This grant round is managed by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Upper Valley Region. Visit their website for more details, or to download MEF Guidelines and Coversheet, a list of past MEF grant awards, and MEF proposal categories and evaluation criteria.
Introduction
In April 1996, New England Power Company (NEP) filed a notice of intent for a new operating license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for several hydroelectric dams it owned along the upper reaches of the Connecticut River, in an area known as Fifteen Mile Falls (FMF). Shortly thereafter, in October 1996, NEP announced its intent to sell all of its generating facilities in New England in response to a regulatory requirement. As a consequence of the announced sale, NEP and the FMF “stakeholders” (comprised of federal and state agencies, environmental organizations and community groups) worked to develop a comprehensive agreement in the spring of 1997. The “Settlement Agreement” (SA) called for the establishment of an “Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund” (MEF) and funded through annual contributions from the dams’ owner, with amounts related to the income derived from operating the dams. The purpose of the MEF is to provide financial assistance to projects that will restore, protect, and/or enhance the river ecosystem affected by the FMF hydroelectric project, or that will serve as mitigation for some of the impacts of the project.
In the fall of 1998, U.S. Generating Company (USGen) bought the Fifteen Mile Falls hydroelectric facilities from NEP. Throughout the FMF relicensing process, beginning in 1995 and concluding in 2002, both NEP and USGen worked with a number of the stakeholders to develop a consensus approach to the relicensing, including the Settlement Agreement. A full application to relicense the project was filed in 1999. An environmental assessment, prepared by FERC, analyzed the license application and its supporting studies and plans. In 2002, a new federal operating license was issued by FERC, which upheld the terms of the 1997 Settlement Agreement and endorsed the Mitigation and Enhancement Fund. In 2005, the dams were sold to TransCanada Hydro Northeast Inc.
Additional background information can be found in the Settlement Agreement, which can be found at http://www.nhcf.org/. Additional information on the FERC relicensing process can be found at the FERC web site, www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp.
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) receive and hold contributions to the MEF from TransCanada. An advisory committee, made up of representatives of organizations involved in the Fifteen Mile Falls stakeholder process, recommends grant awards from the Fund for “projects that will enhance river-related natural resources in the upper Connecticut River watershed.” The Upper Valley Region of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation provides staff support to the advisory committee for the MEF grantmaking process.
Eligibility
Within the watershed of the Connecticut River upstream of the confluence of the White and Connecticut Rivers at White River Junction, Vermont and Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, community organizations, educational institutions and federal, state and local government agencies. Organizations must be recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Nonprofit organizations or community groups that do not have 501(c)(3) status may apply if another tax-exempt organization acts as fiscal agent.
Types of Grants
The MEF will accept applications from eligible organizations (see below) through a competitive application process in two separate categories: “Small Grants” up to $5,000, and “Large Grants” of more than $5,000 (with no upper limit to funding that may be provided).
- Small Grants (up to $5,000) are intended to support emerging opportunities, launch creative programs, or cover the costs of one-time projects or pre-implementation planning in one or more of the three river categories. Examples include:
- Specific, one-time projects, events and programs
- Project planning and feasibility analysis for specific projects
- Start-up costs related to new or expanded programs
- Large Grants (more than $5,000) are intended to address strategic initiatives and long-term activities, programs or projects that require more resources, take longer to plan and develop, require more time to implement, or affect a broader geographic area or larger population. While we strongly encourage that you secure funding from other sources besides the MEF, the maximum limit for project funding is determined by the total amount available in the fund and the committee will entertain funding large, comprehensive proposals if the scope and/or scale of the project is major and highly relevant to the criteria. Programs may address one or more of the three funding categories noted above.
Multi-Year Funding—Applicants may submit Large Grant proposals for multi-year funding (up to three years). In these cases, applicants should indicate how they intend to secure sustainable, long-term resources for the proposed program beyond the end of the grant period. The Foundation will employ a flexible approach in committing funds for the second and third years of a project depending on the type of project, the size of the request, amount of funding available, the applicant organization, the pool of applications, and so on. If a proposal for multi-year funding is approved, the Foundation may provide all the funding in the first year; provide funding only for the first year and require a status report after a year of work is completed before releasing funds for a subsequent year; or require full re-application in a the next grant round for subsequent years of funding.
Concept Paper—For any grant requests exceeding $25,000, applicants must prepare and submit a “concept paper” describing the proposed project to enable early review of a project idea and advice/direction to a potential applicant prior to the application deadline. The concept paper should include a brief synopsis of the following: organization description, outline of the proposed project (area served, objectives, activities, etc.), timetable for completion, list of collaborating organizations, and proposed budget. The concept paper should not exceed two (2) pages. Deadline for submission is September 30th. Potential applicants are encouraged to share ideas and concepts prior to the concept paper deadline. Contact Upper Valley Region Senior Program Officer Kevin Peterson at 603-653-0387, email kp@nhcf.org to discuss your idea.
Application Deadline
Grant decisions are made once a year. Complete applications must be received by 5:00 PM on November 30th. Grant awards are announced in February. Concept papers for Large Grant proposals of greater than $25,000 must be received by September 30th. If the deadline dates falls on a weekend or holiday, then the deadline is the PREVIOUS Friday.
In extraordinary circumstances (for special opportunities or time-sensitive projects), the advisory committee may consider grant requests outside the normal application deadline. Examples of such circumstances include land purchases where an option or sales agreement does not coincide with the application deadline, or where a commitment of funds is needed to match other, time-sensitive funding sources. In these cases, the applicant must submit a concept paper and a formal application using the same format required for applications submitted by the regular deadlines. For more information, contact Upper Valley Region Senior Program Officer Kevin Peterson at 603-653-0387, or by email at kp@nhcf.org.
To Apply
This grant round is managed by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: Upper Valley Region. Visit their website to download MEF Guidelines and Coversheet, a list of past MEF grant awards, and MEF proposal categories and evaluation criteria.
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