Hudson River Improvement Fund
In 1985, the Hudson River Foundation received $1.5 millionfrom the State of New York to establish the Hudson River Improvement Fund from monies originally paid to New York to settle litigation concerning the out-of-state export of Hudson River water by oil tankers. Through the combined efforts of Hudson River environmental organizations, including Scenic Hudson, the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association (now Riverkeeper) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Improvement Fund was created to support projects that promote the enhancement of public use and enjoyment of the natural, scenic and cultural resources of the Hudson River and its shores - with an emphasis on physical projects that require capital construction, development or improvement.
Examples of projects that may be considered for funding include:
- PUBLIC ACCESS-- Development or improvement of facilities that increase public physical or visual access to the Hudson River, including but not limited to docks, boats, piers and shorefront access points. In the 2010 funding cycle, HRIF especially encourages proposals for projects directed toward the development of environmentally sensitive community docks that can accommodate a variety of public vessels as well as canoes, kayaks, and other hand-powered craft.
- HABITAT -- Repair, restoration or creation of habitat.
- EDUCATION FACILITIES -- Development or improvement (and equipping) of facilities suitable for Hudson River education programs -- such as interpretive centers, marsh boardwalks or waterfront classrooms.
HRIF has a special interest in projects that promote accessibility
2010 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
HRIF requests that proposals be assembled and sent electronically in one complete PDF file. The file name should be the applicant organization's name. The complete electronic file must be received by the Foundation by 5:00pm, Monday, April 26, 2010.
Additionally, six
complete hard copies (including one signed original) should be mailed
and
postmarked no later than Monday,
April 26, 2010 to:
Hudson River
Foundation
Hudson River
Improvement
Fund
17 Battery Place, Suite
915
New York, NY 10004
Applicants having difficulty putting all or part of their proposals into electronic format should contact the Foundation at 212-483-7667.
The proposal file should contain:
- HRIF Proposal Form. Please
note, you can type directly in this form and that you need Adobe
Acrobat Reader version 9 or later to save it. Read the Proposal Form Instructions
for more information.
- A copy of the organization's tax exemption certificate under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code or an indication that the applicant is a subdivision of a government unit
- Where appropriate: graphic representations of the project, such as maps, photos, plans, drawings, etc.; studies which support the need for the project, such as engineering or architectural studies; letters of support
If you have any questions regarding the application procedure, please contact us at 212-483-7667 or info@hudsonriver.org.
Requests for
funding in the 2010 grant cycle
will undoubtedly be far greater than the funds available. Applicants
are therefore encouraged to seek matching funds and provide in-kind
services whenever possible. The typical grant awarded by the Hudson
River Improvement Fund will be under $10,000.
The Fund is particularly interested in projects that will have a
lasting impact on waterfront access, education, and habitat
restoration. The Fund discourages applications for festivals
or other one-time events unless such events are demonstrably related to
the accomplishment of projects enhancing public access or achieving
another HRIF purpose.
Please note, you can type directly in this form and that you need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 9 or later to save it. Read the Proposal Form Instructions for more information.
