Federal grant programs / Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Finance Center Grants (66.203)

Also known as EFC Grant Program

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$115 million
• Grant awards46
• Typical award$958,220
• Awarded in FY 2025$60.4 million
• Size rank768 of 1824
• Type of assistanceCooperative agreements, project grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $2.3 million in fiscal 2021 to $60.4 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 768th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 98% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 18 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Environmental Finance Center Grant Program provides funding to support Regional and National Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) in the following categories: 1) Regional Multi-Environmental Media EFCs, 2) Regional Water Infrastructure EFCs with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriations, and 3) National Water Infrastructure EFCs with IIJA appropriations. The EFCs work with state and tribal governments, local governments, and the private sector to address the growing costs of environmental protection. The EFCs provide finance-related training, education, and analytical studies to help these regulated parties develop solutions to the difficult "how-to-pay" issues associated with meeting environmental standards. The EFCs educate state, tribal, and local governments and businesses on lowering environmental costs, increasing environmental investments, improving financial capacity, identifying appropriate revenue generating mechanisms, and evaluating environmental financing options. EFCs focus on helping smaller parties find ways to obtain financing for their environmental protection responsibilities. In FY 2026, the EFCs will continue providing education, training, technical assistance, and analytic support and outreach to state, tribal and local governments and businesses (with a focus on smaller governments and businesses) on: (1) supporting source reduction, pollution prevention, conservation, resource recovery, reuse, and recycling (sustainable materials management) (2) promoting efficient environmental development, redevelopment, economic development and land use planning financial planning for state and local governments and the private sector; (3) supporting wetlands programs and protection; (4) improving drinking water and wastewater utility water conservation, energy efficiency, management, and capital planning; (5) encouraging environmental jobs and environmental business products and services; (6) promoting innovative ways to finance and otherwise support interstate, state, regional, and local pollution reduction efforts; (7) assisting the owners and operators of small, medium, rural, tribal and under-resourced environmental systems in planning, developing, and obtaining financing for infrastructure projects; (8) developing fiscal planning for utilities that include inventories of critical assets, evaluations of asset performance, energy conservation efforts, operations, maintenance and repair needs and activities, and any required certifications; (9)developing decision tools and financial strategies for adaptation to adverse weather events; and, (10) encouraging the development and use of public-private partnerships, where appropriate in providing environmental services, infrastructure, projects, and activities.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Assistance under this program is available to public and private non-profit universities and colleges and to nonprofit organizations. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency’s Assistance Agreement Competition Policy.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Grants and cooperative agreements are available to recipients to support allowable direct costs for approved environmental financial technical assistance and outreach work plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with established EPA policies and regulations. As part of EPA's substantial involvement, the appropriate EPA regional and/or headquarters office reviews and approves each annual project phase consistent with the scope of work for the cooperative agreement. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA. This program makes Federal awards on a discretionary basis. Grants and cooperative agreements are available to recipients to support allowable direct costs for approved environmental financial technical assistance and outreach work plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with established EPA policies and regulations. As part of EPA's substantial involvement, the appropriate EPA regional and/or headquarters office reviews and approves each annual project phase consistent with the scope of work for the cooperative agreement. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: https://www.epa.gov/geospatial.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the NOFO.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Range: $200,000 to $59,000,000 per fiscal year. Average: $25,000,000 per fiscal year.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: EPA continued to support 29 cooperative agreements with university-based and non-profit based Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) covering ten EPA Regions located across the nation. The 29 EFCs are composed of 12 Regional Multi-Environmental Media EFCs, 13 Regional Water Infrastructure EFCs with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriations, and 4 National Water Infrastructure EFCs with IIJA appropriations. Each participating university and non-profit operates an EFC or EFCs that provides technical assistance and outreach services to the regulated communities (States, tribal, local governments and businesses). The EFCs provide finance-related training, education, and analytical studies to help these regulated parties develop solutions to the difficult "how-to-pay" issues associated with meeting environmental standards. The EFCs educate state, tribal, and local governments and businesses on lowering environmental costs, increasing environmental investments, improving financial capacity, identifying appropriate revenue generating mechanisms, and evaluating environmental financing options.Fiscal Year2026: EPA will continue to support 29 cooperative agreements with university-based and non-profit based Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) covering ten EPA Regions located across the nation.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 59% of the money, colleges and universities 39%.

By state

13 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.