NOAA General Coral Reef Conservation Grants Program | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The NOAA General Coral Reef Conservation Grants Program (GCRCGP) is a competitive federal funding opportunity run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. It is authorized by the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and is designed to support practical, on-the-ground coral reef conservation work in the United States and in the Freely Associated States in the Pacific. The program is structured to back projects that deliver measurable conservation benefits and that align with regional and local priorities rather than duplicating existing government efforts.

At its core, the grant program funds projects that advance four main outcomes. First, it supports efforts to preserve, sustain, and restore coral reef ecosystem condition, which can include actions that directly improve reef health or reduce local stressors. Second, it promotes wise management and sustainable use of coral reef resources, emphasizing approaches that help communities and resource managers balance ecological protection with responsible use. Third, it invests in public knowledge and awareness, recognizing that education and community engagement are often essential for long-term protection and compliance. Fourth, it supports the development of sound scientific information about reef condition and threats, helping decision-makers base management actions on credible monitoring, assessment, and applied research.

NOAA expects proposed projects to complement and fill gaps in state, territorial, and commonwealth coral reef programs, with a strong preference for community-based conservation and projects that address local action strategy priorities. In practical terms, that means applicants should clearly explain what specific need or gap their work addresses, why it matters locally, and how the project connects to existing reef management plans or strategies without overlapping work that is already funded elsewhere.

This opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number NMFS-HCPO-2009-2001494) was offered as a discretionary program using either grants or cooperative agreements as the funding instruments. The catalog listing is CFDA 11.463, Habitat Conservation. The program carried a cost sharing or matching requirement, so applicants needed to plan for some level of non-federal contribution and document it as part of the proposal.

Funding levels in the announcement were relatively small and targeted toward discrete projects. NOAA listed an estimated total program funding amount of $600,000, with individual awards ranging from a $15,000 floor to a $50,000 ceiling. This scale suggests the program was intended to support focused conservation actions, pilot efforts, targeted monitoring, community education campaigns, or other well-defined deliverables that can be completed on a modest budget.

Eligible applicants included institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, commercial organizations, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and government agencies from the Freely Associated States. At the same time, the announcement explicitly excluded U.S. federal agencies as applicants, along with state, territorial, and commonwealth governments and Regional Fishery Management Councils. The eligibility language is important because it signals NOAA was trying to fund non-federal and community or locally driven entities to carry out work on the ground, rather than shifting funds among government agencies.

The announcement also included several compliance and participation guardrails regarding NOAA staff. NOAA employees were not permitted to help write applications or provide letters of support for proposals, which is meant to protect fairness in a competitive process. However, NOAA staff could still provide general guidance on program goals, regional priorities, existing coral reef conservation efforts, and procedural questions about required forms. If a project involved collaboration with an existing NOAA program or NOAA staff, the NOAA employee had to provide a letter verifying that collaboration. The notice further clarified that federal employee travel and salaries were not allowable costs under the program, so budgets needed to be built around non-federal labor and travel or other eligible project expenses.

Timing details in the source indicate the opportunity was posted July 11, 2008, with an application deadline of November 3, 2008, and an archive date of December 3, 2008. For access problems with the full announcement, the listed contact was Steve Drescher, Policy Advisor, at 301-713-0926, with additional instructions directing applicants to the full opportunity announcement for complete requirements and forms.

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