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The Puget Sound Recovery Acceleration Funding Tool (PS RAFT) helps partners connect and collaborate on funding opportunities for Puget Sound ecosystem and salmon recovery

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
January 18, 2024

*MEDIA CONTACT: *Kevin Hyde, 360.819.3045, [email protected]?

OLYMPIA ??The Puget Sound Partnership recently launched the Puget Sound Recovery Acceleration Funding Tool (PS RAFT), [ [link removed] ] which collects information about national, state, and regional funding opportunities in a central location. PS RAFT also provides a forum for grant-seeking partners to connect and collaborate on funding applications. The Partnership?s Strategic Funding Team developed the tool to help partners obtain funding for transformative, large-scale projects that advance local and regional priorities for recovery.

?PS RAFT will help federal and state agencies provide timely funding information to partners and increase the effectiveness of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other resources,? said Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 geographic programs manager Peter Murchie. ?It is vital that we do all we can to use our unprecedented funding levels to speed progress on Puget Sound recovery.?

?We want PS RAFT to help eliminate barriers for our partners,? said Larry Epstein, deputy director of the Puget Sound Partnership. ?This tool is designed to make it easier for partners to find and apply for funding. It also provides a space to encourage collaboration and alignment among partners so that grant applications integrate multiple priorities and have a greater chance for success.?

PS RAFT displays active funding opportunities, with the newest opportunities listed first, along with details about each opportunity?s proposal due date, amount of funding available, types of eligible projects, informational webinars (if applicable), match information, eligibility requirements, and contact information. Users can also browse through closed funding opportunities for historical reference.

The connection forum on PS RAFT allows partners to post interest in collaborating or coordinating on grant submissions. Participants can use the forum to begin a conversation about working together on submissions for specific funding opportunities.

The Partnership?s Strategic Funding Team, established in 2023, assists Tribes, Local Integrating Organizations, Lead Entities, and other local partners in obtaining funding for Puget Sound ecosystem recovery and salmon recovery projects that are aligned with the Action Agenda, our community?s shared four-year plan for recovering Puget Sound.

?Restoring Puget Sound to health will require large-scale, complex projects, which in turn require substantial funding,? said Laura Blackmore, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership. ?We established the Strategic Funding Team to help our partners access funding, especially the major new federal funding opportunities available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. The successful launch?of PS RAFT is a great first step; now we must use it to accomplish our shared recovery goals.?

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About the Puget Sound Partnership

The Puget Sound Partnership is the state agency formed to lead the region?s collective effort to restore and protect Puget Sound. Working with hundreds of government agencies, Tribes, scientists, businesses, and nonprofits, the Partnership mobilizes partner action around a common agenda, advances Sound investments, and tracks progress to optimize recovery.

For more information, go to www.psp.wa.gov [ [link removed] ].







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