The Microplastics Institute is a program of Seaside Sustainability, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit bringing together environmental research, education, workforce development, community science, and public engagement through six interconnected divisions.
At the Institute’s core is research. Through standardized sampling protocols, environmental monitoring, laboratory analysis, quality assurance, academic collaboration, and a growing global network of community scientists, we are building the infrastructure to dramatically expand the collection of credible microplastics data.
We are at an important point of growth. Expanding this research, scientific capacity, data collection, and participation will require significant funding, and federal and state grants represent an important opportunity.
Our challenge is determining where to focus our efforts. There are numerous government programs that could potentially support our research, environmental monitoring, community science, education, workforce development, and data infrastructure, but identifying the opportunities with the strongest alignment requires specialized knowledge and significant research.
We are seeking an experienced federal and/or state grant professional to help us identify, evaluate, and prioritize our strongest government funding opportunities. Rather than pursuing many possibilities, we want to develop a focused strategy that considers eligibility, program alignment, funding potential, deadlines, competitiveness, partnership requirements, and application complexity.
This project will help us determine where the Institute should invest its limited grant-development resources and identify the strongest near-term opportunities to move forward.
The pro bono consultant will work with our team to develop a focused, actionable federal and state grant funding strategy for the Microplastics Institute.
After becoming familiar with the Institute’s research, environmental monitoring, community science, education, workforce development, and data-collection initiatives, the consultant will research relevant federal and state funding programs and identify the opportunities offering the strongest potential.
The primary deliverable will be a prioritized pipeline of approximately 8–12 high-potential federal and state grant opportunities. For each opportunity, we would like key information including the funding agency and program, funding range, eligibility, anticipated deadline or funding cycle, major requirements, partnership or cost-share requirements, alignment with Institute programs, and a brief rationale for pursuing—or not pursuing—the opportunity.
The consultant will then help identify approximately 3–5 highest-priority opportunities and recommend which near-term opportunity should be pursued first. Where appropriate, recommendations should also identify whether an academic, municipal, nonprofit, or other partner would strengthen or be required for the application.
This project does not include writing multiple grant applications. Its purpose is to give the Institute a clear roadmap for where to focus its grant-development efforts and to identify the strongest opportunity to advance into a separate grant-writing project.
Success will mean having a well-researched, prioritized government funding pipeline and a clear recommendation for our next federal or state grant application.