Prescott Grant Program

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administers the Prescott Grant Program (CFDA 11.061) to fund recovery, treatment, data collection, and facility support for stranded marine mammals, with applications due December 1, 2026 under solicitation NOAA-NMFS-PRCO-2026-31863.

The program provides grants and cooperative agreements to eligible participants in the U.S. National Marine Mammal Stranding Network and U.S. National Entanglement Response Network for three categories of work: recovery and rehabilitation of sick, injured, or entangled marine mammals (cetaceans and pinnipeds, excluding walrus); emergency response to stranding events; data collection and sampling from living or dead stranded marine mammals for scientific research and health assessments; facility operating costs directly supporting these activities; and development of stranding network capacity including emergency response training where facilities do not exist or are sparse. The program operates on a non-renewable basis, though approved ongoing projects may be extended via amendment request.

The current opportunity (posted September 23, 2026) explicitly accepts a broad range of applicants including higher education institutions (public and private), 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, state and local governments, tribal organizations (federally and non-federally recognized), small businesses, for-profit organizations, special district governments, and individuals. All applicants must submit a Prescott Letter of Eligibility demonstrating either membership in good standing in a Stranding or Entanglement Response Network or collaboration with a member. New applicants must provide documentation of new status. Applications are reviewed by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Program Office and processed by the NOAA Grants Management Division, with decisions typically rendered within 180 calendar days of receipt of a complete application, though timelines may extend beyond that window. Recipients must retain records for three years from final financial report submission unless litigation or audit proceedings extend the retention period.