CARE’s California Carpet Stewardship Program is launching the 2021 funding round for Capital Improvements (Cycle 5A) and Product Testing (Cycle 4B) projects. The grants program is open to public and private businesses, and CARE will aim to award at least 75% of funding to California-based projects, depending on the applicant pool.

Cycle 5A awards are limited to $500,000 for capital improvements that will establish, increase, improve and enhance additional California-generated post‑consumer carpet (PCC) recycling and/or utilization of recycled content product manufacturing. Cycle 4B awards are limited to $50,000 for activities that will focus on product testing, research and development and similar market development activities to improve and enhance PCC recycling and utilization of recycled-content product manufacturing.

Since 2016, CARE has dispensed $7.8 million in grants to support and grow carpet recycling in the state of California. See the complete list of past awardees here.

After May 7, the Cycle 5A form can be accessed here and the Cycle 4B form can be accessed here after May 1. Applications are due by June 30, 2021, at 5 pm PDT. Interested parties should read the full Cycle 5A and Cycle 4B solicitations for project requirements, scoring criteria and other details.

Please contact Abbie Beane, CARE grants manager, at ABeane@CarpetRecovery.org with questions or visit the CARE Grants webpage.

Applications for Micro Grants for Collection/Reuse, which award up to $15,000 to California-based entities, are being accepted and reviewed on a continuous basis through 2021 until funds are exhausted. See the 4M Solicitation and application on the CARE Grants webpage for complete details on eligibility, requirements and schedule.