Grants
The Foundation's grants primarily support independent, objective research that will inform scientific understanding, management, and policy decisions about the Hudson River Estuary.
Grants and Programs
The Foundation administers a number of distinct grant programs, each with its own purpose and application process. The Hudson River Fund supports scientific research by leading scholars and students. The Foundation's Small Grants Program funds local public access, education, and stewardship activities. Funds made available through the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program support a range of restoration, public access and stewardship and citizen science activities. See each specific program for details.
Open Calls
– Community Resilience
Community resilience to extreme weather events—from acute events like hurricanes and drought to long-term changes such as sea level rise, warming temperatures, and altered precipitation patterns—is increasingly needed as the frequency and magnitude of severe weather patterns are expected to grow. To meet these challenges, the Hudson River Foundation and the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) support federal, state, and local government and civic efforts working to reduce coastal erosion and flooding, manage stormwater and cloudburst events, and establish green infrastructure and natural and nature-based resiliency features. These projects can also deliver important water quality, habitat, public access, and other co-benefits, as outlined in HEP’s’ 2025-2035 Action Agenda.
Request for Proposals: Building Community Capacity for Resiliency
– Habitat Restoration
The New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary is a complex ecological system at the heart of the nation’s largest metropolitan area. Following targets established in the Hudson Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan, the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program supports restoration, research, and planning projects that help enhance and protect this vibrant habitat.
Request for Proposals: Advancing Habitat Restoration with Community
– Sturgeon Net Conservation Benefit (SNCB) Program
The Hudson River Foundation in collaboration with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is developing and implementing a series of research projects to advance understanding of sturgeon movements and use of habitats and migration pathways in NY Harbor and the Hudson River. Collectively, these research projects will fill information and knowledge gaps and support the development of conservation measures designed to protect critical sturgeon habitat areas and reduce the risk of vessel strikes to sturgeon.
Letters of intent were due via ProposalCentral October 29th at 5pm Eastern Time.
Grant Programs
– Champlain Hudson Environmental Trust (CHET)
CHET was established as part of New York State’s approval of the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission project. The Trust will develop and implement research and projects designed to protect, restore, and improve the aquatic habitats and fisheries resources in these water bodies.
– Lower Esopus Stream Management Plan Grants (LE-SMP)
The Hudson River Foundation (HRF or the Foundation) was selected in 2013 to serve in an administrative, fiduciary and programmatic role to support the implementation of the Lower Esopus Stream Management Plan (Order on Consent No: D007-0001-11 with New York City as amended in 2023). HRF’s role includes supporting environmental benefit projects as part of a local funding program to address impacts that may be associated with turbidity in the Lower Esopus Stream.
The Foundation anticipates that there will be up to $500,000 available in the 2025 solicitation. Interested applicants from municipalities and non-profit organizations are invited to submit a brief letter of interest (LOI). The LOIs will be reviewed and those that meet the general criteria outlined below will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Letters of Intent were due Friday, August 8, 2025 at 5PM Eastern Time.
– Greening in the Harlem River Watershed
The New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) seeks applications for a feasibility study to address stormwater and erosion concerns in two parks in the Harlem River watershed. This funding opportunity will support the awardee in the assessment and conceptual design for solutions in Fort Independence Park and Mosholu Parkway.
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
– Social Science Research Program
The Foundation’s new social science research program is guided by our 2024 Strategic Plan. It focuses on studying multiple modes of human engagement to address the social-ecological challenges faced by the Hudson River watershed. We are interested in proposals that examine the relationships and feedbacks among different stakeholders interacting with the Hudson River watershed, the associated impacts, and connections to decision making.
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
– Hudson River Ecosystem Monitoring Program (HREMP)
The HREMP will build on historical Hudson River monitoring data sets and fill important data and knowledge gaps to enhance management of the Hudson River fisheries and understanding of the ecosystem they depend upon.
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
– Hudson River Fund Research Grants
The Foundation seeks to elucidate the dynamic interactions among the biological, chemical, physical and human processes that are important to the Hudson River ecosystem. In particular, the Foundation encourages research in areas that are both scientifically important and relevant to current or anticipated public policy and resource management issues affecting the River and its watershed.
The next HR Fund call for proposals is expected to be released in spring 2026.
– Tibor T. Polgar Undergraduate Fellowship
The Foundation is continuously evaluating all our programs to better understand and amplify the impacts we wish to achieve. Over the next year, we will be working with our partners at NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to examine the Polgar Fellowship Program to determine how best to meet the needs of students going forward.
The program will be on hiatus in 2025 as we complete this assessment.
– Wetland Recontamination Literature Review
The New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program’s (HEP’s) Restoration Work Group seeks a researcher or team of researchers to conduct a scientific literature review on the relative risks and benefits of urban wetland restoration to wildlife in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. For more information about this program and how to submit a letter of interest please click learn more below.
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
– Artist in Residence
In 2025, the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program and the Lower Passaic River and Bronx/Harlem Rivers Urban Waters Federal Partnerships sought artists to apply to our Artist in Residence programs, intended to engage community members in both Urban Waters locations around critical water challenges and other environmental concerns. For more information about these two programs, click learn more below.
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
– New Jersey American Eel Monitoring Grant
The New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program supports the monitoring of American eels during their spring migration in the tributaries of New Jersey. These grants can support capacity building but must result in data collection during the spring glass eel migration (February-May).
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
Learn more about eel monitoring by clicking "Learn more" below.
– City of Water Day
City of Water Day is an annual celebration dedicated to enjoying our shared waterways. The theme for 2025 centered on connecting NY and NJ communities in a celebration of our interconnected waters and a commitment to a brighter, more climate resilient future.
This grant opportunity is not currently accepting applications.
For more information about City of Water Day visit CityOfWaterDay.org
