The Urban Trees Grant Program, called for by the Maryland General Assembly as a component of a 5,000,000-tree goal by 2031, welcomes requests for tree planting projects in urban, underserved communities. The goal of the Urban Tree Grant Program is to green communities; enhance quality of life, human health, and community livability by improving air quality and reducing urban heat island effect; and mitigate some of the effects of climate change.

What this funds:

Projects selected for funding must be fully or significantly focused on planting of trees (defined as “implementation”). Section 8–1911 of the Natural Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland allows funds to be used for planning to support the implementation phase and a maintenance phase in addition to implementation. The Trust requires implementation and maintenance phases to be part of all requests to be eligible for funding.

Projects may include other components, such as workforce development activities, but the tangible result of projects selected for funding must be measurable trees in the ground.

Regions of the State in Which Tree Planting Projects Can Occur

• Tree planting proposed must occur in urban areas with low median household income levels, high unemployment, and neighborhoods with housing projects or that were historically red-lined at any time.
• To help determine if a community is eligible, view the online map here: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=4258d3e39f6a47fca146b854c0f01e31.This map was produced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and can be used as a guide.

Who can apply:

Local governments, non-profit organizations, community and homeowner associations, faith-based organizations, and more. Please see the Notice of Intent to Fund for full list of organizations.

How much can be awarded: 

There is no maximum request; however, requests will generally be at the following scales:

• Up to $15,000 for projects serving a single small neighborhood (on the order of 25 to 100 trees)
• Up to $45,000 for projects serving multiple neighborhoods within a community (on the order of 75 to 300 trees)
• Up to $200,000 for projects serving multiple communities (on the order of 300 to 1,000 trees)
• Up to $1,000,000 for projects serving communities across an entire county-scale (on the order of 2,000 to 6,000 trees)

Is match required?

Match is encouraged but not required.

Grant Application Process:

The Chesapeake Bay Trust’s grant applications are all submitted through an online system. If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact this program’s grant manager, Greg Burks, at 410-974-2941 ext. 111.