Program Contact
Heather Nelson Kent - heather@emswcd.org (Send Email)

Eligible applicants for the PIC program:

1. Community-based organizations with nonprofit status; 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.
2. Community groups without nonprofit status may apply for an EMSWCD grant with a fiscal sponsor. A fiscal sponsor is an eligible nonprofit organization that provides organizational infrastructure, insurance coverage and administrative support for managing a grant. If a group has neither federal tax exemption nor a fiscal sponsor, please contact us before applying.
3. Government agencies or educational institutions.
4. Native American tribes and Indigenous community organizations.

Projects must meet these criteria to receive PIC funding:

1. Must be located within EMSWCD’s service area (Multnomah County lying east of the Willamette River centerline) or demonstrate direct benefit to EMSWCD residents. Click here for more information about the district and a map showing our district boundary.
2. Grantees (and/or their fiscal sponsors) are required to carry insurance coverage and are responsible for the proper use, accounting, and reporting of grant funds. EMSWCD reports grant distributions to the IRS.
3. Must advance the mission of the EMSWCD “To Help People Care for Land and Water.”
4. Must address one or more of EMSWCD's Community Grant Program Goals.

Eligible Project Types

• On-the-ground restoration or conservation
  Examples: stream bank planting, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, weed control.
• Sustainable agriculture or gardening
  Examples: school or community gardens, orchards, native gathering gardens, composting, and irrigation systems. Must show use of conservation practices beneficial to pollinators, soil health, and water quality and/or conservation.
• Water quality projects
  Examples: bioswales in parking lots, rain gardens, tree planting, stream restoration, trash cleanups.
• Hands-on learning about soil health, water, wildlife, and climate change
  Examples: nature education, farm and garden education, workshops, classroom programs, trainings, educational signs.
• Expanding equitable access to conservation and sustainable agriculture
  Examples: programs designed for communities of color or other historically marginalized groups, restoring cultural and community land care traditions.
• Climate resilience for underserved communities
  Examples: community projects that increase access to sustainable and culturally relevant food and plants and/or reduce climate impacts such as extreme heat or flooding.
• Planning, design or engineering of conservation projects
  Examples: natural area restoration projects, soil erosion control designs, stream or fish passage projects, and in-stream habitat improvements.
• Maintenance and monitoring projects
  Examples: tree watering and mulching, improvements to soil and water benefits of established community gardens, tree canopy surveys, testing the effectiveness of weed or sediment controls, and water quality monitoring.

The PIC Grant Program does not fund the following project types:

1. Private businesses and landowners (funding and technical assistance from the EMSWCD may be available under other EMSWCD programs).
2. Rainwater harvesting systems or cisterns unless those components are incidental and subordinate to a larger project.
3. Buildings and capital projects unless these components are incidental and subordinate to a larger project.
4. Capital campaigns.
5. Political campaigns (EMSWCD is statutorily prohibited from supporting such activity).
6. Required mitigation projects.