Through the generous support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Nature Conservancy has issued a Request for Proposals for two additional rounds of grant funding for projects with the potential to substantially increase the use of natural climate solutions through the U.S. Natural Climate Solutions Accelerator program, which is focused on helping kick-start innovative and scalable approaches to capturing greenhouse gas emissions by using natural and working lands in the United States. The program's steering committee approved the first five grants in the fall of 2018 and plans to complete two additional rounds of grantmaking over the next twelve months.
In 2018, a new TNC-led study found that Natural Climate Solutions — which include reforestation, cover crops, coastal restoration, and other management practices could prevent or sequester more than one-fifth of annual U.S. greenhouse gas pollution — the equivalent of removing the emissions from all U.S. cars and trucks from the road.
While significant investments are now being made in renewable energy and other technologies to de-carbonize the energy sector, the Accelerator program seeks to correspondingly increase investment in the oldest, and one of the most cost-effective carbon capture technologies there is — nature. Over time, the program strives to support and develop a portfolio of proven approaches and mechanisms to deploying natural solutions that landowners, state and federal governments, corporations, and other climate leaders can efficiently implement on a broad scale.
Proposals are invited from 501(c)(3) not-for-profits for work located anywhere in the United States. A selection committee will evaluate proposals and select projects primarily based on their assessment of the potential for delivering significant climate change mitigation benefits; likelihood of reaching transformative scale; and the capacity of the affiliated organizations to achieve success.
The selection committee will prioritize funding for a diverse portfolio of projects representing novel approaches for scaling climate solutions in a range of natural and working lands (forests, agricultural lands and grasslands, and wetlands) and geographies.
The deadline for the second round of applications is August 16, 2019. Applicants can request up to $250,000 per project. (A third application period will be announced in the early 2020.) Up to $1.7 million will be awarded in these two rounds of grantmaking, in addition to mentorship and networking opportunities.
See the Nature Conservancy website for a complete program description, application instructions and a link to the online form application, and an FAQ.
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