California State Grants

CA Energy Commission · Amount varies

Open to businesses, individuals, public agencies, and tribal governments, this California Energy Commission program provides matching (cost-share) funds to support applicants pursuing federal geothermal energy funding opportunities. It targets energy science, technology, and R&D projects. Award amounts are not stated; applicants should consult the application manual, and because it is a cost-share program, recipients must secure the corresponding federal award.

State Treasurer's Office · Amount varies

Administered by California's State Treasurer's Office, this federally funded Charter School Facilities Credit Enhancement program provides grants to fully or partially fund debt service reserve accounts on bonds issued through the Authority, reducing borrowing costs for charter schools. Eligible applicants are nonprofits and public agencies (charter schools and related entities); individuals and for-profit businesses are not eligible. No award range or deadline is listed.

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy · Amount varies

Nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments may apply for this California (Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy) funding tied to the Randall Preserve. It supports work that reduces climate impacts on disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations and that creates, protects, or expands outdoor recreation opportunities. Funds must be encumbered or spent by June 30, 2028, and the program is specific to this preserve, so it is geographically narrow. No award range or application deadline is stated; contact the Conservancy for details.

Wildlife Conservation Board · Amount varies

The Oak Woodlands Conservation program from California's Wildlife Conservation Board is open to nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments; individuals and businesses cannot apply. It funds local efforts to protect and sustain oak woodlands while supporting compatible ranching and farming operations. Funding amounts are not listed, and the program is focused on California oak woodland conservation.

CA Energy Commission · Amount varies

The California Energy Commission provides cost-share funding to help applicants match awards they receive (or follow-on funding) from eligible federal clean energy funding opportunities such as DOE grants. It is broadly open to businesses, individuals, nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments, but you must first apply for or have an active eligible federal award — retroactive cost share for already-completed federal awards is not eligible. The list of qualifying federal opportunities is updated continuously; no award range or deadline is listed.

Air Resources Board · Up to $10M

California Air Resources Board's Electric Bicycle Incentives Project (EBIP) seeks a single grantee (administrator) to run a program providing e-bike purchase incentives to income-qualified, low-income consumers. Eligible applicants are nonprofits and public agencies only; individuals and businesses cannot apply to administer it, and the maximum award is up to $10,000,000. Note the application instructions reference a past deadline (May 11, 2022), so confirm the current status before applying.

State Treasurer's Office · Amount varies

California's Sales and Use Tax Exclusion (STE) Program lets eligible manufacturers exclude qualifying equipment purchases from state and local sales and use taxes when building or upgrading facilities for advanced manufacturing, recycling, alternative energy, or advanced transportation. Businesses, individuals, nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments may apply, but the project must occur in California and involve qualified manufacturing property. This is a tax-exclusion benefit rather than a cash grant, so confirm the qualifying-property and project requirements with CAEATFA before applying.

Department of Housing and Community Development · Amount varies

Nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments can apply for California HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds to support affordable housing for low- and very-low-income households. Funds (as loans/grants) cover program activities such as first-time homebuyer assistance, owner-occupied rehabilitation, and tenant-based rental assistance. This reopened NOFA distributes unclaimed 2024 funds over-the-counter on a first-come, first-served basis until exhausted, so timing matters; awards are limited to California and to projects serving households at or below 80% of Area Median Income.

Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy · Amount varies

Nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments may apply to this Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy program funding climate-adaptation and nature-based projects within the Coachella Valley and surrounding mountains, such as land acquisition, habitat and watershed restoration, wildfire risk reduction, and expanded park and trail access. The geographic limit to the Coachella Valley area is a key restriction, and projects benefiting disadvantaged or vulnerable communities receive priority. Applications start with a Letter of Intent (Pre-Application Consultation Form); matching funds are not required but are viewed favorably. Funding amounts and deadlines are not stated.

State Treasurer's Office · $1–$135M

Eligibility is restricted to 13 specific children's hospitals named in California's Proposition 4 (eight private nonprofit hospitals and five University of California hospitals); no other organizations qualify. The program funds capital improvement projects, with grant awards capped at $135 million per private nonprofit hospital and $54 million per UC hospital, less issuance and administrative costs. Applications are accepted on a rolling monthly basis through June 30, 2033.

