Sustainable Community Grants
The City of Sioux Falls Sustainable Community Grants offer local nonprofit organizations the opportunity to engage in sustainability projects that support the City’s Sustainability Program in achieving its mission, “Working together, we will promote a vibrant community through the innovative and wise use of our resources.”
Update: To promote greater transparency, consistency, and accountability in how City funds are awarded to organizations, the Sustainable Community Grants program will transition to a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Additional details about the RFP will be posted on this page soon.
Community organizations interested in applying for a Sustainable Community Grant should continue preparing their materials, including project descriptions and budgets. However, please wait to submit your proposals until the official RFP is released.
Sustainability Grant Categories
All grant projects must support the mission of the Sustainability Program and directly address at least one focus area within the following four categories:
I. Single-Stream Recycling: Support and strengthen single-stream recycling efforts through education, infrastructure, or innovation.
II. Waste Reduction: Promote waste reduction efforts through education, infrastructure, or innovation in the areas of reuse, repair, composting, or food waste reduction.
III. Clean Water: Protect and restore water resources by safeguarding, improving water quality, or promoting water conservation practices.
IV. Sustainable Living: Advance sustainable living by supporting circular economy initiatives, local food systems, community health and resilience, sustainable behaviors, energy conservation, and low-carbon transportation.
Non-profit organizations committed to advancing community-wide sustainability initiatives may be eligible to apply for the City’s Sustainable Community Grant.
What Grant Dollars Have Supported
Sustainable Community Grants began in 2016 with the purpose of partnering with nonprofits to help amplify community-wide sustainability efforts and help meet the City’s Sustainability Program goals. In the past decade, nearly $90,000 has been awarded to local non-profits contributing to Sioux Falls' sustainability.
Reducing Waste
- Thousands of pounds of material were recycled at Sioux Falls summer events
- 15,000 pounds of food waste are diverted from the landfill annually
- 475 tons of construction and building material are diverted from the landfill annually
Water Resource Protection
- 11 river cleanups removed hundreds of pounds of trash and debris
- Rainwater collection system conserves water while watering the urban farm
Food Access
- 20,000 pounds of leftover food each month are redistributed to those in need
- Urban farm teaches 140 elementary students annually to garden and provides
Community Vitality
- 134 families were provided with furniture that has been refurbished, repurposed, cleaned, and delivered
- 1st residential composting program for food scraps creates compost to nourish soil and people
Education
- Hands-on recycling, water quality, and conservation, and composting education
- Tuition assistance for middle-school-aged campers from low-income families to attend a science summer camp