Apply for a Grant

Grant Cycle Timelines:

Donation Mini-Grant (DMG) Program

Upcoming deadlines - now three deadlines per year:

• April 15
• August 15
• January 15 (2025)

Regular Grant Cycle Applications

Subscribe to our email list at the bottom of this page to get annual grant cycle announcements. 

• January 15 -  Grant Cycle Opens. The application web-forms and updated funding manuals will be available on our website.  Please plan to update your copy of the Funding Manual after the cycle opens. 
• March 1 - Application Deadline.
• July 7 - Landowner Status and Match Security Update Deadline.
• October 1 - Anticipated funding meeting date.

Application Process Overview

Online Application

Grants are now accepted through an online webform program.  Individual program applications are linked in the "Grant Applications" list on the sidebar of this page. More details on the online form login/return process are below. 

Applicant Eligibility

A state agency, a local government, or a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is the conservation, preservation, and restoration of North Carolina's natural and cultural resources is eligible to apply for a grant.

Project Eligibility

To learn more about the type of projects each program funds, see program descriptions here.

Annual Competitive Grant Cycle

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund has one grant cycle per year for the Acquisition, Restoration, Planning and Innovative Stormwater programs. The Donation Mini-Grant program has three cycles per year (see funding manual at right for details).  The regular cycle application forms and updated funding manuals will be published in mid January each year.  The application deadline will be midnight on March 1, and final award decisions are made in the fall.

Project development

• Contact your NCLWF Field Representative to explore concept eligibility and potential grant opportunities.
• Use the funding manual link at the right for application development and guidance. The funding manual includes an example of the webform, application rating system, and program FAQs.

Online Webform Application

• Applications are submitted via an online web-form linked in the sidebar on this page. 
• The 'save-and-return' web-form requires a user name and password which will apply to all forms in a given grant program.  
• We recommend using a Gmail account or your email as your username.  Reuse the same username/password for applications in other NCLWF programs, but you will need to create the 'new' login credentials for each program area, for each year. 
• Once the username and password is created, you can save and return to your application(s) in progress. 
• Applications must be submitted by midnight on the deadline.
• Advance registration is not required.

Application Review, Scoring, and Grant Awards - Regular Cycle Programs

• Field Representatives will review your application, visit your project site, and support the Program Managers in creating scopes of work, conservation strategies, and contract details.
• All applications will be scored using the NCLWF Application Rating System outlined in the funding manual. The score is only one tool the NCLWF Board of Trustees uses to inform the process and arrive at a final funded project list. The final results may not follow the score order. 
• Status of match security and landowner commitments may be updated in early July. 
• Score and scope summaries are made available to applicants in the month prior to the funding decision meeting. 
• Funding awards are made by the NCLWF Board of Trustees who meet annually in the fall to consider grant applications.