Environmental Offset Grant Program

Environmental Offset Grant Program is sponsored by Baltimore Civic Fund (City of Baltimore). This grant program encourages nonprofit organizations to develop projects that restore and expand tree canopy and urban forests, improve waterway quality, and enhance quality of life and habitat in Baltimore.

FAQ: Environmental Offset Grant Program — Baltimore Civic Fund Frequently Asked Questions: Environmental Offset Grant Program If you applied for our Environmental Offset Grants last year, you’ll see a few changes in the application this year. We’ve introduced an Eligibility Survey that all applicants will have to fill out in order to access the application, with a few questions intended to help redirect potentially ineligible project.

We are also now requiring a Maintenance Plan (template provided) to ensure that all projects have a clear idea of how they will care for their projects once implemented. Finally, you will be asked to provide a budget narrative that describes the purpose of budget line items and how they directly connect with the goals and environmental benefits of the project. Who is Baltimore Civic Fund?

The Baltimore Civic Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization that, since 1981, has served as a fiscal sponsor for the City of Baltimore to advance the Mayor’s priorities. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for all residents of Baltimore one grant, one program, and one partnership at a time. If I am a current 2025 Environmental Offset Grant recipient, can I apply for the 2026 round?

Yes. There are specific questions for previous grantees to describe their current/past projects. My project will involve work on one or more Adopt-a-Lots, owned by Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development.

What approvals do I need for this work? Prior approval from DHCD is needed for work on Adopt-a-Lots before this program can grant any funds. Please reach out to Anika Middelton and Tamara Woods with DHCD to seek departmental approval before applying for this grant.

If you have any questions, you can contact Rachel Whiteheart ( Rachel. whiteheart@baltimorecity. gov ) or Grace Hansen ( grace.

hansen@baltimorecity. gov ). What are some examples of projects that have been funded in the past?

Past grant projects have varied – all involved supporting environmental efforts in Baltimore City and were undertaken by a nonprofit or faith-based organization, a community association, or a service and/or civic group. A few past examples include: A non-profit funded a series of environmental engagement opportunities to educate and train community stewards to care for their local green spaces.

A church removed impervious surface and installed two bioretention systems on their campus. A non-profit conducted water quality monitoring in the Inner Harbor. A land trust improved and maintained two of their green spaces and expanded their educational opportunities associated with the two green spaces.

A non-profit planted trees on several school campuses across Baltimore City. What types of projects CANNOT be funded by the grants program? Environmental Offset Grants cannot support projects that are proposed by ineligible organizations, projects that involve activities outside of Baltimore City, or projects that involve discriminatory activities.

A few examples of ineligible activities are: Printing materials for education activities. Providing snacks or t-shirts for volunteers. Projects that will achieve stormwater management or tree planting that is required to meet environmental regulations for a development project.

Any expenses that are not directly related to the environmental benefit of the project. These may need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis – please reach out to Office of Sustainability staff if you have any project-specific expenses that you would like clarification regarding. My neighborhood is not included in the Community Development Impact Investment Areas listed in the RFA.

What is the reasoning behind this? Will applications from my neighborhood still be considered? DHCD has identified the Community Development Impact Investment Areas as neighborhoods that should be targeted for resource investment because of near-term opportunities to achieve inclusive, economically sustainable growth.

DHCD provides additional information as to how these areas were designated in “ A New Era of Neighborhood Investment – A Framework for Community Development . ” If your project is not located in an Impact Investment Area, we still encou rage you to apply . Impact Investment Areas are just one of several equity considerations that will influence our application review.

Can the grant funds go towards projects that are not within the Critical Area, as long as they demonstrate that they will support the mission of the two regulatory programs? Projects are not required to be within the Critical Area – we encourage applications from across Baltimore! Do you have specific metrics that you’re looking for in terms of project outcomes?

We are open to a wide range of project sizes and impacts, as demonstrated by the wide range of individual project grant funds available ($5,000 - $75,000). We understand that not all environmental projects will look the same and that not all organizations have the same capacity and we will review applications with this in mind. Can the proposal span across a neighborhood?

Yes! If your project spans neighborhoods, please include all relevant zip codes with the project information and include a list of all impacted neighborhoods in your project description. Do you require a written maintenance plan for planting projects?

For 2026, we are requiring applicants to complete a maintenance plan to demonstrate the success of the project for the first 5 years post-implementation. We are providing a maintenance plan template for applicants to complete. Where can I find the specific street boundaries for the Impact Investment Areas?

You can view the boundaries on CoDeMap: https://cels. baltimorehousing. org/codemapv2ext/ Can the grant funds be used for an existing/ongoing project or is it more for the upstart of a new project?

Either. An applicant must demonstrate in their proposal that there are tangible benefits to the funds that we are providing so that those benefits can be reported back to the regulatory commission over the funds. Can the grant funds be used for the design costs of the project?

This is evaluated by the application review panelists on a case-by-case basis. If you would like additional clarification, please reach out to Grace Hansen and Rachel Whiteheart to discuss your specific project. Does the grant funding need to be utilized on a single project, or can it be spread across multiple small projects that are working together?

Funds are not limited to a single project. Funding can apply to multiple projects if they all meet the criteria of providing tangible benefits, long-term maintenance, etc. The applicant should make it clear in their project description, budget description, and budget template how the funds will be dispersed among projects and how the projects will work in concert to achieve the goals of the grant program.

Technical Questions (Grant Portal or Template) How do you download the templates? Follow the link provided in the application. Once the document opens, you will see it is in a Read-Only format which means you will not be able to edit the document directly.

In the top left corner choose File> click the 3 dots> click Save As> click Download a Copy.