Contact: Kate Morgan
414-416-6509/kmorgan@1kfriends.org
(Milwaukee, WI) Sweet Water is announcing a 2nd round for proposals its 2011 Green Infrastructure Mini-Grant Program. The program will provide grants of $1,000 – $4,000 to established non-profit organizations, community and civic groups for projects or activities which advance the objectives of Sweet Water – to achieve healthy and sustainable water resources.
Close to $25,000 will be available for eligible proposed projects sited in the watersheds: the Kinnickinnic, Menomonee, Milwaukee, Root and Oak Creek Rivers. Given the limited dollars available, private businesses and units of government are not eligible for 2011 Mini-Grant funding; however, non-profit organizations are encouraged to partner with local governments on efforts that meet Sweet Water’s overall water quality goals.
The aim of the Sweet Water Mini-Grant Program is to support local, grassroots efforts that employ green infrastructure practices and water quality-related activities that will improve water quality, enhance conservation, restore habitat or educate people about these issues and associated stewardship actions.
Proposals should address one or more of the following goals:
* To achieve water resource goals and objectives – such as clean water, conservation, and habitat restoration – through innovative and sustainable practices.
* To improve water quality to support a healthy regional economy and improve the quality of life.
* To test and implement innovative approaches and practices that will achieve improvements in water resources in a cost-effective way.
* To build partnerships and enhance collaborative decision-making to the benefit of the area’s waterways.
In 2010, Mini-Grant Program awarded $15,000 to 11 projects. Funded projects included a community-wide rain barrel street art contest with 30 rain barrels painted by local artists and exhibited throughout Whitefish Bay’s downtown, the purchase of eight water monitoring instruments to expand a citizen monitoring efforts, seven water conservation projects led by 65 students at St. Joan Antida High School, and the planting of over 1000 native plants by 15 high school students along the shoreline of Holler Park Pond to stabilize the bank and protect the pond from stormwater runoff.
The 2nd Round Mini-Grant Program Request for Proposals can be found at Sweet Water’s website: http://www.swwtwater.org. The submission deadline for the 2nd round of proposals is December 30, 2011. Second-round Mini-Grant award recipients will be announced at Sweet Water’s Clean River Clean Lakes Conference at Discovery World Museum on April 30th, 2012.
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Sweet Water, the Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc., is a nonprofit organization created in 2008 as a partnership of local governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, academia, and individuals working collectively to improve the water resources in the 1,100 square miles of the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds.
For more information on Sweet Water, visit http://www.swwtwater.org or contact Jeff Martinka, Executive Director, at 414-382-1766 or by email at martinka@swwtwater.org
