Santa Clara Valley Water District Now Accepting Applications for Fiscal Year 2020 Grants

A 2012 ballot measure approved by the voters of Santa Clara County has made available up to $2.1 million in grant funds for projects that can help conserve water, prevent pollution, or restore wildlife habitats in Santa Clara County. Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) is now accepting applications for the district’s 2020 grants.

The grant funds are designed to help institutions, public agencies and non-profits advance environmental projects under the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program. program is a 15-year strategy that allows SCVWD to address five community priorities while delivering water resources. These priorities available for funds in 2020 include: Water Conservation Research Grants, Pollution Prevention Partnerships and Grants, Wildlife Restoration Grants, and Mini-Grants. Each category has specific criteria and the grant amounts vary by category.

Funds available for all projects in the Water Conservation Research Grants category totals $100,000. This grant category encourages organizations to carry out research projects for new and innovative water conservation programs and technologies. The primary goal is to identify water savings and device strategies. This grant category has a minimum award of $5,000 and a maximum of $50,000.

The Pollution Prevention Partnerships and Grants award is for projects that help reduce contaminants in surface or groundwater and toxins in the region’s local waterways. The minimum grant under this category is $25,000 with a maximum of $200,000; funds available in this category total $500,000.

Restore Wildlife Habitat Grants is for projects that create or enhance wetland, riparian and tidal marsh habitats. Funds are available for initiatives that protect special status species and remove fish migration barriers.  Projects selected can also focus on removing non-native and invasive plant species, and replace them with native plants. Selected projects will be awarded a minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $500,000. The category has a limit of $1.3 million for all 2020 grants.

Projects looking for seed money should consider applying for grant funding through the Mini-Grants category. Mini-grant funding is designed to support small scale projects or help kick start larger-scale projects especially those aimed at encouraging broader and long-term community engagement in wildlife habitat restoration or watershed stewardship activities in Santa Clara County. Mini-grant awards are capped at $5,000; the total funding available in this category is $200,000.

In addition to the grants available above, Santa Clara Valley Water District has recently unveiled a new grants management system, FLUXX. This streamlined online system will allow applicants to track the progress of their application and provide greater transparency about the process. Those applicants selected for a grant can also upload invoices and reports, as well as track the progress of your application in real-time. FLUXX will even allow users to access information on prior submissions and awards.

Also new with the 2020 grants cycle, SCVWD is offering bonus points for grant applications for projects that demonstrate financial stability and a commitment to environmental justice. Additionally, to ensure a more diverse applicant pool, bonus points will also be given to organizations that have not received a standard SCVWD Water grant in the past.

To learn more about these unique funding opportunities, go to: https://www.valleywater.org/grants. To access the new FLUXX system, go to:  https://valleywater.fluxx.io/user_sessions/new.