No Child Left Inside grant period opens soon

Last session, GMPT advocated to support creation of an innovative grant program, “No Child Left Inside,” which aimed at supporting and increasing efforts to expand programming to connect youth to the outdoors. The Legislature adopted and funded the program to provide grants for outdoor environmental, ecological and other natural-resource-based education and recreation programs serving youth.

The new grant program will have multiple phases, and the Phase 1 mini grants program opens this month. The process will have a simple application and quick review for grants of $500 to $5,000 to public entities, non-profits and other qualified applicants. A total of $182,000 is available for this phase.

Eligible projects will be reviewed and grants awarded on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 9 a.m. on Oct. 23. If you’re interested, we encourage you to start thinking about your application now.

More details regarding the types of activities and materials that may be funded can be found on the DNR website here and on the grant application.