Did you know that NACD has a grant program that is available only to our loyal members?  

Beginnings of the Programs 

Friends of NACD was first launched in 2010 to provide our community with a way to directly invest in locally led conservation. Supporters jumped at the chance to contribute to this new program. In those first few years many people made contributions at the highest level and became Lifetime supporters of NACD. You can find many of these supporters at our national meetings wearing their handcrafted sterling silver and turquoise “Lifetime” pins. And, you can learn more about supporting Friends of NACD here. 

In 2020 Immediate Past President Kim LaFleur in collaboration with the District Operations and Membership services Committee (now the District and Partner Relations Committee, devised a plan to use these funds in support of districts. NACD was already offering several USDA funded grant programs, like our Technical Assistance Grants that provide substantial funding to districts for hiring additional staff and reducing workload pressure. 

However, NACD didn’t offer any small grant programs that could fund creative one-off projects or help district board and staff learn the basics of grant writing and reporting. This program was created to fill this gap.  

Impact 

Friends of NACD offers $2,500 grants each year to districts with ideas for innovative approaches to locally led conservation. When creating this program, the committee wanted to encourage proposals that could expand districts’ operations into new areas and bring in new steams of revenue. 

Since Its inception Friends of NACD has funded 39 different districts across 27 states and given out nearly $96,000. These grants have gone to virtually every aspect of locally led conservation – funding educations programs, invasive plant initiatives, plant sales, water testing programs, and more.  

One of Friends of NACD’s biggest success stories comes from the first year the grants were awarded in 2020. Richland SWCD in South Carolina used their grant to start a free vegetable, herb, and wildflower seed sharing program available to all residents in the county. The Seed Sanctuary operates to this day, distributes 100s of seed packets every year, and Richland SWCD has even started their own membership program to support this project.  

This year, Gwinnett County SWCD used their Friends of NACD grant to partner with the Georgia Association of Water Professionals and hold a “train the trainer” workshop for addressing eroding stream banks. Within hours of registration opening the 42 seats in the workshop filled up. By the time the event came around, 30 people were on the waitlist. Gwinnett County SWCD is working on holding another event later this year to meet demand. 

Applying for a Grant 

In early October we’ll be opening our sixth round of Friends of NACD grants. Then, the District and Partner Relations Committee and NACD staff will review applications. After this selective review process, we will announce the FY26 Friends of NACD grantees at our Annual Meeting in San Antonio.  

Applicants can apply for up to $2,500 to fund a new or innovative project that will expand the district’s operations, help them engage with new participants, or generate income for the district. Any district that has paid membership dues at any level in FY25 and has not received a Friends of NACD grant in the past is eligible to apply.  

If you have any questions about your district’s eligibility to apply or the Friends of NACD grant process, please reach out to jackson-moody[at]nacdnet.org.  

Scotts Miracle Gro Foundation 

We also want to give a shoutout to our Friends of NACD sponsor, The Scotts Miracle Gro Foundation! Scotts has been a longtime supporter of NACD and began supporting NACD’s Urban and Community Conservation Webinars in 2013. In 2025 they expanded their support to include the Friends of NACD program, and we thank them for helping us deliver eight grants to our member districts at our 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. 

Tags: Did You Know?, Friends of NACD