watershed groups work with a skeleton staff on very limited budgets, the Watershed Mini Grant Program helps fill a void and reduces some of the financial burdens these small watershed groups face. Grants are made available to eligible watershed groups for activities designed to promote and maintain the health of Ohio watersheds.
Protecting our watersheds is vital. Watershed groups provide an important service to the larger community by recognizing potential threats, devising plans, taking corrective actions and educating the public. Water quality can be affected by many things – human and non-human – but habitat degradation and nonpoint source pollution are two of the biggest continuing problems. The quality of our water is affected by alterations to the land – mining, roadways, agriculture, urban development, deforestation, and the everyday activities of the people within the watershed.
“As Ohio’s largest land trust, Western Reserve Land Conservancy believes it is our responsibility to support organizations whose mission and values are similar to ours,” said Megan Quinn, director of development at Western Reserve Land Conservancy. “We are excited to once again offer these grants, thanks to the tremendous support from Dominion Energy and the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. Some of us live in the country. Others dwell in the city. Everyone lives in a watershed. Through this program we hope to foster long lasting relationships with watershed groups that will benefit all Ohioans with clean, healthy waters.”
Proposals will be accepted from working watershed groups only and must be located within the state of Ohio and within a county served by Dominion Energy or the Land Conservancy. Only projects and/or project components that are not yet completed are eligible to apply.
There are three grant categories:
- Marketing, Promotions and Outreach (maximum request amount $1,500): Grant funds for marketing, promotions and outreach may be used for materials needed to raise awareness for the work of the watershed group. This could include: flyers, brochures, web development, advertisements, hands-on educational materials, etc. Grant funds may not be used to cover salaries or staff costs. Grant recipients will be required to submit copies of marketing, promotions and outreach materials created with grant funds as part of the final report and report on the number of pieces produced and how they were distributed.
- Healthy Watershed Projects (maximum request amount $2,500): Grant funds may be used to cover specific restoration or water quality project expenses. Special consideration will be given in this category for proposals that involve partnerships or volunteers to complete important projects such as tree plantings, stream restorations, and river clean-ups. Priority will be given to projects where the majority of grants fund are used to purchase project supplies or materials, i.e., tools, trees, shrubs, shovels, bags, gloves, etc.
- Spotlight Project (maximum request amount $5,000): One special grant award will be made in support of a larger water quality or restoration project. To be considered, the project must include at least 10% matching funds. Higher match amounts will be viewed more favorably. Partner and volunteer time, cash, in-kind, donated materials, etc. may be used as match.
To be eligible for the Spotlight Award, applicants must be located in a county served by both the Land Conservancy and Dominion Energy. Counties include: Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Auglaize, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Guernsey, Hardin, Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Jefferson, Knox, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Mercer, Monroe, Muskingum, Noble, Ottawa, Paulding, Portage, Putnam, Sandusky, Shelby, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Van Wert, Washington, Wayne, and Wood.
For more information, please visit: https://wrlandconservancy.org/dominionminigrants2023/.
Grant Funding Now Available for Local Ohio Watershed Groups
Dominion Energy and Western Reserve Land Conservancy partner to offer $35,000 to organizations working to improve water quality in our region.
MORELAND HILLS, OH (September 20, 2023) – Dominion Energy and Western Reserve Land Conservancy are teaming up to offer grant funding to local watershed groups working to reduce pollution in our rivers, lakes and streams. Now in its seventh year, the Watershed Mini Grant Program has already distributed more than $280,000 supporting water quality projects.
Applications are accessible by clicking here. The deadline for submitting completed applications is Sept. 29, 2023 at 5PM. Winners will be announced in November.
Understanding that many watershed groups work with a skeleton staff on very limited budgets, the Watershed Mini Grant Program helps fill a void and reduces some of the financial burdens these small watershed groups face. Grants are made available to eligible watershed groups for activities designed to promote and maintain the health of Ohio watersheds.
Protecting our watersheds is vital. Watershed groups provide an important service to the larger community by recognizing potential threats, devising plans, taking corrective actions and educating the public. Water quality can be affected by many things – human and non-human – but habitat degradation and nonpoint source pollution are two of the biggest continuing problems. The quality of our water is affected by alterations to the land – mining, roadways, agriculture, urban development, deforestation, and the everyday activities of the people within the watershed.
“As Ohio’s largest land trust, Western Reserve Land Conservancy believes it is our responsibility to support organizations whose mission and values are similar to ours,” said Megan Quinn, director of development at Western Reserve Land Conservancy. “We are excited to once again offer these grants, thanks to the tremendous support from Dominion Energy and the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. Some of us live in the country. Others dwell in the city. Everyone lives in a watershed. Through this program we hope to foster long lasting relationships with watershed groups that will benefit all Ohioans with clean, healthy waters.”
(Canoers along the Grand River. Photo credit: Western Reserve Land Conservancy)
Proposals will be accepted from working watershed groups only and must be located within the state of Ohio and within a county served by Dominion Energy or the Land Conservancy. Only projects and/or project components that are not yet completed are eligible to apply.
There are three grant categories:
- Marketing, Promotions and Outreach (maximum request amount $1,500): Grant funds for marketing, promotions and outreach may be used for materials needed to raise awareness for the work of the watershed group. This could include: flyers, brochures, web development, advertisements, hands-on educational materials, etc. Grant funds may not be used to cover salaries or staff costs. Grant recipients will be required to submit copies of marketing, promotions and outreach materials created with grant funds as part of the final report and report on the number of pieces produced and how they were distributed.
- Healthy Watershed Projects (maximum request amount $2,500): Grant funds may be used to cover specific restoration or water quality project expenses. Special consideration will be given in this category for proposals that involve partnerships or volunteers to complete important projects such as tree plantings, stream restorations, and river clean-ups. Priority will be given to projects where the majority of grants fund are used to purchase project supplies or materials, i.e., tools, trees, shrubs, shovels, bags, gloves, etc.
- Spotlight Project (maximum request amount $5,000): One special grant award will be made in support of a larger water quality or restoration project. To be considered, the project must include at least 10% matching funds. Higher match amounts will be viewed more favorably. Partner and volunteer time, cash, in-kind, donated materials, etc. may be used as match.
To be eligible for the Spotlight Award, applicants must be located in a county served by both the Land Conservancy and Dominion Energy. Counties include: Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Auglaize, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Guernsey, Hardin, Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Jefferson, Knox, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Mercer, Monroe, Muskingum, Noble, Ottawa, Paulding, Portage, Putnam, Sandusky, Shelby, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Van Wert, Washington, Wayne, and Wood.
For more information, please visit: https://wrlandconservancy.org/dominionminigrants2023/.