Overview of Grant Program
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Community and Urban Forestry (CUF) program has opened its 2021 Community & Urban Forestry Assistance (CUFA) Grant application period. CUFA funds are provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) Northeastern Area. We encourage communities throughout Indiana to advance their urban forestry goals through application to this program.
Grant Amounts
| Grant | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tree Inventory or Urban Tree Canopy Assessment | $1,000 - $20,000 |
| Management/Response Plan | $1,000 - $8,000 |
| Education/Training | $1,000 - $5,000 |
| New Tree Planting | $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Community Education/Awareness Events | $1,000 - $5,000 |
Eligible Applicants: Local units of government or 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. One application per community per grant year. If awarded, the applicant will enter into a State Grant Agreement and must take responsibility for all aspects of the project through completion. If you received a CUFA grant in 2020 you are NOT eligible to apply in 2021.
Eligible Projects: This grant supports a variety of urban forestry projects throughout Indiana. The types of activities CUF seeks to promote include public tree inventories with urban forestry management plans, urban tree canopy assessments, storm response planning, tree planting, public and/or staff education, program outreach, and the establishment and strengthening of local urban forestry programs. Physical projects must be on public lands or in public rights-of-way.
Match Requirement: All grant requests require a minimum 1:1 match. Consideration will be given to projects exceeding 1:1 match. Grant funds are awarded on a reimbursable basis.
Match is an important part of this budget since grant funds must be equally matched or exceeded by the Subgrantee. Match can be all cash, all in-kind donations, or a mix of both. Note that any match helps expand the scope of a grant project. The proposed match must be directly related to the project and must occur during the grant period. Since this is a federally funded grant, you can use state or local funds for your match, but you cannot use other federal funding sources for match.
Project Evaluation: Eligible projects will be evaluated by a panel of urban forestry professionals, urban foresters, and tree-planting not-for-profit members. Applications will be evaluated based on how well they meet the criteria outlined in the 2021 Community & Urban Forestry Assistance Grant Application Instructions. All applications are then ranked after they have been evaluated. The projects, in order from highest to lowest rank, will be allocated funding.
Project Timeline: The application period begins July 12, 2021. Applications are due by 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021.
Funds will be awarded to top ranked applicants until all funds are allocated. Grant-funded activities will commence in early 2022 and conclude by June 30, 2023.
2021 Urban Forestry Assistance Grant
Download all application materials by clicking the links below. Applications are due Aug. 13, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET via email to tlcoleman@dnr.IN.gov. Should you have questions or difficulties downloading these materials, contact us at 317-234-6568 or the email above.
- Grant application instructions and guidance
- Tree planting requirements & guidelines
- Inventory data collection requirements
- Grant narrative questions
- Examples/templates (budget, timeline, work plan chart)
- Grant application form
- Public comment form
Additional information and applications are available from:
Jacob Roos
CUF Program Director
JRoos@dnr.in.gov
317-234-4386