Ohio Environmental Education Fund
OEEF grant guidelines and funding priorities have undergone substantial revision. Please read the guidelines carefully. The Request for Proposals for the July grant round will open in early June.
To apply, go to the eBusiness Center and create an account (user ID and password). Once the account is approved, follow the web link in your account approval e-mail and click on the OEEF Grant Service link to continue.
Diesel Emission Reduction Grants
The deadline to apply will be in September 2013. For information and an application, click on the Diesel Emission Reduction Grants tab above.
Clean School Bus Grants
The deadline to apply is September 1, 2013. For information and an application, click on the Clean School Bus Grants tab above.
Environmental Science and Engineering Scholarships
The deadline to apply is May 1, 2013. For information, click on the Scholarships tab above.
2012 OEEF and Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Annual Report
Ohio Environmental Education Fund
The OEEF was created by the General Assembly in 1990 to enhance Ohio citizens’ awareness and understanding of environmental issues. It is administered by the Director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and provides approximately $1 million annually in grants to support environmental education efforts within the state of Ohio.
The OEEF derives its monies from one-half of the civil penalties collected from violations of Ohio's air and water pollution control regulations.The OEEF funds education projects that target three audiences: (1) the general public; (2) the regulated community; and (3) pre-school through university students and teachers. General grants are available for $5,000 to $50,000, and mini grants for projects costing between $500 and $5,000
Application guidelines spell out application requirements, current funding priorities, the application review process, and preferred characteristics for projects targeting the respective audiences. OEEF grant coordinators are also available to assist in preparing grant proposals prior to the deadline dates, and to advise applicants on the eligibility of possible projects. OEEF grant writing workshops are also offered around the state several times yearly.
There are two grant cycles annually, with application deadlines normally in January and July. In 2013, the spring application deadline has been moved from January to April 2nd. OEEF supports innovative projects that increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues, and provide the skills to make informed decisions and take responsible actions. Environmental education is based on objective and scientifically sound information, and does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action. It teaches individuals how to weigh various sides of an issue through critical thinking, and it enhances their problem-solving and decision-making skills.
A list of past grant recipients illustrates the variety of projects that have been funded. Descriptions of OEEF Outstanding Project Award Winners showcase successful environmental education efforts that we encourage grant applicants to emulate.
2014 OEEF Annual Agenda
OEEF 2013 General Grant Guidelines
OEEF 2013 Mini Grant Guidelines
OEEF Grant Preferred Characteristics
Grant Administration Reference Document (GARD)
The document contains reporting guidelines for your general and mini grants. However, we encourage grantees to contact OEEF if a particular circumstance arises that may not be covered in your GARD and we will be glad to assist you.
“Resources for Grant Seekers” and “Resources to Help You Evaluate Your Grant Program” are links (to be updated periodically) that will provide additional information to help with your funding search and proposal preparation.
General Grants
Mini Grants
Resources for Grant Seekers:
Talk to a reference librarian in your public library!
Resources to Help You Evaluate Your Grant Program:
Grant Award Summary Archives by State Fiscal Year
Mini Grants by Fiscal Year
General Grants by Fiscal Year
Featured Environmental Education Projects
Periodically, the OEEF contracts with the Environmental Education Council of Ohio to conduct an independent review of completed grant projects, in order to select OEEF Outstanding Project award winners. OEEF highlights these projects as examples of effective environmental education. Because of the great variety in OEEF-funded projects, EECO and the OEEF developed a set of holistic instruments for use in reviewing these completed grant projects, Rubrics Cubed: What One Grant Maker Looks for in EE Projects [PDF]. These are the instruments that we use:
For K-12 education projects:
For general public/adult education projects:
OEEF also uses a tool for Web site evaluation for both K-12 and general public projects that contain a Web site component.
- OEEF Outstanding Projects Selected in 2004, 2006, and 2008
- Featured Grants for Regulated Community Audience:
* Although Ohio EPA cannot endorse, sanction or guarantee the accuracy of information found on external Web sites, we think you might find these outside links useful. When you select a link to an external Web site, you are leaving Ohio EPA's Web site and are subject to the privacy, security and accessibility policies of the owners/sponsors of the external site.
