2023 National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Program | USDA FS UCF 010 2023

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS UCF 010 2023

The 2023 National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Program is a competitive USDA Forest Service grant opportunity designed to strengthen how communities manage, maintain, and steward their urban and community forests. The Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF) Program is the federal governments only dedicated program focused specifically on urban forests, and it supports nature-based solutions that affect where most Americans live and work. This funding announcement is tied to the National Ten Year Urban and Community Forestry Action Plan (2016-2026), specifically Goal 5, which focuses on improving urban and community forest management, maintenance, and stewardship. The Forest Service is responding to a documented need in the field: even though many new tools and approaches have emerged over the last decade, many states and communities still lack consistent data, practical management plans, accessible technology, and the training capacity needed to keep urban trees healthy over time, especially as climate-related stressors like extreme heat increase the demand for both planting and long-term care.

The core purpose of this grant is to create something that helps communities move from scattered, uneven resources to a more unified, usable system for making day-to-day and long-range urban forest decisions. The Forest Service is seeking a project that inventories and evaluates existing urban forestry management and maintenance best practices (both hard-copy and digital resources) and then compiles the most effective, replicable, and cost-efficient approaches into one comprehensive and adaptable program or software application. In other words, the deliverable is not just another report; it is meant to be a practical, user-oriented tool that brings together established and emerging technologies and best management practices in a way that can be scaled and applied across the full range of community types, from small towns to large metro areas.

A major emphasis is on scalability and real-world testing. The proposed application or program is expected to be piloted successfully in small, medium, and large communities, and it must also account for Tribal communities, island territories, and under-resourced or disadvantaged communities. The Forest Service wants the final product to be flexible enough to match different levels of staffing, budgets, technical capacity, and regional conditions, while still providing consistent guidance and accessible data. The project is expected to identify pilot communities that can test and use the management protocols, helping demonstrate that the tool works in varied settings and is not limited to one type of city or one geography.

The opportunity lays out the kinds of content and capabilities the Forest Service expects the resulting tool and supporting resources to include. This includes a national inventory and assessment of urban forestry maintenance, monitoring, and management practices and case studies, along with practical strategies for urban forest assessment and planning. Examples of desired technical elements include geospatial tree inventories, canopy cover mapping and benefits analysis, planting-space analysis, urban heat island mapping, and guidance on optimal species diversity and distribution. It also calls for an urban tree maintenance and stewardship plan framework that covers operational decisions such as pruning cycle frequency, efficient removal and reforestation operations, and decision matrices for pests and disease management. Beyond planning and mapping, the program is also looking for technical assistance materials that can strengthen the arboriculture and urban forestry workforce pipeline, such as manuals, videos, and methods or models that support training and job creation, including opportunities targeted toward disadvantaged community members. Another key theme is community stewardship capacity: applicants are encouraged to incorporate volunteer-based models like tree stewards, neighborhood tree tenders, and citizen science approaches, as well as continuing education resources that keep local stewardship efforts strong.

This is a discretionary grant program (Funding Opportunity Number USDA FS UCF 010 2023) administered by the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, under CFDA 10.675. Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Tribal governments; and nonprofits, including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations. The funding announcement indicates an anticipated award ceiling of up to $500,000, with approximately two expected awards, subject to available funding, application quality, and agency priorities. The grant timeframe is designed for completion within 2 to 3 years, and the review and award process may take up to about two months.

Collaboration is not optional in this competition. Proposals must include at least two related partners or partner organizations, along with formal letters of partnership that clearly describe each partners role in carrying out the work. Additional letters of support from key stakeholders may also be included. Projects must align with the Urban and Community Forestry program authorities in the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act (Section 9) and must clearly support Goal 5 of the national Action Plan. Administrative readiness also matters: applicants must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award, and the notice flags that SAM registration or renewal can take two weeks or more, so applicants are expected to plan ahead. If indirect costs are part of the budget, applicants need to ensure their indirect cost rates are current.

The notice also clarifies important rules about federal participation and matching. Other federal agencies may contribute funds or technical support to the overall effort, but those federal contributions cannot be used as the match for Urban and Community Forestry Program dollars. In addition, Urban and Community Forestry grant funds cannot be used to pay federal employee salary, travel, or per diem. If federal partners are involved, they must provide a letter of support describing their pro bono role. The original application window for this 2023 posting shows a creation date of July 1, 2023, with an original closing date of August 15, 2023, and applications were directed to be submitted through the Forest Services online grant application website beginning July 7, 2023.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at building a nationally useful, field-tested, and practical management support system for urban forestry, one that brings together technology, best practices, training resources, and community stewardship models into a single adaptable platform. The Forest Service is clearly prioritizing solutions that are both technically robust and realistically usable by communities with very different capacities, with the long-term goal of improving maintenance and stewardship so that investments in tree planting and canopy expansion translate into durable climate, health, and quality-of-life benefits.

• The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in the disaster prevention and relief, employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2023 National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.675.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 01, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 15, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA FS UCF 010 2023

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