Community Forestry - Hurricane Ian Recovery (CF-HIR) Grant Program

The Community Forestry - Hurricane Ian Recovery (CF-HIR) Grant Program is a federal financial assistance opportunity administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through the Florida Forest Service, with federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Funding Opportunity Number 23-DG-11083112-009-A is associated with Assistance Listing Number 10.664. The program responds to damage caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022, which produced extensive wind, flooding, storm surge, erosion, and urban tree canopy damage across peninsular Florida. The program is intended to restore and enhance urban forests in 29 affected Florida counties while improving resilience to future tropical cyclones and other natural disasters. Eligible projects include tree planting, tree maintenance, public tree inventories, urban tree canopy assessments, and urban forest management planning. Tree planting projects must use species classified in the highest or medium-high wind resistance categories identified by the program and must include a significant community engagement component. Tree maintenance may include hazardous-branch pruning, structural pruning, and other work intended to reduce storm risk, but grant funds generally cannot be used for work on private property except to prune portions of private trees that create hazards over adjacent public areas. Inventory and canopy assessment projects may support hardware, software, equipment, and vendor costs, while urban forest management planning projects may address current conditions, strategic goals, storm preparedness, implementation, and monitoring. The program includes detailed cost and implementation restrictions. Grant requests must be between $5,000 and $75,000, and projects must not already be budgeted or replace existing commitments. Travel and per diem expenses are ineligible, and invasive species removal is not reimbursable, although invasive species removal may be used as match. For planting projects, individual trees or palms may cost no more than $600 for purchase and planting, up to 10 percent of the grant award may support irrigation equipment, irrigation systems, or supplemental watering during the 60-day grow-in period, and no more than $15 per tree may be spent on planting materials during that period. Shrubs and ground covers associated with tree planting may be counted only as match. No overhead costs will be paid from grant funds, although documented overhead of up to 5 percent of total project cost may be used as local match. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, local governments, and American tribal governments located in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, or Volusia County. The scope of work must be performed in Florida. The program requires a 25 percent cost share, described as a 3:1 match. Match may consist of cash, donated services, donated equipment, or donated property and must be documented with reimbursement requests. General nonprofessional volunteer labor may be valued at no more than $33.49 per hour. Costs or match incurred before execution of the subrecipient agreement and written authorization from FDACS are ineligible. Applicants were required to upload a complete PDF application packet through the Community Forestry Hurricane Ian Recovery submission location by 2:00 PM ET on January 30, 2026. The required package includes the Coversheet/Application for Federal Financial Assistance Subaward, Key Contact Information, Project Narrative, Scope of Work, Budget Plan Narrative, Budget Plan, Key Person/Staff, Performance Site/Locations, proof of an active SAM.gov Unique Entity ID, Assurances Subrecipient Award, Certification Regarding Lobbying, Certification Regarding Debarments, Suspension, Ineligibility, Certification Statement, and applicable project-specific materials. Nonprofit applicants must provide documentation verifying nonprofit status, and applicants must include a resolution or letter from leadership approving the application and authorizing execution of grant documents. FDACS forms are mandatory and incomplete or unsigned applications are removed from consideration. Applications are evaluated for Demonstrated Ability, Demonstrated Need, Technical Strength, Cost Effectiveness, Community Engagement, and Completeness of Application. The first four criteria are worth up to 20 points each and the final two are worth up to 10 points each, for a total possible score of 100. Applicants must receive an average score of at least 60 to qualify for funding. Five evaluators with relevant program knowledge are expected to conduct the review, and FDACS may recommend partial funding or negotiate the final award amount and scope before award. The program anticipates approximately 15 awards from $1,055,000 in available funding. The funding opportunity was advertised beginning December 1, 2025. Questions were accepted through January 16, 2026 at Grants@FDACS.gov, and the application deadline was January 30, 2026. Evaluation was scheduled from January 30 through June 30, 2026, with award notice anticipated June 30, 2026. The anticipated period of performance is September 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Successful applicants have 30 days after receipt to execute the FDACS Subrecipient Agreement, and no reimbursable project work or match may begin before execution and written authorization. The RFA identifies this opportunity as Round II but does not state that it is annual, biennial, or otherwise recurring, so no future application cycle is inferred.

Address every scored criterion: demonstrated ability, demonstrated need, technical strength, cost effectiveness, community engagement, and completeness; clearly demonstrate community value and storm-resilience outcomes; maximize results with efficient grant spending and explain expenditures clearly; include all required FDACS forms, signatures, and project-specific attachments because incomplete applications are removed; for tree planting, demonstrate significant community engagement and partner engagement where applicable; ensure species and planting costs meet program requirements; document the required 25% match; submit before the deadline because FDACS states no extensions and no exceptions