SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is now accepting applications for grants through four different programs: the Volunteer Fire Assistance Program, the Special Wildlife Funds Wildlife Preservation Fund – Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities Program, State Furbearer Fund, and the Coastal Management Grants Program. Each grant program has specific eligibility criteria, project guidelines, application guidelines, and scoring criteria.

Volunteer Fire Assistance grants provide federal funding to fire departments serving populations of 10,000 or less for equipment and training. Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities grants offer up to $2,000 per year per project in state funding for improvements to rehabilitation facilities that are licensed to care for endangered and threatened species. The State Furbearer Fund awards grants to non-profits or universities for projects improving furbearer habitats, projects for purposes of furbearer surveys or investigations, and projects for educating hunters, trappers and the general public about furbearers. Coastal Management Program grants award up to $150,000 in federal funds to non-profits and local governments in the Lake Michigan coastal region to 1) improve the health of the coast and Lake Michigan, 2) enhance coastal public access, recreation, and coastal-dependent economic development, and 3) advance coastal community resilience.

Potential applicants for all of these programs can find more information on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website at https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/grants/Pages/default.aspx.

To view the Notice of Funding Opportunity for these programs or to browse all State of Illinois grant opportunities, see https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/GATA/Grants/SitePages/CSFA.aspx

3/5/2021