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Grant Overview  

Each year, NYSAR3’s Community Reuse Grants, in partnership with the Center for Sustainable Materials Management (CSMM), are offered to support community-based groups, municipalities, businesses, and non-profit organizations in New York State implement reuse initiatives in their communities.  Grant application opens in mid-summer, annually.  

This year, a total of $15,000 will be awarded. Each awardee will receive up to $5,000 to fund their project, with an award minimum of $1,000. 

 

2026-2027 Grant applications are now closed.  Our next round will open in mid-Summer, 2027.  Thank you for your application!     

 

Grant Eligibility:

Applicants can be community-based groups, municipalities, counties, businesses, partnerships, or non-profit organizations.  

  • If you are a reuse organization that partners with a college or university at the end of the year to facilitate student move out, please refer to the application for the College Council Grant, not this application. The College Council Grant is for colleges/universities that are members of NYSAR3’s College Council.

  • Sustainable and replicable projects will be prioritized, but the Community Reuse Grant committee will aim to support diverse forms of reuse. Projects developed and implemented within the following categories will be considered eligible for funding of up to $5,000:

    • Implementation Projects and Pilot Programs

      • Repair programs (repair cafes, etc.)

      • Rental and lending programs (tool lending library, etc.)

      • Materials redistribution (reuse store, clothing swaps, etc.)

      • Deconstruction and building materials reuse

    • Reuse education and outreach programs

    • Procurement of reusable materials (e.g. replacing single-use food service ware, etc.)

    • Arts and creatively-focused projects that intertwine reuse

  • This grant is meant for reuse initiatives, projects that focus on recycling initiatives will not be considered. Reuse is any activity that lengthens the life of an item, either for its original purpose or for a new purpose. Recycling is the reprocessing of an item into a new raw material.

  • To expand the social impact of the grant, the projects with the following characteristics will be prioritized:
    • Projects that are led by and/or engage Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, and People of Color (BIMPOC), Women, and LGBTQ+ individuals or groups.

    • Projects located in or would benefit BIMPOC, low-income, Women, and LGBTQ+ communities and communities impacted by environmental injustice.

  • All questions must be answered for your application to be considered.

  • A budget must be included in the submission packet for the application to be considered.

  • Applications must be emailed to reusegrant@gmail.com .

     

     

Grant Announcement

The grant winners will be contacted in early October and encouraged to attend and receive their award at the NYSAR3 Annual Conference & Trade Show at The Otesaga in Cooperstown, NY November 18-20th, 2026 during the Annual Awards Luncheon. Grantee(s) who are not able to attend in person will be asked to submit a short video accepting the award.  Grant winners can register to attend the conference, here.  

Questions?

Please review our frequently asked questions below.  Still have a question? Email us at reusegrant@gmail.com. 

Frequently Asked Questions