Long Island Sound Futures Fund 2019 Applicant Webinar Webinar - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Long Island Sound Futures Fund 2019 Applicant Webinar

Webinar Instructions

Jessica.Lillquist@nfwf.org PROBLEMS?  Type it into the “Enter a question for staff.” We will try to resolve it during the webinar.

Agenda Welcome Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) Overview Application Guidance

nfwf.org/lisff

Welcome and Introductions

Purpose

Restoration and protection of the health and living resources

• f Long Island Sound (LIS) including:

 Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds  Thriving and Abundant Wildlife  Educating to Engage Sustainable & Resilient Communities TIP! In the “Problem” and/or “Solution” section of the proposal

narrative reference relevant parts of the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) Update 2015 @ http://longislandsoundstudy.net/2015/09/2015- comprehensive-conservation-and-management-plan/

Sources & Amount of Available Funding

~ $2 million from:

Boundary in CT & NY

Coastal Boundary in CT & NY

TIP! In application narrative for a habitat restoration project reference one>

• f the 12 Important Coastal Habitat Types @

http://longislandsoundstudy.net/our-vision-and-plan/thriving-habitats-and- abundant-wildlife/important-coastal-habitat-types/

Available Amounts of Funds for LARGE Grants

Implementation Grants. $20,000 to $250,000 awarded to support projects that result in “quantifiable” pollutant reductions (i.e., to further nitrogen removal) or measureable gains in habitat restored. Design/Planning Grants. $20,000 to $100,000 awarded to support water shed planning, planning and design activities that set the stage for on-the-ground implementation of water quality or habitat restoration projects.* Water Quality Monitoring Grants: $20,000 to $100,000 awarded to support monitoring of the Sound and/or its near-shore embayments. Public Participation & Education Grants: $20,000 to $50,000** awarded to larger, hands-on, visible public participation and education projects.

*NEW! Planning to develop a best alternative for habitat restoration site.

**NEW! Increase in maximum Public Participation and Education

Grants to $50k.

Small Grants

Ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 awarded to hands-on, visible public participation and education projects often involving a limited number of activities and/or locations (i.e., a beach cleanup, National Estuary Day celebration) focused on LIS.

Questions?

Program Priorities

Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds. Improve water quality by delivering projects that reduce CSOs, stormwater runoff, and nonpoint source loading.

Primary Strategies:

• Green infrastructure
• Conservation activities that reduce pollution at its source e.g., alternative OWTS,

eliminate/reduce chemical use in landscaping, agricultural soil health.

• Trash free waters e.g., social marketing campaigns.
• Watershed planning focused on water quality prioritization & improvement.
• Bioextraction e.g., shellfish, seaweed.
• Low cost retrofits at WWTPs.
• ID & monitor pollution sources in embayment's, harbors, and near-shore areas.

TIP! Review the RFP when preparing a WQ monitoring application.

Program Priorities

Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife. Restore coastal habitats, and foster diverse, balanced & abundant populations of fish, birds and wildlife

Primary Strategies:

• Restore 1> LISS Important Coastal Habitat Types @

http://longislandsoundstudy.net/our-vision-and-plan/thriving-habitats-and- abundant-wildlife/important-coastal-habitat-types/

• Coastal habitat resilience e.g., remove barriers to migration, living shorelines.
• Permit ready site; or NEW! best alternatives planning for habitat restoration.
• Restore shellfish in sanctuaries.
• Restore fish passage.
• Habitat connectivity e.g., riparian buffers contiguous acres of coastal habitat,

habitat patches.

Program Priorities

Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife. Restore coastal habitats, and foster diverse, balanced & abundant populations of fish, birds and wildlife

Primary Strategies contd:

• Invasive species control and management
• Reduce human disturbance on beaches for beach nesting birds. TIP! Check out

the NFWF Atlantic Flyway B Plan @ www.nfwf.org/amoy/Documents/afsi- business-plan.pdf

TIP! Refer to the LISS Habitat Restoration Guidelines @

http://longislandsoundstudy.net/wp- content/uploads/2014/09/grantguidelines_2017_FINAL.pdf

Program Priorities

Educating to Engage Sustainable and Resilient Communities: Increase the knowledge and engagement of the public in the protection and restoration of Long Island Sound. Primary Strategies:

• Involve the public in ecological restoration.
• Improve public understanding about trash & litter impacts on

waterways.

• Provide natural landscaping guidance to communities and

homeowners.

• Increase understanding & appreciation for the Sound among

underprivileged or non-traditional audiences in urban areas.

Program Priorities

Educating to Engage Sustainable and Resilient Communities: Increase the knowledge and engagement of the public in the protection and restoration of Long Island Sound. Primary Strategies (contd.):

• Offer festivals, celebrations and events in natural resource based,

science education locations.

• Develop and conduct social marketing campaigns *New! up to

$100k.

NEW! Develop data visualization and data analysis tools, services, and

• r strategies to map, manage, and communicate about environmental

issues and results.

Program Priorities Educating to Engage Sustainable and Resilient Communities: Increase the knowledge and engagement of the public in the protection and restoration of Long Island Sound. Primary Strategies (contd.): *Sort of NEW! Community Coastal Resilience… for example

• Design that sets the stage or implementation of natural infrastructure

approaches e.g., natural nature-based and green-gray hybrid projects.

• Water quality and green infrastructure to mitigate storm damage.
• Advance marsh restoration techniques.
• New or update local or regional coastal resilience,

sustainability/natural hazard mitigation plans.