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy · Amount varies

Nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments may apply to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's Proposition 4 Nature-Based program, which funds projects that protect biodiversity, restore landscape health, or advance California's climate goals. To qualify, projects must also reduce climate change risks to communities, fish and wildlife, or natural resources, or increase public access to nature, and must satisfy specific Proposition 4 statutory sections. Funding amounts and deadlines are not stated, and projects are tied to the Conservancy's California service area.

Department of Toxic Substances Control · Amount varies

Open to nonprofits, tribal entities, and local governments that are not potentially liable under CERCLA, this program provides Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grants to assess or clean up contaminated brownfield sites the applicant owns. Important: the listing states that in 2023 there was insufficient funding and the Department of Toxic Substances Control was not accepting applications, so confirm current availability before applying. Award amounts are not specified.

Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery · $500K–$4M

Businesses and nonprofits in California may apply to CalRecycle's Empty Glass Beverage Transportation Grant Program, which funds projects that move empty glass beverage containers by rail to CalRecycle-certified glass processing facilities. Eligible costs include rail transportation equipment, supplies, transport costs, new or upgraded rail lines, and directly related personnel. Awards range from roughly $500,000 to $4,000,000, but all projects and transportation must be located in and originate from California, a significant geographic restriction. No deadline is stated.

Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery · Amount varies

California's CalRecycle Recycling Market Development Zone Revolving Loan Program offers financing (a loan, not a grant) to recycling-related businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies that prevent, reduce, or recycle waste through value-added processing or manufacturing. Applicants must be California-based and located within a designated Recycling Market Development Zone, which limits eligibility geographically. Award amounts are not specified.

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy · Amount varies

Administered by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy under California's Proposition 68, this program funds river-related projects that benefit severely disadvantaged communities. Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments; individuals and businesses do not qualify. Specific award amounts and deadlines are not stated, and projects must meet the program's geographic and severely-disadvantaged-community requirements.

Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy · Amount varies

The Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy funds the acquisition of mountainous or natural conservation lands in California's Coachella Valley and surrounding mountains, and in limited cases capital improvements on existing conservation lands. Eligible applicants are nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments; the program is geographically restricted to the Coachella Valley area. Matching funds are preferred but not required, and priority goes to acquisitions supporting the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. No award amounts or deadline are listed.

Department of Public Health · Amount varies

California Department of Public Health's Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Reinvestment Grant funds projects that improve the lives of skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents, such as person-centered care, infection-control training, and arts/engagement programs. Eligibility is broad, including businesses, individuals, nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments. Note that research-only projects, capital improvements, staff salaries, and high-cost technology are not fundable; projects run up to 36 months and applicants must use the CDPH template.

Department of Toxic Substances Control · Up to $2.5M

This is a loan program (not a grant) from California's Department of Toxic Substances Control, listed here as eligible to public agencies. It provides loans up to $2,500,000 to investigate, clean up, and redevelop abandoned or underutilized urban properties contaminated with hazardous materials. Applicants must have no disqualifying felony/misdemeanor convictions related to hazardous materials, fraud, or similar offenses, and no violations of environmental orders; funds are reimbursed against documented eligible costs and must be repaid over up to seven years.

Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank · Amount varies

California's Infrastructure State Revolving Fund (ISRF) Program, run by IBank, provides low-interest financing (loans, not grants) from $1 million to $65 million with terms up to 30 years for public infrastructure and economic development projects such as streets, water and wastewater systems, transit, parks, and public facilities. Only public agencies (city and local governments) are eligible, and applications are accepted year-round on a first-come, first-served basis. Note this is loan financing rather than grant funding, and projects must be in California.

San Diego River Conservancy · Amount varies

The San Diego River Conservancy Direct Grant Program funds projects that advance the Conservancy's mission for the San Diego River watershed, including environment and water, parks and recreation, and benefits to disadvantaged communities. Eligible applicants are nonprofits, public agencies, and tribal governments; individuals and for-profit businesses are not eligible. Projects must align with the Conservancy's enabling legislation and strategic plan and serve the San Diego River area; award amounts and deadlines are not specified here.