Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Proposition 4 Grant Program

The Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Proposition 4 Grant Program is a California state-funded grant program supported by the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, commonly known as Proposition 4. The Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy was established in 1991 to protect natural and cultural resources within the Coachella Valley and its surrounding mountains. Its work includes conservation land acquisition, habitat management and restoration, protection of wildlife and scarce water resources, preservation of historical resources, and educational and recreational opportunities. Proposition 4 supports statewide investments addressing wildfire prevention, safe drinking water, water supply resilience, climate adaptation, and protection of natural landscapes. The Conservancy expects approximately $11 million to be available for local assistance grants over the life of its Proposition 4 Grant Program. Eligible projects must advance one or more Conservancy objectives. Supported activities include acquisition from willing sellers at or below appraised fair market value; conservation of lands important to threatened or endangered species, ecosystems, greenhouse gas reduction, the California 30x30 initiative, and the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan; habitat enhancement and restoration; invasive species removal; watershed restoration; groundwater recharge; ecosystem improvements; wildfire risk reduction; and projects that expand or improve public access to outdoor recreation. Public access projects may include visitor facilities, landscaping, shade structures, hiking, biking, walking or equestrian trails, accessibility improvements, educational features, and interpretive displays. Projects providing meaningful and direct benefits to disadvantaged, severely disadvantaged, vulnerable, or traditionally underserved communities receive priority consideration. Eligible applicants include public agencies, local agencies, nonprofit organizations qualified to do business in California and recognized under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), special districts, joint powers authorities, public utilities, local publicly owned utilities, mutual water companies, and Tribes. Applicants must demonstrate readiness and capacity to complete the proposed work, comply with applicable permitting requirements, and have required CEQA documentation completed before the Conservancy Board meeting at which funding approval is considered. Construction, demolition, restoration, and similar activities are subject to prevailing wage requirements where applicable. Acquisition projects must involve willing sellers, may not exceed appraised fair market value, and require a deed restriction ensuring perpetual use consistent with the Conservancy's mission. Projects involving both acquisition and development, eminent-domain acquisitions, acquisition above fair market value, routine maintenance deficiencies, legally required mitigation, and establishment or enlargement of endowments are ineligible. The minimum stated local assistance grant amount is $50,000 for implementation projects. No maximum individual award is stated in the guidelines. Matching funds are not mandatory, but meaningful cash or in-kind cost share receives priority consideration, and a 20 percent match is recommended. Eligible match may include staff or volunteer time, materials, equipment, land value, and other direct project expenses incurred during the grant term. Overhead and indirect costs are limited to 12 percent of the grant and must be substantiated. Food and beverages, fundraising, lobbying, entertainment, and costs already charged as direct project expenses are not eligible indirect costs. Grant payments generally are made in arrears on a reimbursement basis, although advance payments of up to 25 percent of the grant award may be considered case by case with written justification and a statement of need. The final 10 percent is withheld until required deliverables and signage are completed and approved. The application process begins with a Letter of Intent submitted using the Pre-Application Consultation Form and emailed to communication@cvmc.ca.gov. The Letter of Intent functions as an initial eligibility screening and must address applicant identity and contact information, applicant eligibility, project type and summary, project location and anticipated public access where applicable, program objectives, requested funding, project schedule, matching funds, and meaningful and direct benefits to a vulnerable population, disadvantaged community, or severely disadvantaged community. Only applicants whose Letters of Intent are determined eligible are invited to submit a Full Application. The Full Application includes an application and certification form and a written narrative of no more than 10 pages, excluding exhibits. Required subjects include the project description, location and site control, schedule, complete project budget and funding sources, organizational capacity, benefits to underserved communities, environmental review, project sustainability, stakeholder support, and a detailed response to the evaluation criteria. A monitoring and reporting component is also required. Applications are evaluated for alignment with program objectives, technical effectiveness and innovation, cost effectiveness, leveraged financial support, collaboration, grantee capacity, local economic benefits, public and community support, consistency with established plans, and meaningful and direct community benefits. Community engagement and co-design are required during planning and implementation, and applicants should document outreach, feedback, and collaboration with community-based organizations, local governments, Tribes, and residents. Projects appropriate for conservation corps participation should follow the applicable consultation process and provide confirmation of consultation or collaboration with the Urban Conservation Corps or California Conservation Corps. Staff review eligible proposals and recommend awards to the Conservancy Board, which retains discretion to reject any eligible proposal. Implementation awards may be made only after CEQA compliance has been achieved. The Conservancy plans one Notice of Funding Availability, after which applications are to be accepted continuously. The guidelines state that continuous acceptance will begin on a future date to be determined after the public comment period, so the document itself does not supply a calendar opening date or closing date. The Conservancy also reserves the right to suspend, modify, or close the application process because of funding availability, program priorities, or Board direction. Award timing and a fixed performance period are not specified. For questions or technical assistance, applicants may contact the CVMC Project Coordinator at communication@cvmc.ca.gov or (760) 776-5026. Grant funds cannot be disbursed until required conditions, including a fully executed grant agreement and applicable site control, environmental compliance, and signage requirements, have been satisfied.

Demonstrate readiness to proceed and complete required CEQA before Board funding approval; document meaningful community engagement and co-design; quantify meaningful and direct benefits to disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged communities where feasible; strengthen competitiveness with meaningful cash or in-kind match, leveraged support, partnerships, and conservation corps participation where appropriate; demonstrate technical effectiveness, cost effectiveness, relevant capacity, public support, and consistency with established plans; ensure acquisition projects use willing sellers at no more than appraised fair market value and avoid ineligible mitigation, endowment, and routine-maintenance uses.