SEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Communications,
Education, and
Media Relations
(1704)
EPA-171-F-00-010
May 2000
Environmental Education
Grants Program
or Developing
Successful
Grant Applications
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Each year the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) awards environmental education
grants worth between $2.4 to $3 million to
support quality environmental education
projects. These grants provide seed money to
help support projects that increase the public's
awareness and knowledge about the environment
and provide the skills to make informed decisions
and take responsible action. The competition
for environmental education grants is intense,
and approximately 250 grantees are selected
nationwide from among more than 1,500
applications received.
This document is intended to supplement, not
replace, the instructions provided in EPA's annual
Environmental Education Grant Solicitation Notice,
which always contains the current requirements for
proposals. The tips in this document are intended
to provide helpful hints for grant applicants. The
items should guide the development of an
application and help you avoid common errors that
result in the disqualification of an application or a
decision by EPA not to award a grant. Visit EPA's
Office of Environmental Education World Wide Web
site at for a copy
of the solicitation notice and additional
information about EPA's environmental education
grants program. You should also visit EPA's grant-
writing tutorial on-lirie at to walk through the grant-
writing process and participate in a mock grant-
writing activity.
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GOALS
Environmental education projects must enhance
critical-thinking, problem-solving, or decision-making skills
of the target audience. EPA will not fund projects
that provide opinions about environmental issues or
problems or projects that simply disseminate information.
Meet the deadline for submitting your applicationEPA will
not consider proposals postmarked after the deadline
Submit all application materials required for a proposal:
Two Federal Forms: Application (SF 424) and
Budget (SF 424-A)
Work Plan: 1) Project Summary (one page)
2) Full Project Description
3) Evaluation Plan
4) Detailed Budget Showing Match
5) Time Line
6) Resumes of Key Personnel
7) Memoranda of Understanding from
Partners, if applicable
For grant requests of up to $25,000, submit your
application to your EPA regional office
For grant requests over $25,000, submit your application to
EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC
Make sure your organization is eligible to apply for grant funds:
B A college or university; a local or tribal government
education agency; a state education or environmental
agency; a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization; or a
noncommercial educational broadcasting entity is eligible
B A teacher's school district, an educator's not-for-profit
organization, or a faculty member's college or university
may apply, but an individual teacher is not eligible
The primary applicant must be based in the U.S.; partner
organizations and project activities may be located in
Canada or Mexico
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Describe how the project will meet at least one of EPA's
environmental education priorities, such as teacher training,
which are identified annually in the solicitation notice .
Stay focused don't try to address through one project
every EPA priority listed in the solicitation notice. Avoid
simply restating the goals and priorities listed in the
solicitation notice. Evaluation panels often select projects
with a clearly defined purpose which can be accomplished,
rather than projects that attempt to address multiple
priorities
Avoid proposing ineligible projects, such as technical
training of environmental management professionals;
research and development not of an educational nature; or
environmental "information" projects that have no
educational component
Describe the project accurately and precisely:
B Research the project and describe exactly why there is a
need for the project in your community or in the field of
environmental education
Identify exis.ting efforts related to the project use the
information to support the project or to justify a different
approach
Define the specific goals and objectives of the project
Describe exactly what you are going to do and how you
are going to do it
Identify the products that you will use or produce and
how you will distribute them (EPA prefers not to fund
new curriculum because there are many excellent existing
materials)
Specify the methodology you will use to implement the
project and explain how it teaches critical-thinking,
problem-solving or decision-making skills
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Target your audience carefully:
Describe clearly the individuals or groups that make up your
audience; for example, 30 high school teachers or 60 middle
school students
Explain why your audience needs the project
Explain how you will recruit your audience
Explain the project's potential for wide application or how it
could serve as a model for other communities or organizations
Build strong partnerships and alliances with community
organizations and environmental and industry groups:
Enlist the support of other groups that have similar goals
Secure a commitment of services or dollars
Identify how partners will collaborate and describe specific
responsibilities of each partner
Submit letters of commitment or memoranda of
understanding from partners which state the dollars or
services committed
Develop a realistic time line:
Demonstrate that you can complete the project within the
funding period (one year for small grants or up to two years
for grants over $25,000)
List the sequence and time frames of all tasks you will
undertake to meet the goals of the project (on a schedule
that covers the entire grant period)
Describe how the project will be sustained after the federal
funding period ends
Develop a methodology for evaluating the project:
Describe how you will know when the goals and objectives .
have been met (for example, measures of success)
Identify the strategies, milestones, and tools that you will
use to monitor the project
Describe how monitoring will be used to strengthen
the project
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Q- Set a realistic limit on the amount of EPA funds you request:
H EPA must limit the size of the grants to ensure nationwide
coverage with available funding
a The likelihood that EPA will award funds for your project
increases significantly if you request $5,000 or less from an
EPA regional office or $75,000 or less from EPA Headquarters
ฎ Develop a realistic budget:
Make the budget clear and concise; provide detail on the
basis of costs for items, such as cost per hour, number of
hours, and total cost
H Present the budget in such a manner that someone
unfamiliar with your organization will understand it
Identify the personnel, materials, and other resources you
will need to implement the project:
A Identify those that you and your partners already have
and those for which you need funding
A. Clarify which costs will be charged to matching funds,
in-kind matches, EPA funds, or other funding sources
*ฉ Clearly identify matching funds:
Show that your organization has obtained the required level
of nonfederal matching funds, that is, at least 25 percent of
the total cost of the project (divide the amount of EPA
funds you have requested by 3 to determine your minimum
matching funds)
Carefully document those matching funds that are provided
in cash and thosejepresented by in-kind contributions and
other nonmonetary support
*ฎ Be cautious about including what might appear to be
excessive personnel or travel costs and high overhead expenses
ฉ Check the budget forms for mathematical errors
^ Make certain you don't include unallowed items, such as
construction costs
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Meet the format requirements specified in the solicitation
notice:
Pages must be letter-size 81/2 x 11 inches
Use a standard type size 10 or 12 cpi (no fine print)
a Number every page
Provide one original signed copy and additional copies as
specified in the solicitation notice
Do not exceed the page limits specified in the
solicitation notice
Do not send extra material, such as videotapes, newspaper
articles, etc.
Spell out each acronym at first use
Perform an internal or external review of the application, or
both:
If possible, ask someone who has experience in writing
grant proposals.to review the application
Perform an editorial review for clarity and conciseness
Check the proposal for typographical, grammatical, and
mathematical errors
Perform a final quality control check to ensure that
application materials are complete and signed and that the
copies are legible
Follow instructions and format
Write clearly and concisely
Price the project competitively
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