The Morton Arboretum administers a program to offer urban and community forestry grants to communities within the Chicagoland area.
Funding is available for local units of government located in Cook, McHenry, DuPage, Will, Kendall, Kane, and Lake counties. Eligible entities include municipalities, townships, county governments, tribal governments, forest preserves, conservation districts, and park districts. This funding is provided thanks to Congressman Sean Casten’s Community Project Funding support in 2021 through the direction of the USDA Forest Service.
The total maximum allowable funding amount for any one organization is $25,000. The minimum allowable funding amount is $3,500. For all communities, a 25% local match is required.
Program areas funded through this proposal must also include one or more of the following:
- Increasing tree canopy (diverse tree planting and commitment to care for the trees post planting)
- Improving forest health (pruning, dead tree removals, ash treatment, tree mulching, watering)
- Improving community forestry programs (completion of a forest management plan or inventory with management summary; Increasing staff professionalism through forestry training and/or certification or development of a forestry volunteer program).
Please review the RFP for more information on eligible projects.
Applications are due Friday, March 24, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. and the grant work period ends August 1, 2025.