2026 APNEP CAC Engagement & Stewardship Grant The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP) is accepting proposals for community-based engagement and stewardship projects.

Overview

The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP) is accepting proposals for community-based engagement and stewardship projects in the APNEP region that support the 2025 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP).  

This RFP is being released under the guidance of the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), one of the three advisory groups that comprise APNEP's Management Conference and provide direction and oversight for the partnership. The CAC works with the Leadership Council on CCMP implementation and meaningful community-led engagement activities. Committee members serve as liaisons to citizens, agencies, Tribes, and communities regarding environmental and natural resource management relevant to CCMP implementation. APNEP’s CCMP is a 5-year plan that contains specific targeted actions to address a wide range of environmental issues in the Albemarle-Pamlico region. The CAC’s goal is to engage regional communities and organizations in decision-making in order to represent diverse perspectives within the APNEP Management Conference.  

This RFP is tailored to actions described in Engagement section of the CCMP focused on engagement, stewardship, and educational needs. Proposals must also assist in implementing at least one of the following engagement actions.  

• C1.1: Communicate the importance of stewardship and offer opportunities for volunteerism to further APNEP’s mission.
• C1.2: Provide and promote opportunities for outdoor experiences that connect individuals with the Albemarle-Pamlico ecosystem.  
• C2.1: Provide environmental education training opportunities for educators.  
• C2.2: Increase public understanding of the relationship between ecosystem health and human health advisories relating to water, fish, and game.  
• C3.1: Develop and implement a strategy to improve decision-makers’ understanding of the return on investments in environmental protection, restoration, planning, and monitoring.
• C3.2: Enhance the coordination of targeted ecosystem management by federal, state, regional, Tribal, and local governments, and communities, by assisting with the incorporation of resilience, climate change and sea level rise considerations into planning processes.

Projects must also align with at least one of APNEP’s priority focus areas designated by the Leadership Council in the CCMP. These were selected to maximize APNEP’s resources in such a large geographic area.

• Water Quality
• Wetlands
• Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)
• Oyster Habitats
• Community Resilience

APNEP only accepts proposals for projects or initiatives that take place within or primarily impact areas within the APNEP management boundary in North Carolina and Virginia. Proposals must assist in implementing at least one of the engagement actions from the CCMP and align with at least one of APNEP’s focus areas, as detailed above.  

Award Amounts and Available Funding

Up to a total of $300,000 in funds may be awarded, subject to continued funding availability. Awards may range from $10,000 to $100,000 for projects with an expected 1-2 year duration. Projects with lesser funding needs are encouraged to apply. Recent awards for similar RFPs have ranged from $20,000 - $30,000 for 1-year projects.  

Timeline

How to Apply

Review the full RFP for eligibility requirements and more information about the review process. Once completed, the Scope of Work (SOW) application should be submitted as a single PDF file to the submission form below. Assistance with project proposals is available by contacting Natalie Ivey (Natalie.Ivey@deq.nc.gov).  

Proposal Submission Form

Examples of prior funded projects can be found below, and final reports from past projects are also available. As noticed in the timeline above, applications will be accepted until April 30, 2026, and assessed based on criteria developed by APNEP’s Citizen Advisory Committee.