To date, the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund (TBERF) has received $9.5M in funding and $14.5M in matching funds to support 94 grants within the Tampa Bay watershed.
Funded by sales from of the Tampa Bay Estuary Specialty License Plate, also known as the Tarpon Tag, Bay Mini-Grants provide competitive cash awards (up to $5,000) to community organizations for projects that help restore and protect Tampa Bay. To achieve Program CCMP goals, specific Bay Mini-Grant priority actions are announced annually. Expanding the use of green infrastructure and understanding emerging contaminants have both been recent Bay Mini-Grant priorities. Since 2000, sales from the Tarpon Tag specialty license plate have collectively awarded $2.2M to 472 community-based restoration projects in the bay through TBEP’s Bay Mini-Grant program.
Established during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Digital Challenge Grants program was created to provide safer-at-home income opportunities for digital content creators, science communicators, graphic designers, and educators. In its first year, 10 creators were awarded $6.2k in project funding.
2023 FUNDING SUMMARY
2023 LICENSE PLATE SALES
TOTALS TO DATE
The following shows totals to date for each of the grant programs coordinated by TBEP and our partners. Click on each tab to view the summary plot.