Overview of Grant Program
Each year the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Community and Urban Forestry (CUF) program has a Community & Urban Forestry Assistance (CUFA) grant provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) Northeastern Area. We encourage communities throughout Indiana to advance their urban forestry goals through application to this program.
Grant Amounts
| Grant | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tree Inventory or Urban Tree Canopy Assessment | $1,000 - $20,000 |
| Management/Response Plan | $1,000 - $8,000 |
| Education/Training | $1,000 - $5,000 |
| New Tree Planting | $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Community Education/Awareness Events | $1,000 - $5,000 |
Eligible Applicants: Local units of government or 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. One application per community per grant year. If awarded, the applicant will enter into a State Grant Agreement and must take responsibility for all aspects of the project through completion.
Eligible Projects: This grant supports a variety of urban forestry projects throughout Indiana. The types of activities CUF seeks to promote include public tree inventories with urban forestry management plans, urban tree canopy assessments, storm response planning, tree planting, public and/or staff education, program outreach, and the establishment and strengthening of local urban forestry programs. Physical projects must be on public lands or in public rights-of-way.
Match Requirement: All grant requests require a minimum 1:1 match. Consideration will be given to projects exceeding a 1:1 match. Grant funds are awarded on a reimbursable basis.
Match is an important part of this budget because grant funds must be equally matched or exceeded by the Subgrantee. Match can be all cash, all in-kind donations, or a mix of both. Note that any match helps expand the scope of a grant project. The proposed match must be directly related to the project and must occur during the grant period. Since this is a federally funded grant, you can use state or local funds for your match, but you cannot use other federal funding sources for the match.
Project Evaluation: Eligible projects will be evaluated by a panel of urban forestry professionals, urban foresters, and tree-planting not-for-profit members. Applications will be evaluated based on how well they meet the criteria outlined in the Community & Urban Forestry Assistance Grant Application Instructions. All applications are then ranked after they have been evaluated. The projects, in order from highest to lowest rank, will be allocated funding.
Additional information and applications are available from:
Jacob Roos
CUF Program Director
JRoos@dnr.in.gov
317-234-4386
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Forestry Community & Urban Forestry Program (CUF), and the United States Forest Service (USFS) sponsors this annual grant program. To be eligible for a grant, applicants must be a Municipality, nonprofit 501(c)3, school, place of worship or higher education institution.
Important to know
- There is a 1:1 match requirement for this grant opportunity.
- All funds will be distributed on a reimbursable basis.
- All application materials are to be submitted in digital format and emailed to urbanforestry@dnr.IN.gov. Faxed or hard copy applications will not be accepted.
- Applications will be accepted starting Summer of 2025.
Current Grant Recipients
- Accomplishment reporting is due for all current grant recipients on June and Dec. 30 of each year. Please email your accomplishment report to Jacob Roos at jroos@dnr.IN.gov. Download the Accomplishment Report Form.
- To make a reimbursement request, please complete the below spreadsheet and email to Jacob Roos at jroos@dnr.IN.gov. Also be sure to include any receipts or proof of payment. Download the Grant Reimbursement Form (Excel).
Questions?
DNR Division of Forestry CUF
Phone: 317-234-4386
Email: JRoos@dnr.IN.gov