Businesses, nonprofit organizations, schools, government agencies, neighborhoods, condominiums and homeowner associations may apply

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program “is offering up to $10,000 per applicant for projects that focus on increasing wildlife habitat, improving water quality, or implementing environmental education in the Sarasota Bay watershed,” the organization has announced.
Businesses, nonprofits, schools, government agencies, neighborhoods, condominiums and homeowner associations in the Sarasota Bay Watershed may apply for funding, a news release says. Projects will be scored for their environmental benefits and community-building potential, the release adds. Applicants will be notified of awards by the end of May.
“In response to a year of persistent extreme weather, the Sarasota Bay Partners Grant Committee will award additional points to projects involving coastal cleanup initiatives and/or initiatives that reduce pollution, conserve water and energy, or promote community health,” the news release points out with emphasis.
“The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program is a cooperative partnership among communities, researchers, and governments that strives to improve the health of Sarasota Bay and enhance the area’s natural resources for public benefit,” its website explains. “Each of the 28 National Estuary Programs is charged with developing and implementing a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), which establishes priorities for activities, research, and management of the estuary,” the website continues. “The CCMP serves as a blueprint to guide future decisions and actions and addresses a wide range of environmental protection issues and opportunities including water quality, habitat, wildlife, and public access to Bay resources.”
Since 2003, the SBEP has awarded more than $730,000 in Sarasota Bay Partners Grants to support Bay-friendly projects conducted by more than 130 area organizations in Sarasota and Manatee counties, the website points out.

Among the initiatives that received funding in 2024 were as follows:
- $9,970 for the Oyster River Ecology Restoration of Land to Natural Habitat, which entailed removing invasive plants from 4,375 square feet of space.
- $4,327 to The Meadows homeowners association in north Sarasota for the expansion of a five-year-old pond program that has entailed the assessment of 85 ponds and the selection of those “that would benefit the most from native aquatic plantings.”
- $7,450 to the Suncoast Reef Rovers for six underwater clean-up initiatives in Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
- $8,800 to the Environmental Ambassadors program of the nonprofit Suncoast Waterkeeper for a partnership with the Multicultural Health Institute “to create a youth leadership program aimed at addressing environmental justice concerns and communicating the risks of climate change to communities within the Whitaker Bayou watershed” in Sarasota. The Suncoast Waterkeeper website explains, “We are focused on the Whitaker Bayou watershed because Suncoast Waterkeeper has successfully documented polluted water discharged from companies in the industrial corridor and the Multicultural Health Institute has documented the disproportionate health impacts these polluting industries have levied on the surrounding low-income and historically Black community. Resolving these health and environmental issues and communicating the compounding risks of climate change will require training a new and diverse generation of community scientists who are proficient communicators.”
- $10,000 to the Indian Beach-Sapphire Shores Neighborhood Association in north Sarasota for the removal of impervious pavement and the expansion of a community greenway.

Applications for the 2025 grants must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, the SBEP points out. More information, as well as a list of previous projects, may be found on the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program website, sarasotabay.org.
For further information, the release says, contact Megan Barry with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program at 941-955-8085 or megan@sarasotabay.org.