Non-competitive Subgrants
A limited number of non-competitive fixed amount subgrants, for 1 year and up to $75,000, are available only for Tier 1 assessment projects for severely capacity-constrained organizations. Examples include:
- Research (that is incidental to the project design)
- Sampling
- Testing
- Monitoring
- Investigations
- Surveys and studies
- Public education
Non-competitive awards are designed for severely capacity-constrained organizations that would be unlikely to obtain funding through a competitive process or have the capacity to implement federally funded awards. Applicants will go through a non-competitive process where they will need to include an organizational capacity assessment and provide a project description. If awarded, applicants will receive a fixed-amount contract with payments based on achieving specified project milestones.
The following types of organizations or groups may want to consider applying for these awards.
- Newly formed nonprofits
- Organizations building capacity to address emerging environmental justice issues in their community
- Organizations that are volunteer-run or who have a small staff (less than 5 people)
- Organizations who are restructuring or have recently had a significant turnover of leadership, staff, or board members
- Organizations that have never won a competitive contract or bid
- Organizations who have been told in the past that they do not meet minimum criteria to receive federal funds (or have never applied due to application requirements)
- Organizations who have basic financial and administrative infrastructure in place, but could use support in developing this capacity
Note: This list is not exhaustive and should not discourage applicants who do not meet these criteria from applying. These are examples and should not be construed as formal evaluation criteria.