Marine Debris

Please join the Long Island Sound Partnership and the CT Sea Grant Sustainable and Resilient Communities (SRC) team at the 3rd Annual SRC Funding Workshop for Connecticut! The event is free and lunch will be provided.

Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Time: 9:30am – 2:30pm (lunch will be provided)

Location: Gateway Community College – Curran Community Room (N100), 20 Church St, New Haven, CT 06510

Registration will be required by March 26th

Attendees will hear from program officers representing various local, state, and regional funding organizations and be able to engage in discussions with funders to explore project ideas and ways to improve funding applications. Attendees will also hear from a panel of successful awardees about their experiences and strategies. The workshop is intended for municipal officials and staff, nonprofits, community organizations, and other interested groups in the Long Island Sound region.

Draft Agenda:

• Lightning Talk Presentations from Funders – local, state, federal, and Long Island Sound-focused funding opportunities
• Lunch (provided)
• Successful Awardees Panel – Hear from communities that have been successful in applying to these grant opportunities
• Roundtable Discussions – Participants encouraged to interact with funders and panelists

Featured Funding Opportunities:

• Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut
• Congressionally Directed Spending 
• CT Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Team (CTBILT) & CT Fed Funds Team
• CT DECD Community Investment Fund
• CT DECD Office of Brownfield Remediation & Development
• CT DEEP CERCLA 128(a) Brownfield Grant Program
• CT DEEP Climate Resilience Fund
• CT DEEP Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program
• CT DEEP Recreational Trails
• CT DEEP Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grants
• CT DEEP Urban Green & Community Gardens Grant Program
• CT Federal Funding Planning Team
• CT Land Conservation Council
• Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund
• Long Island Sound Futures Fund
• Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund
• New England Environmental Finance Center
• UConn Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB)

Email lisresilience@gmail.com with questions.

The New England Grassroots Environment Fund awards small grants in support of grassroots efforts and community-based environmental work in New England. The GROW GRANTS program is actively accepting applications from grassroots groups across New England. These grants fund small, volunteer-driven groups in New England working on issues including food access, immigrant support, climate resilience, youth work, mutual aid, and more. This program is geared toward groups with experience organizing in their community and have at least THREE leaders who are actively involved in group decision-making. Grants support groups to deepen their work by further developing a community vision, lowering barriers to participation, identifying new stakeholders, and working to bring more voices and lived experiences into core decision-making processes.

Please join the Long Island Sound Partnership and NY Sea Grant Sustainable and Resilient Communities (SRC) team at the 3rd Annual Long Island Funding Workshop! The event is free and lunch will be provided.

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Time: 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM (lunch will be provided)

Location: Hyatt Regency Long Island (1717 Motor Parkway Hauppauge, NY)

Registration is required

Attendees will hear from program officers representing various local, state, and Long Island Sound funding organizations and be able to engage in discussions with funders to explore project ideas and ways to improve funding applications. Attendees will also hear from a panel of successful awardees about their experiences and strategies. The workshop is intended for municipal officials and staff, nonprofits, community organizations, and other interested parties.

View the Draft Agenda for the list of featured funding opportunities!

Email lisresilience@gmail.com with questions.

Restore America’s Estuaries is excited to announce the third round of funding for the Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund. Up to $1,200,000 in competitive funding will be awarded to support projects in New York and Connecticut in 2026. The Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund (LISCIF) is a partnership among Restore America’s Estuaries, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Long Island Sound Partnership. The purpose of LISCIF is to provide technical and financial assistance to communities for addressing environmental issues and to improve the quality and accessibility of the Long Island Sound.

The Long Island Sound Study will host a series of public meetings to discuss and finalize the Stewardship Strategy. The Strategy aims to provide a framework in support of the 33 Stewardship Areas of the Initiative. The draft of the Strategy will be shared for public comment March 10 – May 9. View the Draft Strategy here. Comments can be submitted to Cayla Sullivan at Sullivan.Cayla@epa.gov.

The last meeting in the series will be held on June 4th 11 am – 1 pm and will summarize the input and ideas for advancing the Stewardship Strategy!

The 2^nd Annual Learning Exchange will bring together current and new grant recipients to highlight completed projects benefiting the Long Island Sound estuary. Organizations will share their work, challenges, and successes via breakout sessions. Attendees will also have opportunities to participate in workshops, network, strengthen ties, and build community. This annual event aims to be a knowledge and tech share of projects within a collaborative framework.

The Target Audience includes:

• 2024 and 2025 Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund Subawardees

• Tribal Groups, Organizations, Institutions, and Municipalities located in Connecticut and New York focused on environmental projects in the Long Island Sound estuary
• Coastal conservation, restoration professionals, students, and early career professionals working in environmentally distressed communities

Awards small grants in support of grassroots efforts and community-based environmental work in New England. The Grassroots Fund utilizes participatory grantmaking to move resources to New England grassroots groups working at the intersections of Environmental Justice. The program is geared toward groups who have some experience implementing a project in their community. Grants support groups to deepen their work by further developing a community vision, lowering barriers to participation, identifying new stakeholders, and working to bring more voices and lived experiences into core decision-making processes.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, is soliciting proposals under their Nationwide Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program.

Using funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science will award up to $1,475,000 in grants to remove derelict fishing traps throughout coastal waterways of the United States while collecting data to prevent future gear loss.

New York Sea Grant and Connecticut Sea Grant are providing grant preparation and writing capacity to New York and Connecticut communities that are pursuing funding for sustainability and resilience-focused projects. This technical assistance program helps municipalities and community organizations develop successful grant proposals and develop capacity for navigating the funding landscape. 

Awards small grants in support of grassroots efforts and community-based environmental work in New England. The Grassroots Fund utilizes participatory grantmaking to move resources to New England grassroots groups working at the intersections of Environmental Justice. The program is geared toward groups who have some experience implementing a project in their community. Grants support groups to deepen their work by further developing a community vision, lowering barriers to participation, identifying new stakeholders, and working to bring more voices and lived experiences into core decision-making processes.

The Connecticut Society for Women Environmental Professionals Grant Program provides funding for local projects in Connecticut that benefit the environment. Grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded. Any application meeting the grant guidelines that is not successful in one cycle may reapply during any following cycle. The applications will be judged based on the environmental benefits of each project, in comparison to others. “Environmental benefits” can vary widely and successful applications have ranged from property clean-ups to environmental education.

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) is seeking proposals to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound (Sound). The program is managed by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Long Island Sound Partnership (LIS Partnership). Major funding is from EPA through the LIS Partnership.