OEEF full-day grant writing workshops cover the following topics:
- Thinking Like A Funder Small Group Exercise
- “Getting Started – Developing a Project Idea
- “Finding the Right Funder” – Foundations, Corporations, Government Grantmakers
- “Resources and Tips” – Common Mistakes Applicants Make
- “Writing a Successful Proposal”
- Developing a Proposal from a Project Idea: the Need Statement
- Linking Objectives and Activities to the Need
- Small group practice drafting these parts of the proposal
- Outcome Measurements
- Evaluating Your Projects Success
- Sharing the Results: Dissemination Strategies
- Making a Wish List: Realistic Budgets and Timelines
- Lining up commitments, support letters, and documentation
- Insights from Successful Environmental Education Projects
The workshop facilitators are staff of the Ohio Environmental Education Fund, which provides approximately $1 million annually in grants for environmental education projects targeting pre-school through university students and teachers, the adult general public, and the regulated community.
The next grant writing workshops are listed here.
OEEF will also offer short sessions on “Peer Reviewer Training” at the following conferences:
None scheduled at this time.
For more information about workshop content, please contact the Ohio EPA Office of Environmental Education, oeef@epa.state.oh.us or (614) 644-2873.
HWHP - Ohio Connection
For training/workshop details and to register by e-mail, contact Dennis Clement, 614-644-2048 or dennis.clement@epa.state.oh.us
What is Healthy Water, Healthy People
Hosting A Workshop
Use the forms below to propose, evaluate, and report workshops
Activity Resources
HWHP News and Information
Upcoming Healthy Water, Healthy People AND Ohio Credible Data Program, Level 1 Qualified Data Collector Workshop and Trainings:
Ohio Credible Data Program, Level 1 Qualified Data Collector Trainings:
- There will be upcoming trainings in Autumn 2013
Healthy Water, Healthy People Facilitator Workshop:
- June 6, 2013: Delaware County, Deer Haven Preserve See Flier
* Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the [PDF] publications. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to download it for free.
* Although Ohio EPA cannot endorse, sanction or guarantee the accuracy of information found on external Web sites, we think you might find these outside links useful. When you select a link to an external Web site, you are leaving Ohio EPA's Web site and are subject to the privacy, security and accessibility policies of the owners/sponsors of the external site.
The Office of Environmental Education also works closely with partner organizations and other governmental agencies to promote and coordinate environmental education efforts.
* Although Ohio EPA cannot endorse, sanction or guarantee the accuracy of information found on external Web sites, we think you might find these outside links useful. When you select a link to an external Web site, you are leaving Ohio EPA's Web site and are subject to the privacy, security and accessibility policies of the owners/sponsors of the external site.
Ohio EPA Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Retrofit Grants Program
This program offers grants up to $300,000 to retrofit diesel school buses with pollution control equipment and idle reduction equipment, to reduce student and driver exposure to the harmful pollutants in diesel exhaust and to conserve fuel. Application deadlines are every March 1 and September 1. Public school districts and county developmental disability programs in Ohio are eligible to apply.
Applications from every county will be accepted, but priority for funding is given to applicants that already have anti-idling policies in place for their buses, and applicants located in the 27 Ohio counties that do not currently meet national air quality standards for fine particulates (soot particles). A map of these counties is posted at: www.epa.ohio.gov/portals/27/SIP/Nonattain/pm2_5.pdf
Grants are funded from civil penalties Ohio EPA collects from environmental violations, and federal grants. Since the program began, Ohio EPA has awarded more than $7.7 million to retrofit 2,511 school buses with emission controls and 845 buses with idle reduction equipment. These grants have removed more than 100 tons of pollutants from the Ohio skies. Grants have been awarded to 163 school districts and developmental disability programs.
For additional questions about the grant program, please contact Carolyn Watkins at carolyn.watkins@epa.state.oh.us, or (614) 644-3768. For questions about diesel bus retrofitting, particle standards or program rules, contact John Paulian at john.paulian@epa.state.oh.us, or (614) 644-4832.
Notice to school bus grant applicants and vendors - Some diesel emission control technologies require temperature testing or data-logging to ensure that technology is appropriate for a particular bus. This testing should be completed BEFORE submitting a grant application to Ohio EPA. Ohio EPA will not approve requests for modifications to awarded grants that result in significantly less emission reductions. If a technology is found to be inappropriate after a grant is awarded, the grant funds for the affected buses will be forfeited, and the grantee will have to submit a new grant application in a subsequent grant cycle to request funds for the lower-level reduction technology on those buses.
