Community Grant Program

Interactive and supportive

Our Main Goal:

To promote community solutions to problems that effect the overall health and welfare of the Lakeshore Basin ecosystem.

LNRP awards local community grants to further this goal.

We support and facilitate local efforts to preserve or improve our natural resources.
We promote wise stewardship of our ground and surface waters, forests, soils, wildlife and habitat by engaging citizens in education and action.
We foster community partnerships, provide funding, promote discussion and support activities that advocate a balance between land use and natural resource conservation and protection.

The LNRP Grant Application Process is Designed to be Interactive and Supportive

Applicants have the opportunity to work closely with a Grant Advisory Team (GAT) to explore ways to improve the proposal and ensure a successful project.
Applicants have an opportunity to interview with the advisory team. This interview allows you to expand your project explanation and provide support materials in person!
You may call the LNRP office to discuss your project idea or submit a one-page letter of intent briefly explaining your project and budget needs.
We will send the application instructions to you or you can download them right here from the website. We will also put you in touch with the GAT representative most appropriate for your intended project.

Community Grant Program Interactive and supportive Lakeshore Basin To obtain grant forms visit our download forms page.

Thank you to those who applied for the 2007 Spring Grant Round. The focus of this grant cycle is: Creativity and Water Quality.

Who Can Apply?
Award Amounts
Our Funding Priorities
Limitations and Restrictions
The Supportive Application Process
Advisory Teams
Timetable
Contact Information
2005 Grant Recipients
2004 Grant Recipients

Mail your application to
LNRP Grants
P.O. Box 62
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

Electronic Copies are requested but not required. In PDF or WORD format to Grants@LNRP.org

Eligibility

LNRP makes grants to organizations that are:

Based in the Lakeshore Basin
Not-for-profit and exempt from federal taxes under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, or
Using a fiscal sponsor that is tax-exempt
Grassroots group with limited funding sources.

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Award Amounts

Our grants range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the scope of the project and fund availability. Organizations may apply for funding once each calendar year.

2007 Grant Award Maximum of $5,000

Funding Priorities

The 2007 Community Grants Cycle focus is: Creativity and Water Quality

Projects should work to improve the quality of drinking and surface water. Projects of strength will include other funding priorities as listed below:

LNRP gives preference to projects that:

Promote partnerships and creative collaborations
Foster a sense of pride and identification with watersheds in the basin
Have the potential to leverage additional resources
Demonstrate potential to be replicated elsewhere in the basin
Advance creative ecological solutions or concepts
Advance recommendations or best management practices of government or community agencies
Protect unique natural areas
Provide short-term benefits while maintaining a long-term ecosystem perspective

We are particularly interested in projects that address issues previously identified as the most pressing in the Lakeshore Basin:

Loss of riparian buffers and shoreline habitat
Inadequate identification and protection of wetlands and groundwater recharge areas
Inadequate or unbalanced land-use strategies
Habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity
Absence of stewardship ethic
Contamination of drinking water

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Limitations and Restrictions

LNRP does not fund:

Individuals
Lobbying or electoral activities
Capital campaigns, fund drives, or equipment purchases not directly related to a specific project
Enhancement of private property, unless there is an overriding public benefit
Projects or organizations located outside the Lakeshore Basin
Research projects that lack an action component

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Application Process

The LNRP application process is designed to be interactive and supportive. Applicants have the opportunity to work closely with a Grant Advisory Team (GAT) to explore ways to improve their proposal and ensure a successful project.

You may call the LNRP office to discuss your project idea or submit a one-page letter of intent briefly explaining the project and budget needs. We will mail or email the application instructions or you can download them from the website. We can also put you in touch with the GAT representative most appropriate for your intended project.

Members of one of our four Grant Advisory Teams — Water Resources, Communication and Education, Land-Use and Protection and Agriculture and Urban Pollution Prevention — are available to meet with you to offer technical assistance and advice on completing your application. Pre-application discussions can help you refine your ideas, learn about other available resources, and increase your chances of success.

You will also have the opportunity to meet with a GAT for a face to face interview. Giving you the opportunity to elaborate on your project ideas, beyond the written application.

We will route your project to the appropriate Grant Advisory Team according to the specific basin issue you propose to address:

Water Resources - Projects that monitor or improve streams, rivers, lakes or wetlands. Also, projects to improve access to public waterways for passive, water-related recreation.
Communication and Education - Projects that establish or improve communication and education about basin environmental issues for the general public, youth and stewardship programs.
Land-use and Protection - Projects that focus on improving land development decisions to restore or protect natural areas.
Agricultural and Urban Pollution Prevention - Projects that focus on reducing and preventing water, air or soil pollution from rural or urban sources.
The volunteer members of the advisory teams review applications, make funding recommendations, and monitor the progress and results of the selected projects. The LNRP Board of Directors, composed of volunteers from throughout the Lakeshore Basin, approves all grant awards.
The application consists of a simple form, project narrative and budget, limited to five typed pages.

Timetable and Deadlines

LNRP has funding cycles based on funds availability but you may make an inquiry or submit a grant application at any time during the year.

We encourage all potential applicants to contact the LNRP office well in advance of the fund cycle to discuss project ideas and request technical assistance.

The grant period is typically one year from the respective start date. LNRP will consider an 18-month or two-year grant period, if the scope of the project warrants, or in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

Applicants awarded an LNRP grant may apply for follow-up funding (in the next calendar year) to support new initiatives or to build on previously-funded efforts, provided that previous projects have been successfully concluded.

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