2009 Grants
| Organization | Project | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Park City Parks Conservancy | For speakers' and performers' stipends and advertizing for Quadricentennial related programs in Battery Park City Park along the Hudson River | Manhattan, NY | $4,500 |
| Beacon Sloop Club | To replace the centerboard trunk of the Ferry Sloop Woody Guthrie | Beacon, NY | $6,000 |
| Beczak Environmental Education Center | For pre-development of an outdoor interactive classroom on the Beczak Center property | Yonkers, NY | $5,000 |
| Children's Museum of Science & Technology | To create a walkway from the Kline Plantasies Killitie trail to the DeFreest house and barn | Troy, NY | $2,500 |
| Children's Media Project | Toward the development of "Walking History," an interactive hand-held game focusing on the Poughkeepsie waterfront district | Poughkeepsie, NY | $5,000 |
| Hudson River Sloop Clearwater | To update and reprint the "Clearwater Hudson River Guide to Fishes" | Poughkeepsie, NY | $5,000 |
| Columbia Land Conservancy | To complete the trailhead and connection between the Greenport Town Park and the Greenport Conservation Area | Greenport, NY | $4,000 |
| Earth Celebrations | To provide partial funding to produce a Quadricentennial commemorative "Hudson River Pageant: Art & Ecology Project" | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Going Coastal, Inc. | To create a Wiki type web site that would allow contributors to post information on all aspects of the Hudson River | Manhattan, NY | $1,000 |
| Governors Island Alliance/RPA | To assist in funding the "Yankee Pier" dedication and celebration on Governors Island | Manhattan, NY | $4,000 |
| Groundwork Hudson Valley | For classroom amenities, signage and equipment for the Science Barge docked in Yonkers | Yonkers, NY | $3,000 |
| Historic Hudson Valley | To complete production and distribution of the educational supplement, "The Hudson-Fulton Celebration: New York's River Festival of 1909 and the Making of a Metropolis" | Tarrytown, NY | $2,500 |
| Hudson Highlands Nature Museum | To produce a series of eight Quadricentennial focused programs: six for the general public and two education programs offered to school groups at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum | Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY | $3,000 |
| Hudson Highlands Land Trust | To replace the lighting along the waterfront in the Village of Cold Spring | Cold Spring, NY | $2,000 |
| Hudson River Park Trust | To create and install a replica Native American dugout canoe exhibit at the northern point (14th St) of the Hudson River Park's Native American plant trail | Manhattan, NY | $4,000 |
| Hudson River Community Sailing | To purchase safety equipment to be used during Hudson River Community Sailing's programs | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Town of Lloyd | For a new roof for the Environmental Education Center at Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park | Lloyd, NY | $5,000 |
| Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance | For site selection and planning costs in connection with dock site location studies for proposed town docks in New York City | New York, NY | $10,000 |
| Mid-Hudson Children's Museum | To construct a peregrine falcon monitoring station as part of the Museum's "River of Life River of Change" exhibit | Poughkeepsie, NY | $3,500 |
| National Museum of the American Indian | To produce a three day public education initiative, "One River-Many Journeys" to serve as a companion to the permanent exhibit "Infinity of Nations" | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Newburgh Rowing Club | To provide free after school and summer environmental education and rowing programs to young people and adults, for youth leader training and materials | Newburgh, NY | $3,000 |
| The New York Public Library | For programming geared towards young adults related to the exhibit "Mapping New York's Shoreline from 1609 to 2009," to be presented at libraries in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| New York Harbor School | To construct an Eco Dock for use on Governor's Island, the new home of the New York Harbor School | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| New York/New Jersey Baykeeper | For oysters and equipment to expand the Baykeeper's Oyster Gardening program in New York City | New York, NY | $3,000 |
| Palisades Interstate Park Commission | For two interpretive signs to be placed along the New Jersey section of the Palisades Interstate Park | Alpine, NJ | $3,000 |
| Rensselaer County | For amenities, interpretive signage, trail maps and improvments to the parking lot at the Papscanee Island Nature Preserve | East Greenbush, NY | $5,000 |
| Riverkeeper, Inc. | To replace the fuel tank on the Riverkeeper's vessel | Tarrytown, NY | $5,000 |
| Rocking the Boat | To purchase equipment to outfit Rocking the Boat's On-Water Job Skills Classroom/Laboratory | Bronx, NY | $5,000 |
| Save Our Ships New York | To repair the heat exchangers on the historic fireboat John J. Harvey | Manhattan, NY | $4,500 |
| South Street Seaport Museum | To purchase an AC electric generator for the Pioneer, needed for refrigeration and hot water and for science lab equipment | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Tug Pegasus Preservation Project | For engine room work to prepare the Tug Pegasus for the "Tug and Barge Tour 2009" | New York, NY | $8,000 |
| Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy | For operating expenses, outreach, and supplies for the EnviroMedia Mobile | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| Walkway Over the Hudson | For bike racks for the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge | Poughkeepsie, NY | $2,000 |
| Waterford Maritime Historical Society | For repairs to the Tug Chancellor to allow it to take part in the "Working on Water" historic vessel tour | Waterford, NY | $2,000 |
| Waterfront Museum | For repairs to the Waterfront Museum's Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 |
| Wave Hill | To produce a companion catalogue for the exhibition, "The Muhheakantuck in Focus" | Bronx, NY | $5,000 |