Forms for Grant Recipients
U.S. EPA also has a Clean School Bus USA grant program designed to reduce children's exposure to diesel exhaust and reduce the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses. According to U.S. EPA, 24 million children ride the school bus every day, and on average, students spend an hour and a half each weekday in a school bus.
For more information about the U.S. EPA school bus grant program, visit www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus. U.S. EPA’s Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative also provides funding for school bus retrofits. More information is available at http://www.epa.gov/midwestcleandiesel/grants/ .
The University of Cincinnati's Department of Environmental Health is conducting a multi-year study to determine if children with higher levels of exposure to diesel exhaust particles are at increased risk for hypersensitivity to specific allergens, and related respiratory disorders.
For more information about this project and similar publications from the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study, visit www.eh.uc.edu/ccaaps/.
Ohio Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program
The Ohio Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program awarded $10 million in Federal Highway Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding for clean diesel projects in 2012 and expects to award another $10 million in 2013.
The November 2012 Request for Proposals was revised slightly on December 20, 2012 in an effort to clarify how applicants should estimate emission reductions for several types of projects, how to calculate total project costs, and how projects will be selected. The revisions are primarily on pages 7, 8, and 12-15 of the Request for Proposals Overview. The application deadline was also moved back to February 1, 2013 to allow applicants more time. No changes were made to the Appendices. Please be sure you are using the revised version of the RFP dated December 20, 2012.
The Questions and Answers from the December 6th and 12th conference calls are posted below under "Application Timeline".
The next grant application deadline will be in September 2013. If you are not already on the list of DERG interested parties, please send your contact information to DERG@epa.state.oh.us in order to receive email notifications about the grant program.
For questions about the grant program, please contact Carolyn Watkins at carolyn.watkins@epa.ohio.gov or (614) 644-3768. For questions about eligible clean diesel technologies and estimating emissions reductions, please contact Alan Harness at alan.harness@epa.ohio.gov or (614) 644-3838.
Print Entire RFP and Application as a single PDF File
Optional DERG Fleet Data Reporting Spreadsheet - NOTE: To use this spreadsheet, right-click on the link and select "Save Link As" in Mozilla Firefox or "Save Target As" in Internet Explorer.
CMAQ Original Equipment Disposition Certification Form (for use by grant recipients AFTER grant award)
Application Timeline
The last Request for Proposals was released 11/16/12, with minor revisions posted 12/20/12. Ohio EPA scheduled two conference calls on December 6th and 12th to allow prospective grant applicants to ask questions about the new RFP and to hear the answers given to others' questions. The questions and answers from those calls are posted below.
Questions and answers from the December 2012 conference calls
Questions and answers from the March 2012 conference calls
Previous DERG Grant Awards
From the March 2012 application cycle, the review committee of ODOT and Ohio EPA representatives reviewed applications from 73 diesel fleets requesting $44.5 million. The committee recommended awarding 18 grants, for a total of $10,376,763.30, based on the total cost effectiveness of the projects in reducing diesel emissions. Since that time, several grants were declined, and amounts were adjusted on some others. The list below reflects the final grant amounts awarded, for a total of $6,141,760.90. Ohio EPA estimates that these projects will achieve an estimated annual emission reduction of more than 238 tons of air pollutants. These grants are supported with federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds allocated to Ohio by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which must make a formal eligibility determination for each project before the grant can be awarded. No project-related advertising or incurred costs are permitted until the project receives written ODOT approval.
List of awarded grants from the March 2012 application cycle
These funds will be administered jointly by the Ohio Department of Transportation (public sector projects) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (private sector projects). The DERG program was administered by the Ohio Department of Development until 2011, and that Department will continue to administer the grants they previously awarded. Previously funded projects are listed at http://development.ohio.gov/files/bs/GrantsAwarded.pdf
Related Information
Environmental Education Scholarships
The deadline to apply for scholarships is May 1.
Contact OEEF
Main Number: (614) 644-2873
Fax Number: (614) 728-1275
E-mail: OEEF@epa.state.oh.us
Mailing Address:
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Lazarus Government Center
50 West Town Street, Suite 700
P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, OH 43216-1049
Shipping Address:
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Lazarus Government Center
50 West Town Street, Suite 700
Columbus, OH 43215