Evaluation Criteria

• Program Goals and Priorities
• Technical Merit
• Qualifications
• Communication
• Match

QUESTIONS?

Grant Guidelines

Project Performance Period. Start within six months and be completed within NEW! 12-18 months after notification of grant award. Project start dates cannot be before October 1, 2019. Eligible Applicants. Non-profit 501(c) organizations; state, tribal, and local governments; and academic and educational institutions. For-profit entities are not

eligible for grants but may partner with eligible applicants.

Quality Assurance. Monitoring, data collection or data use? You will need to prepare an EPA quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for approval. Budget time and resources to do this. NEW QAPP GUIDANCE! @ https://www.nfwf.org/lisff/Pages/quality- assurance.aspx Projects selected may be subject to requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Historic Preservation Act. NFWF will provide guidance if you are granted funds.

Grant Guidelines

Match Requirement

• Contribute non-federal matching cash funds and/or in-kind services

valued at a minimum of 40 percent of the total project cost e.g., cash, in-kind contributions of staff and volunteer time, work performed, materials and services donated, forgone indirect or other tangible contributions to the project objectives and outcomes.

• Calculate required match by multiplying the amount of funds

requested from the LISFF by 4 and then dividing by 6. For example, if you are requesting $100,000, then the project match is $66,666 ([$100,000 x 4]/6). [Updated as of 4/2/2019]

• Preference will be given to projects that exceed the minimum match.

Ineligible uses of Grant Funds

• Projects that have received funding for three consecutive years
• Submitting more than 3 proposals per organization
• Stand-alone public access or signs
• Research
• New educational curriculum
• Marketing efforts that serve to promote

an organization and its initiatives

• Funding for lunches/snacks, t-shirts/promotional items
• Political advocacy/fundraising, lobbying/litigation; compliance w/

legal requirements including permit conditions, mitigation, settlements…

QUESTIONS?

Parts of a LISFF Proposal

Narrative

Problem statement, solution, technical merit (methods/workplan), qualifications, communication/transferrability, past performance. 12 page limit.

Easygrants

Your Easygrants Home Page

Parts of the LISFF Easygrants Application

Project Information

Project Title, Description, Abstract

Title: Describe Primary Activity/Result e.g., A Fishway for Pages Millpond Dam (CT) Description:

• 1st Sentence: Describe primary activity and where.

e.g., Construct a steepass fishway opening 5.35 river miles and 4.25 lake acres of fish habitat for alewife, blueback herring, and American eel in North Branford, Connecticut.

• 2nd Sentence: Describe project impact or result.

e.g., Complete restoration of this riverine migratory corridor to Long Island Sound.

Project Title, Description, Abstract

Abstract: Describe more detailed primary activity, describe the problem or challenge being addressed by the project, how the project will solve the problem, major project activities, partners and results Primary activity: Construct a fishway to unlock access to a historic 12.35 mile riverine migratory corridor for the first time in 300 years for alewife, blueback Herring, and American eel in North Branford, Connecticut. Challenge/problem: These corridors are river systems that drain to Long Island

• Sound. Migratory fish use these rivers to travel and dams can block their passage

from the Sound to rivers to spawn. Solution: A fishway installed downstream allowed fish to pass to the base of Pages Millpond Dam. This project will provide access for fish over Pages Millpond Dam the last barrier to migration of diadromous fish on the Farm River.

TIP! Examples in Tip Sheet @ nfwf.org/lisff

Project Title, Description, Abstract

Major Activities: The project will: 1) Install a steepass fishway and construct a turning pool, concrete channel, and resting pool; 2) Formalize a Memorandum of Agreement with the dam owners and the Hammonasset Chapter of Trout Unlimited to operate and maintain the fishway; 3) Conduct meetings with local stakeholders about fishway construction at key construction milestones; 4) Engage the Connecticut Riverine Migratory Corridor Working Group to disseminate information about the project; 5) Deliver a celebration event. Partners: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, North Branford Land Trust, Trout Unlimited, and the dam

• wners.

Result: This new access will increase in the size of the adult fish run and double existing riverine spawning habitat.

Project Map

Uploads

Metrics

Metrics

TIP! Check out the calculators for stormwater, sediments in LISFF RFP!

Think about a dashboard to track social media impact.

Project Budget

TIP! “Total Costs” on BUDGET page MUST = “Requested Amount”

• n PROJECT

INFORMATION page

Match

Project Permits and Approvals

Submitting the Full Proposal

QUESTIONS?

Easygrants 101 “Parts” of a LISFF Proposal

Important Dates

IMPORTANT DATES (subject to change). Please check the LISFF of the website for the most current dates and information at www.nfwf.org/lisff

• Full Proposal Due Date:

5/20/2019 11:59pm ET

• Review Period

Summer/Fall 2019

• Awards Announced

Mid-October 2019

Long Island Sound Futures Fund 2019 Tips for Preparing a Successful Proposal Go to the LISFF webpage at www.nfwf.org/lisff. Print out and review the available resources including:

• Tip Sheet. Step by step guide on using the online system.

Familiarize yourself with the online system. www.nfwf.org/easygrants Start collecting required financial documents and letters of support early Please Read the RFP 

Help and Feedback?

Jessica.Lillquist@nfwf.org, 202/857-0166 Traffic control for your requests!

Good Luck!