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Pepco Sustainable Communities Grants Program

Sustainable Maryland, in partnership with Pepco, will offer Sustainable Communities Grant awards to eligible municipalities and nonprofit organizations. This program will provide $75,000 support to fund environmental stewardship projects and $50,000 for community resilience projects across the Pepco service area in Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, and Washington, DC.

Requests for Sustainable Communities Grant awards will be accepted May 1 - July 12, 2024.

2024 Grant Program

Environmental Stewardship (awards up to $10,000 – up to 8 awards expected)

Open space is a major driver of quality of life in the DC Metro region. The Trust for Public Land recently named the DC region #1 nationwide for park access; continued protection and enhancement of those resources remains a critical priority for the region in the face of climate stressors. These projects will enhance resiliency in this region by stewarding open space and protected lands, which protect water quality in streams and rivers, mitigate urban heat island effects, and promote social benefits such as health, a sense of place, and community connections. Projects should align with existing climate resiliency strategies or land management plans, such as Sustainable DC 2.0, Montgomery County Climate Action Plan, Prince George's County Climate Action Plan, or plans for management of protected areas. 

Eligible activities can include: conservation; pollution prevention; community engagement; developing or updating open space plans; improving applicant-owned open spaces such as meadows, woodlands, and riparian buffers or capital improvements for passive recreation such as installing recreation trails, boardwalks, informational kiosks, and observation platforms; acquisition of parcels of land to be used for open space; and acquisition of conservation easements.

Community Resiliency (awards up to $25,000 – up to 2 awards expected)

Though the Washington metropolitan region is known for its rich diversity, it remains one of the most socioeconomically segregated urban areas, and one in which many communities struggle for access to environmental and social benefits, such as cooler and cleaner area. These projects will focus on projects that demonstrate innovation in providing a safe and reliable resource for a community that minimizes potential impacts to the environment during a time of emergency. Projects should align with local or regional resiliency or emergency planning efforts.

Eligible activities include implementation of strategies to minimize the impact of severe weather events, natural disasters or other emergencies impacting the environment; emergency operations planning, training, and community outreach; and purchase of supplies and equipment needed to respond to emergencies including energy storage and stationary or mobile solar.

2024: 

2023:


All questions regarding the Pepco Sustainable Communities Grants Program should be directed to SMGrants@umd.edu.