Our mission is to provide innovative financing solutions that help states, tribes, local governments, nonprofits, community-based organizations, and the private sector pay for environmental projects.
About Us
Serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and New England’s 10 Federally Recognized Tribes.
Since 2001, the New England Environmental Finance Center (NEEFC) at the University of Southern Maine has worked to build local capacity to pay for the growing cost of protecting critical environmental resources and fostering resilient communities.
Our programs reflect the greatest needs of the 6 New England states including funding and financing of climate adaptation and resilience, stormwater and nutrient management, water infrastructure, and sustainable operating practices.
“High quality water is more than the dream of the conservationists, more than a political slogan; high quality water, in the right quantity at the right place at the right time, is essential to health, recreation, and economic growth.”
— Edmund Muskie, Former U.S. Secretary of State, Senator & Governor of Maine
The NEEFC administers the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Network. The SNEP Network provides training and assistance to municipalities, organizations, and tribes to advance stormwater and watershed management, ecological restoration, and climate resilience in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The network is committed to building capacity in conjunction with EPA’s Southeast New England Program within EPA Region 1.
As part of the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN), the NEEFC is one of 10 regional centers supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Together the EFCN is a collaborative of university-based organizations working to create innovative solutions to the difficult how-to-pay issues of environmental protection and improvement.
New & Noteworthy
Free Online Training! First Steps on the Path to CWSRF Funding in Connecticut
October 17, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Online via Zoom
This Environmental Finance Center Network training session will help communities take preliminary steps to better prepare them to apply to Connecticut’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program to fund their infrastructure projects. The content will cover information about eligibility (for applicants and for types of projects) and financing options, as well as detailed information on all of the materials that will be needed for the application process. Attendees will learn about steps they can take now to improve their readiness to apply for federal infrastructure funding and about the technical assistance that is available to help guide them through the process. There will be ample time for Q&A.
Trainers: Ashley Lucht, Director and Staci Orr Gardner, Associate Director, Quantified Ventures
Featured Funding Opportunity
Drinking Water System Infrastructure and Sustainability Program
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
Submission Deadline: Monday, November 6, 2023, 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Questions must be submitted via e-mail by Monday, October 16, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
Grant or Loan? Grant
Who’s Eligible? Public water systems, Tribal water systems, or states on behalf of an underserved community. Applicants must serve a community that is a) underserved; and b) meets the disadvantage community criteria established by the State; or c) has a population under 10,000.
Purpose: To assist public water systems in underserved communities, small or disadvantaged, that are working to prepare for and reduce vulnerability to impacts from climate change ranging from extreme flooding to extreme drought.
Eligible Activities: Planning, design, construction, implementation, operation, or maintenance of a program or project that increases drinking water system resilience for underserved communities to natural hazards.
National Priority Areas: Applications must address one of the National Priority Areas that support the EPA’s strategic plan: Area 1) Small-Scale Investments to Help Drinking Water Systems Implement Resilience Measures or Area 2) Large-Scale Infrastructure Improvements to Enhance Drinking Water System Resilience.
Funding Availability: Area 1: 10-20 grants ranging from approximately $285,000 up to $570,000, to be be spent over 1-4 years. Area 2: 2-5 grants ranging from approximately $2,660,000 up to $6,650,000, to be spent over 1-4 years.
Contact: Direct any questions to Resiliencygrant@epa.gov.
Looking for additional funding opportunities?
What We Do
Outreach and Engagement
Community engagement, charrettes, and meeting facilitation that engages all stakeholders and includes their voices in planning decisions.
Technical Assistance
Training and assistance to municipalities, organizations, and tribes to advance stormwater and watershed management, funding and sustainable financing, and improve utility and business operations to achieve resilience to the changing climate.
Education and Training
Capacity building and education of state and local decision makers and utility managers in innovative
financing solutions.
Develop Young Professionals
Engaging student interns in projects to help develop the next generation of environmental finance professionals.