Wisconsin Grants

This program provides funding for feasibility studies that promote economic development and improve community resources in rural areas of Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for specialized training programs aimed at enhancing the skills and competencies of certified law enforcement officers in Wisconsin.

This grant provides funding to Great Lakes states and tribes for projects that prevent and control aquatic invasive species, benefiting the Great Lakes ecosystem.

This grant provides funding to Great Lakes states to implement their plans for managing and preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species, benefiting both the states and the Great Lakes ecosystem.

This program provides funding to businesses and organizations for projects and events that improve tourism and community experiences in the Plover Area, with a focus on attracting overnight visitors.

This funding opportunity supports non-profit organizations in Milwaukee to preserve and restore public art, enhancing the city's cultural heritage and community vibrancy.

Vernon County is offering grant funding through the National Opioid Settlement to support projects related to the abatement, prevention, treatment, and recovery of opioid drug use and its effects. The funding is available to non-profit organizations, businesses, schools, and local governmental agencies in Vernon County. Eligible projects should align with the values and mission of the Opioid Prevention and Abatement Steering Committee and focus on efforts to educate, train, reduce, and prevent harm from opioids. Applicants can request funding ranging from $100 to $25,000 per application, with a limit of one application per calendar year and a total of three applications per project. There will be three application periods offered each year. To apply, applicants will need to present their proposal to the Opioid Steering Committee, with presentations limited to 5 minutes followed by a question and answer session. It is important to note that projects unrelated to opioid prevention or mitigation efforts, requests for existing debt, expenses that have already been invoiced or paid, and any other expenses deemed ineligible by the Opioid Steering Committee will not be considered for funding.

Local units of government (LUGs) are eligible applications for four Stewardship grant programs and two related federal programs administered by DNR. Applications must be received or postmarked by 11:59 pm on May 1 to be considered. Per s. 990.001(4)(c), Wis. Stats., if any grant application deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or State Holiday, the deadline is moved to the next State working day.

The Wisconsin Assessment Monies (WAM) program provides funding to address brownfields sites where contamination impedes economic redevelopment. Administered by the DNR's Remediation and Redevelopment Program, it offers contractor services awards for Phase I and Phase II assessments and community-managed subgrants. Eligible applicants include local governments, tribes, and private entities. Properties must meet the federal definition of a brownfield. Ineligible sites include those with responsible party contamination, on the National Priorities List, or subject to certain regulatory orders. Application involves demonstrating eligibility, completing required forms, and submitting materials to Gena Larson. If awarded, the DNR provides support throughout the assessment project. Contact Gena Larson for more information.

Recreational boating facility projects. Past projects have included ramps and service docks to gain access to the water, purchase of aquatic weed harvesting equipment, navigation aids and dredging waterway channels. These grants may be used by counties, towns, cities, villages, tribes, sanitary districts, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation districts and qualified lake associations for recreational boating facility projects. FOR GRANT REQUESTS IN EXCESS OF $250,000: Applications for RBF grants exceeding $250,000 are encouraged to be submitted to your regional DNR grants specialists in time for the June 1st, or September 1st, application deadlines. These larger grant requests take extra processing time and therefore are highly recommended for earlier evaluation, in the first two quarters of the fiscal year. Contact your regional DNR grants specialist as soon as possible, if you have a larger project and you are planning to apply for a RBF grant. DNR grants specialists can help with scheduling and grant processing.

This funding opportunity supports Wisconsin businesses in certain industries by covering up to 75% of the costs for hiring an independent expert to develop a comprehensive business or commercialization plan, particularly for those seeking a Phase II SBIR/STTR grant.

The EMG program provides early-stage technology-based companies with services and funding to support their efforts in obtaining significant federal grant funding. Additionally, Business Planning services rendered by the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) increase the entrepreneurial proficiency of state entrepreneurs and small business owners. WEDC provides funding to the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) to deliver microgrants to clients for the services below: • Small Business lnnovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Assistance program, providing up to $4,500 for assistance to prepare and submit an SBIR/STTR or other federal funding proposal. Applicants awarded federal funding may receive an additional $1,000 funding bonus through the program. • Commercialization Planning Assistance, providing individual and small business applicants up to $4,500 for assistance in completing business validation activities and a comprehensive market study or business plan or commercialization plan to procure Phase ll SBIR/STTR funding or to prepare for angel or venture capital funding. Applicants must utilize an eligible professional services provider. • Entrepreneurial Training Program, providing a grant of up to $750 to entrepreneurs upon successful completion of start-up coursework provided by the SBDC in the University of Wisconsin-System. Eligible applicants must provide at least a $250 match. Eligible coursework may focus on either business modeling or business planning.

