Resilient Florida Program

The Resilient Florida Program is administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the state's lead agency for environmental management and stewardship. The program is intended to help Florida communities address the impacts of flooding and sea level rise. Through a selection of grants, eligible applicants may receive funding assistance to analyze and plan for vulnerabilities and to implement adaptation and mitigation projects. The 2026 funding opportunity described here is specifically for implementation projects proposed for inclusion in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan. Planning projects and regional resilience entity applications are not being accepted during the 2026 application cycle. Eligible applicants for implementation project funding include Florida local governments, including counties and municipalities, as well as eligible special districts with specific responsibilities. A local government seeking implementation funding must have conducted a vulnerability assessment demonstrating a risk of flooding or risks from sea level rise to a critical asset or the project area. Alternatively, the Comprehensive Statewide Flood Vulnerability and Sea Level Rise Assessment may be used to demonstrate the applicable risk. Section 380.093, Florida Statutes, provides additional information concerning eligible project and grant types and application requirements. The funding is intended to support implementation projects addressing demonstrated flooding and sea level rise risks through adaptation and mitigation. Projects selected through the 2026 application cycle will be funded with Fiscal Year 2027-28 allocations. The supplied program information does not state an award floor, award ceiling, total amount of program funding, expected number of awards, or a required cost-share or matching amount. Accordingly, no specific award amounts are represented for this opportunity, and the source does not establish an explicit matching requirement. Applications must be submitted through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Grant Application Portal. The 2026 Resilient Florida application portal opened for submissions on July 1, 2026, and applications for implementation projects are accepted from July 1 through September 1, 2026. The department has also made its Resilient Florida Program Implementation Scoring Criteria Guidance available to assist applicants in preparing accurate and complete proposals. The guidance provides background and statutory context, example responses, and specific guidance for each scoring criterion. It also identifies criteria for which additional supporting documentation or explanation is necessary to receive partial or full points. Applications submitted for funding consideration undergo a comprehensive evaluation intended to ensure that funds are allocated timely, appropriately, and pursuant to Florida Statute. Applicants should therefore use the scoring guidance when developing proposals, address the applicable scoring criteria accurately and completely, and include supporting documentation or explanations where required. Prospective applicants may also seek application support from the Planning and Policy Team through virtual pre-application office hours. Assistance includes eligibility checks, draft application review, and requests for GIS assistance. These office hours are assistance opportunities rather than a required pre-application gate. For the 2026 cycle, the application window opened July 1, 2026 and closes September 1, 2026. Virtual pre-application assistance office hours run on Thursdays from April 2 through August 27, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. EDT, with listed sessions including August 27. Applicants with grant application questions may contact the program at Resilience@FloridaDEP.gov. The source states that additional funding awards will be provided when they become available, but it does not explicitly establish a recurring annual or other fixed application schedule, an award notification date, or a specific project performance period. Applicants may sign up for general grant updates through the Protecting Florida Together grant portal.

Use the Resilient Florida Program Implementation Scoring Criteria Guidance when drafting the proposal; submit an accurate and complete proposal; review each scoring criterion carefully and provide supporting documentation and/or explanation where required for partial or full points.