WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) announced the open application period for the 2023 Urban and Community Conservation (UAC) grant initiative. The grants are open to any conservation district or tribe within the U.S. and in the territories and nations that NACD serves.
Since 2016, NACD has led the efforts of this successful grant program in collaboration with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to help urban and rural communities build technical capacity within nontraditional agricultural systems.
Through this partnership, NACD has awarded over $6.5 million to 131 conservation districts and tribes in 37 states and Puerto Rico. As part of an ongoing effort to build capacity in the community oriented agricultural space, NACD started offering UAC planning grants, for up to $10,000, in 2022.
The planning grants will allow organizations who are new to urban or community agriculture to begin early-stage development of a program to provide conservation technical assistance. For example, funds may be used for workshops to conduct needs assessments with local urban farmers, or to spend time developing partnerships for their planned program.
NACD will continue to offer the planning grants, as well as the traditional implementation grants which are more focused on the provision of technical assistance. The maximum budget for the implementation grants has been raised to $60,000 this fiscal year.
NACD’s UAC grant program enables communities to address multiple resource concerns, while supporting underrepresented clients and addressing important themes like local food sovereignty and security.
More information about the program, including past grantees and the application process for 2023, is available on NACD’s Urban and Community Conservation webpage.