2026 National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF)
General information
NFWF will make investments in planning, design, and implementation of nature-based solutions to enhance protection for coastal communities from the impacts of storms, floods, and other natural hazards while improving habitats for fish and wildlife.
Pre-Proposal Due Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026 by 11:59 PM ET
NCRF is a national program focused on reducing risks to coastal communities. Projects must be located within the coastal areas of U.S. coastal states, including the Great Lakes states, and U.S. territories and Tribal lands. Habitats such as coastal marshes and forests, floodplains, rivers and lakes, dune and beach systems, and oyster and coral reefs can provide communities with enhanced protection and buffering from the growing impacts of coastal hazards, including coastal inundation, changing flood patterns, increased frequency and intensity of storms, and other environmental stressors.
This program is primarily funded by, and coordinated with, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Additional funding is provided by other partners, including Shell USA, Inc. NFWF will also seek to leverage public or private funds that align with the goals of the NCRF projects to extend the impact of this program.
Funding details
Funding application timeline
Grant eligibility
- Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, state and territorial government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Tribal governments and organizations, educational institutions, or commercial (for-profit) organizations.
- Tribal governments include all Native American Tribal governments (both federally recognized tribes and those tribes that are not federally recognized).
- For-profit applicants: please note that this is a request for grant proposals, not a procurement of goods and services; see the Budget section below for specific cost considerations.
- As this program will award grants of federal financial assistance funds, applicants must be able to comply with the OMB guidance in subparts A through F of 2 CFR 200 (OMB Uniform Guidance).
- Ineligible applicants include federal agencies or employees of federal agencies, foreign organizations, foreign public entities, and unincorporated individuals.
Projects must be located within the coastal areas of U.S. coastal states, including the Great Lakes states, and U.S. territories and Tribal lands. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, the eligible project area is defined as all coastal Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 8 watersheds that drain to the sea and any adjacent HUC 8 watersheds that are particularly low-lying or tidally influenced (“coastal areas”); a map of the NCRF geographic footprint can be found here.