Since 2002, U.S. EPA has supported implementation of the Exchange Network through the Exchange Network Grant Program, which provides funding for states, tribes, and territories. For complete official information, visit EPA’s Exchange Network Grants website. The purpose of the Exchange Network (EN) grant program is to foster better environmental management and decision-making through increased access to timely, high quality, environmental information.
FY25 Grant Competition Update
In March of 2025, the Exchange Network Grant Program began revising the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice (SN), as originally published in January of 2025, in accordance with updated Agency priorities. To allow time for these revisions, the competition was initially extended until April 30th, with potential applicants being informed that a revised Solicitation Notice would be made available as soon as possible. The posted solicitation notice closed on April 30th.
EPA is continuing to work through new processes and anticipates being able to post a revised FY25 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice when available in the future. The new applicant due date will be carefully considered to ensure sufficient time for applicants to review the new guidance and update/submit their applications accordingly.
Applicants who have already submitted an application for the FY25 cycle will be able to resubmit their application, with the updated requirements, following the publication of the revised FY25 EN Solicitation Notice. We apologize for this inconvenience.
Please note that the new FY25 EN Solicitation Notice, once published to Grants.gov, will be the official Notice, with the most up-to-date information and applicant instructions. Applicants are encouraged to keep a close eye on the EPA EN website (https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork) for further updates.
For more information, please contact:
Erin McGown
EN Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Email: [email protected]
FY 2025 Exchange Network Grant Solicitation Notice
Please see the update notice above for critical information about a pending adjustment to the FY25 EN Grant Due Date and Project Strategic Alignment.
U.S. EPA has published the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice (SN) to Grants.gov at: EPA-OMS-25-01, Fiscal Year 2025 National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program Solicitation Notice. Applications are due in grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Monday, March 24th, 2025. Additional guidance tools, including optional fillable templates for the cover letter, project narrative (work plan), and budget narrative attachment form, plus a budget calculation tool, are also available through the grants.gov listing and on EPA’s EN website.
Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the new FY25 SN, as updates have been made since the FY24 version. Applicants can view a general summary of these changes on the EPA website under the ‘Solicitation Notice’ section. EPA plans to hold applicant webinars in the upcoming weeks; more information will be provided shortly and posted to the EPA website in the ‘Webinar Series’ section.
The purpose of the Exchange Network (EN) grant program is to foster better environmental management and decision-making through increased access to timely, high quality, environmental information. An applicant’s proposed project goals and outputs should align with one or more EN Funding Areas as described in Section 3A of the SN and EPA’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan:
https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan. Applicants are encouraged to read the Solicitation Notice carefully for further information on applicant requirements.
EPA expects to award 30-35 grants of up to $600,000 each, totaling approximately $9,500,000 in FY25. The exact number of grants awarded will depend on the number of applications submitted to EPA by the application deadline, the amounts of proposed project budgets, and the quality of proposals. Please be aware: award funding thresholds have increased from prior years by $100,000. Individual applicants can now request up to $400,000 and eligible EN partnerships can request up to $600,000.
EPA only accepts project proposals for EN grants submitted electronically through Grants.gov, unless applicants have a waiver. Please allow for enough time to successfully submit your application and allow for unexpected errors requiring you to resubmit. EPA anticipates that it will announce selection decisions around July 2025, and tentatively plans to issue awards by October 2025.
EN Grant Applicant Webinars
In support of the FY 2025 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, the EPA will host two general informational webinars (from 3:00-4:30 pm ET on February 27 and March 6) and one Tribal informational webinar (from 3:00-4:30 pm ET on March 4) to help potential applicants better understand the EN grant program and the requirements for applying for an EN assistance agreement. For information on joining the webinars, visit the EPA website.
Previous Grant Recipients
Information on previous Exchange Network grant awards is available at http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/previous-exchange-network-grant-projects.
Contact
Erin McGown
Exchange Network Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Email: ENGrantProgram [at] epa.gov