The Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program (PPBEP) opened its 2023-2024 Community Grant Program on Wednesday, July 5. This program will fund action projects that serve to restore, preserve, connect, inform, and educate.
The PPBEP Community Grant Program will award $250,000 in total funding to help restore and protect our waters. Award amounts will range from $10,000 to $50,000. Local governments or nonstate entities (educational institutions and 501(c)3s) are eligible to submit a proposal for projects located within the Perdido and/or Pensacola watershed within Escambia, Santa Rosa, and/or Okaloosa counties.
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- The Community Grant Program is made possible through the support of the Florida Legislature. The Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program was awarded $250,000 in legislative appropriations to support the Community Grant Program.
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Why this matters: The funding opportunity includes seven eligible project categories that align with the Estuary Program’s CCMP: Water Quality, Sedimentation, Habitat Restoration, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Watershed Awareness and Education, Resilience, and Community Science. Over the past three years, PPBEP has awarded $700,000 to 26 projects in the community.
Dig Deeper: The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3, and projects must be completed by May 31, 2024. Priority consideration will be given to “shovel ready” action projects and projects that inform, engage, and educate the community. Projects that leverage match, including volunteer efforts, will also receive priority consideration.
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- The grant recipients will be recognized at the Estuary Program’s Community Grant Symposium at the Bayview Community Center during National Estuaries Week in September. The symposium will highlight the work completed by grant recipients that were funded by the 2022-2023 grant cycle. The public is invited to attend to learn more about the projects that were funded in our local communities.
- For additional details and to apply, please visit t.ly/wqBh.
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