Financial Assistance

Coastal Community Planning Grants Opportunity

Fiscal Year 2025 Program

FY25 Coastal Community Grant/Shore and Harbor Planning Grant Program Letter of Intent
FY25 Coastal Community Grant/Shore and Harbor Planning Grant Program Statement
FY25 Project Budget Tables
FY25 Questions received and answers (posted March 8)

The Department of Marine Resources’ Maine Coastal Program and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Municipal Planning Assistance Program are seeking applications for coastal planning grants totaling approximately $300,000. The maximum grant award is $50,000 and there is no match requirement for the FY2025 grant program. Funding for these planning grants comes from the Maine Coastal Program’s annual grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In response to the significant impacts of recent storms experienced by Maine’s coastal communities, the FY2025 Shore and Harbor Planning Grant and the FY2025 Coastal Community Grant Program are being combined into one grant program. The matching fund requirement has been eliminated and the application process has been modified to include a Letter of Intent, followed by a Final Application, by invitation only.

Letters of Intent are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024. Letter of Intent Instructions.

All questions regarding the Program Statement and Letter of Intent must be submitted by email to Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov by 5:00 p.m. on March 1, 2024. Responses to all questions will be compiled in writing and posted on the Municipal Planning Assistance Program and Maine Coastal Program websites by 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2024. Only those answers issued in writing on these websites will be considered binding.

Final Applications, by invitation only, are due on May 31, 2024, no later than 5:00 p.m. Program Statement Instructions. All Final Applications must be submitted electronically to Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include counties, municipalities, unorganized territories, tribal governments, and Regional Councils in Maine’s Coastal Zone. The combined FY2025 grant is intended to fund local or regional planning projects that support Maine Won’t Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action and enable communities to become more resilient to unprecedented coastal storm impacts. Successful applications must address one of the following Priority Categories:

  • Conduct climate vulnerability assessments including sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding at critical public facilities.
  • Evaluate existing waterfront infrastructure resilience plans and design resilient infrastructure for vital waterfront facilities.
  • Identify hazard-prone locations to integrate land conservation and public access planning, guiding development away from vulnerable areas.
  • Develop a comprehensive inventory of public tidal access points and working waterfronts. Establish guidelines for responsible use and conservation.
  • Review and recommend changes to municipal land use laws that address current and future coastal hazards.

For an example of a vulnerability assessment and resilience planning project for working waterfront infrastructure, see the Penobscot Bay Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Planning Draft Summary report at: Publications | Department of Marine Resources (maine.gov). Shore and Harbor Planning Grant projects are often well prepared to compete for construction funding through other sources. 

Past Coastal Community Grant Projects

Since 2012, this grant program has provided over $2 million for 74 projects throughout coastal Maine. List of Coastal Community Grant Awards (XLSX).

Coastal Community Grant Program Case Studies

At the conclusion of each project, grant recipients prepare a case study to describe the project’s approach and results, identify next steps and needs, share lessons learned and applicability for other municipalities and help identify municipal and regional needs and emerging coastal issues. The case studies focus on sharing lessons learned “in their own words” and can be found on our Coastal Community Grant Case Studies webpage.


Maine's Community Planning & Implementation Grant Programs have been suspended due to state budget cuts

These include first-time comprehensive planning grants, implementation grants, and update grants.

Brownfields

Additional Federal & State Funding Opportunities

  • Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Community Development Block Grant Program Maine's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides funding and technical support for projects that achieve local community and economic development objectives while principally benefiting low-moderate income persons. These grants are administered by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
  • Maine Safe Routes to School Program A matching grant program to improve safety for Maine children who bike or walk to school. Typical improvements include sidewalks, multi-use paths, crosswalks and traffic signals designed to separate children from vehicular traffic in school areas. The program is open to all Maine municipalities and school districts. These grants are administered by the Maine Department of Transportation.
  • Section 319 Program A matching grant program for planning and implrementation of measures to address non-point source water pollution. These grants are administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.