Environmental Cleanup & Brownfields Redevelopment. The RR Program accepts applications for traditional petroleum grants and loans year-round. There is no application deadline. We recommend that anyone interested in applying for funding first discuss your project with DNR staff. Please contact Gena Larson to discuss your project. In order to be eligible for funding, a site must meet the following criteria. The site must meet the federal definition of an eligible brownfield, which is "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." The site or costs must be ineligible for the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) reimbursement. The grant or loan recipient must not have contributed to contamination, and there are no persons responsible for the contamination that are both subject to an environmental enforcement action and able to pay for the cleanup. There must be no federal enforcement action under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), obligation under the federal Oil Pollution Act (OPA), or use of federal leaking underground storage tank (LUST) funds at the site. The DNR can help make this determination.

The program offers assistance to targeted economic driver industries culminating over time in the development, diversification, competitiveness and growth in sectors that provide sustained high quality jobs, continued innovation and increase in GDP in Wisconsin. Applicants must be actively engaged in distinct industry or sector development or engaged in efforts to enhance cross-industry competitiveness, such as workforce development, market development, new investments, business attraction and acquisition of specialized competitive assets or facilities. These investments are generally intended to support strategic industry initiatives and investments, develop shared-use infrastructure, help fund industry-related pilot projects, expand successful initiatives, increase geographic reach or allow for expansion of consortia efforts.

The Ready for Reuse program will only be funding sites that are READY to begin cleanup activities, and have enough secured funding to finish the cleanup. The RR Program accepts applications for traditional hazardous substance grants and loans year-round. There is no application deadline. We recommend that anyone interested in applying for funding first discuss your project with DNR staff. Please contact Gena Larson to discuss your project. Loan and grant funds can be used for eligible costs incurred during the grant or loan agreement period for cleanup of contamination from hazardous substances or hazardous substances commingled with petroleum.

The Wisconsin Forest Landowner Grant Program (WFLGP) WFLGP program [PDF] is a cost share program offered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It is designed to assist woodland owners in protecting and enhancing their woodlands. This program reimburses woodland owners up to 50% of the cost of eligible practices. Grant amounts are based on the type of project and number of acres to be completed.

The goal of the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) is to help private landowners create and manage habitat for species that are rare or declining. The program provides management advice, assistance with management plans and cost share funding to individuals and organizations on private lands — with a focus on the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. The LIP is a cost-share program, and the DNR can reimburse a landowner for up to 75% of the cost for the on-the-ground practices that are involved in the management of the project

The surface water grant program provides cost sharing grants for surface water protection and restoration. Funding is available for education, ecological assessments, planning, implementation, and aquatic invasive species prevention and control. With many different projects eligible for grant funding, you can support surface water management at any stage: from organization capacity development to project implementation.

County conservation grants provide financial assistance to enhance county/tribal fish and wildlife programs. This Fish and Wildlife Management Grant Program was created to assist counties in the improvement of the fish and wildlife resources. The fund was established by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1965 as an alternative to bounty payments on coyote, foxes and bobcats. Every year since the bounty program was canceled, a state allocation equal to the average annual bounty payment has been earmarked as matching money for a growing list of county-sponsored fish and wildlife habitat projects. After the state budget is approved, funds are allocated to each county in proportion to the ratio of the size of each county to the total area of the state.

In 2007, the Wisconsin Legislature made changes to the Knowles Nelson Stewardship program (s. 23.0953, Wis. Stats.) allowing counties with lands entered under the County Forest Program (s. 28.11, Wis. Stats. [exit DNR]) to compete for land acquisition funding under Stewardship. Grant applications are evaluated jointly by a ranking panel consisting of staff from DNR Forestry and the Wisconsin County Forests Association (WCFA) and selected for funding based on ranking criteria and priorities set forth in s. NR 51.960, Wis. Adm. Code [exit DNR]. Eligible Projects Fee simple acquisition of lands that meet the requirements for entry into County Forest as stipulated in s. 28.11(4), Wis. Stats. The following must be true for a parcel to be eligible for grant funding. The county must have land entered into county forest law pursuant to s. 28.11 Stats. The county must enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with DNR for land acquisition through Stewardship fund. The property must be free of restrictions or covenants preventing the property from being managed for the purposes set forth in s. 28.11(1) Stats. The property cannot have been purchased more than one year prior to the date DNR receives the grant application. The current use of the property must be something other than a licensed game farm, fur farm, deer farm, shooting preserve, forest nursery or experimental station. The property must be free of commercial or industrial uses inconsistent with the purposes of the county forest law under s. 28.11(1), Stats. The property must be free of perpetual easements for uses inconsistent with the purposes of the county forest law set forth in s. 28.11(1), Stats. The county must have a real estate offer to purchase or a letter of intent signed by the seller for the parcel to be acquired.