Keep Maryland Beautiful: Track 1: Community Stewardship (up to $5,000) Grant

The Keep Maryland Beautiful Grant Program, led by the Maryland Environmental Trust and partners, offers Community Stewardship Grants of up to $5,000. These grants focus on empowering schools and nonprofits to engage community members, particularly youth, in environmental education and stewardship. By fostering citizen involvement and innovative solutions, the program aims to address local environmental issues, promote awareness, and enhance community well-being through hands-on projects.

​The Maryland Environmental Trust in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation​, Maryland Department of Agriculture​​ ​as well as the Chesapeake Bay Trust​ presents the Keep Maryland Beautiful Grant Program. Grants through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program help volunteer-based, nonprofit groups, communities and land trusts in Maryland to support environmental education projects, litter removal, citizen stewardship and to protect natural resources in urban and rural areas.
Community Stewardship Grant
Recognizing this, Maryland Environmental Trust, Forever Maryland and the Maryland Department of Transportation annually award Keep Maryland Beautiful Community Stewardship Grants to schools, nonprofits, and other community organizations that are working to eliminate local environmental problems, encourage stewardship of the environment, and educate community members. The Community Stewardship Grants honor the legacy of Bill James, who drafted the legislation that founded Maryland Environmental Trust, and Margaret Rosch Jones, former executive director of the Keep Maryland Beautiful Program.
Community Stewardship Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to schools, nonprofits and other community organizations whose missions are centered upon directly engaging community members (especially children and young adults) in environmental education and stewardship. These grants also support organizations that are demonstrating active engagement as defenders of the environment by developing innovative solutions to local environmental problems. Proposed projects should activate citizens and encourage stewardship through education and outreach while elevating awareness of local environmental problems and working to reduce them.
The objectives of the grants are:
To inspire and empower young people to become caretakers of their local environment and community through hands-on, project-based learningTo support and encourage the ongoing work of organizations that have been active in educating fellow community members about environmental issues such as litter prevention, local stewardship and beautification, or other local and statewide environmental issuesTo help community organizations identify and eliminate the root causes of local environmental issues, rather than just their consequencesTo encourage thoughtful consideration of local land use and development that preserves natural capitalTo preserve natural areas and create a sense of place in communities

Eligibility

Citizen Stewardship Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to schools, nonprofits and other community organizations whose missions are centered upon directly engaging community members (especially children and young adults) in environmental education and stewardship. These grants also support organizations that are demonstrating active engagement as defenders of the environment by developing innovative solutions to local environmental problems. Proposed projects should activate citizens and encourage stewardship through education and outreach while elevating awareness of local environmental problems and working to reduce them.