Clean Water Workforce Capacity Development (CWWCD) Block Grant

The Clean Water Workforce Capacity Development (CWWCD) Block Grant, administered by Watersheds United Vermont, aims to enhance the capabilities of clean water organizations in Vermont. This funding promotes equitable access for under-resourced entities to engage in essential clean water projects. The grant supports activities that foster community engagement, streamline administrative processes, and cultivate a diverse workforce in clean water project management, ultimately leading to increased effectiveness and impact in local clean water initiatives.

Background
Watersheds United Vermont (WUV) is administering funding under Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Clean Water Workforce Capacity Development (CWWCD) Block Grant to support and invest in the capacity of our clean water partners in Vermont, both current and potential, in an equitable and inclusive way to address unmet capacity needs and ensure a strong partnership network that continues to efficiently deliver high quality and high priority clean water projects.
This grant is meant to build capacity in under-resourced entities to increase their ability to engage in more clean water projects, engage in more complex clean water projects, or propel others to do clean water projects.
Objectives
The goal of this program is to fund capacity activities that contribute to at least one of the following three broad objectives categories:
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP)  seeks to fund activities that help clean water workforce organizations catalyze  community engagement, relationship building, and enhanced representation. This may include: activities that increase the organization’s presence in the community or grow the community's awareness or knowledge of the organization, activities that  grow community commitment and interest in  the organization's clean water efforts,  activities that inspire the clean water efforts of  others, activities that help an organization sustain relationships over time, and activities that diversify and build audience inclusion or that increase a community’s representation within organizational decision-making. Examples:Develop and implement a strategic and responsive communications plan  Hire a communications professional or a “community liaison” to reach new audiences Implement education campaigns or materials development (including websites, mobile apps, recorded webinar series, guidebooks, fact sheets, and resource libraries on content such as water quality conservation benefits and  practices, research trials, regulatory requirements, grant opportunities, innovative practices and initiatives) Host or perform outreach at in-person or virtual workshops, events, and trainings  Design and deliver enhanced volunteer recruitment and training to grow the size and skillset of an organization's volunteer network. This might include volunteer recruitment efforts and tools, training opportunities, more  volunteer days, or hiring a volunteer coordinator.  Foster stronger personal relationships with landowners through one-on-one technical assistance Support board stipends to incentivize participation on boards from community members who would not otherwise be able to join, with an aim of making the board more representative of the community the organization  serves. Invest in customer management database tools to better track and record prior landowner conversations and relationships. CWIP seeks to fund activities that help clean water workforce organizations transition  administrative, financial, and fundraising roles and processes towards sustainable and  streamlined solutions. This may include: activities that shift administrative, financial  and fundraising responsibilities away from programmatic staff, activities that increase an organization's administrative, financial and fundraising competencies, or activities that help organizations streamline administrative, financial and fundraising work.Examples:Hire or contract with development or financial management/bookkeeping professionals who are knowledgeable in nonprofit and governmental budgeting, fundraising, and accounting. Hire or contract with human resource or administrative professionals. Contract with a legal or human resource expert to vet personnel and other policies Attend external trainings for staff, volunteers, or board members in topics including payroll planning, project and organizational budgeting and nonprofit and governmental accounting, and calculating/negotiating indirect and  billable rates. Perform a financial audit Document Standard Operating Procedures for certain administrative or financial processes Update sales platforms or accounting software Support programmatic personnel expenses during gaps in project work to provide longer term stability in personnel planning CWIP seeks to fund activities that support professional development and a workforce  pipeline for careers in clean water project management. This may include: activities that focus on recruitment and on-boarding of a  diverse “next generation” workforce, activities that support professional development and training in clean water project topics, and activities that strengthen peer-peer and co learning networks.Examples:Attend trainings in a range of clean water project topics for staff to grow skills or knowledge in clean water project  implementation.  Support personnel hours for new programmatic staff unable to charge time to existing project-based grants or while shadowing seasoned staff on tag-along or mentorship days.  Develop formal onboarding procedures and training materials, or human resource systems that encourage  professional development growth plans.  Develop Clean Water Project Management Standard Operating Procedures or best practices and considerations to  train new staff in.  Perform staff recruitment in new and diverse venues. Host a collaborative project demonstration day for peers
Each capacity activity must lead to one of the following 3 impacts types:
Our organization is able to perform more clean water workOur organization is able to perform more complex clean water workOur organization is more effective at propelling the clean water efforts of others

Eligibility

Eligible Entities Vermont municipalitiesRegional planning commissionsNatural resource conservation districtsNon-profit organizationsState agenciesState colleges and universitiesPublic hospitals and medical centersPublic schools

Ineligibility

Ineligible EntitiesPrivate citizens, individualsPrivate for-profit businesses and industriesPrivate for-profit colleges and universitiesFederal agenciesIneligible Costs State and Federal To cover costs associated with regulatory compliance, fines, or penalties To cover costs related to the defense of any civil or criminal fraud proceeding or similar proceeding To cover debt interest payments or to cover bad debt To pay for goods or services for employees’ personal use To pay for charitable contributions or donations To pay for certain commercial insurance To pay membership costs for any social club To cover certain “above and beyond” travel expenses like first class accommodationsTo pay entertainment expenses To purchase alcoholic beverages To pay for for-profit advertising designed to promote the services or products of a for profit contractor To support legislative advocacy or lobbying of any kind (including membership costs for any organization whose primary purpose is lobbying) To populate an endowment Ineligible Costs Federal OnlyTo produce for-profit products (for an eligible entity)To pay for for-profit advertising designed to promote the subgrantee or its products, including the cost of promotional goods To cover direct fundraising efforts, including expenses incurred to raise capital or solicit contributions (including hiring or contracting with a development specialist or grant writer) To purchase food or beverage