Grant Guidelines: 2025 Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program (CLPR) Grants
Application Due: 5pm ET on March 22, 2025.
Extensions will not be granted. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Overview
The Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program (CLPR) helps reduce litter in American communities by collecting cigarette waste from public spaces and waterways and recycling it. Since its inception in 2003, the program has been implemented in more than 1,800 communities across the nation, achieving an average of 50% reduction in cigarette waste.
In 2025, in partnership with its sponsors Altria, Reynolds American, Inc. and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, KAB will offer cash and replacement infrastructure grants to support communities, affiliates and partners looking to:
- implement the CLPR for the first time
- scale existing CLPR efforts for broader impact
- maintain existing or reinvigorate past CLPR efforts
- replace aging, damaged or stolen receptacle infrastructure
Funding & Assets Available
- Over $300,000 in funding will be available across cash funding tracks.
- Cash grants will range between $500 and $20,000 depending on the funding track.
- Mounted cigarette receptacles will only be provided for replacement infrastructure track grants.
- Upon request, grantees can also receive the following assets in-kind: cigarette butt recycling bags, pocket ashtrays, auto ashtrays.
General Eligibility
- These grants are open to Keep America Beautiful affiliates, nonprofits, local governments, and other community organizations. Non-KAB affiliates are strongly encouraged to partner with a KAB Affiliate in their community or state. KAB affiliates in President’s Circle will receive priority review and consideration.
Timeline
- Application Deadline: 5PM ET on March 22, 2025
- Award Announcement: April – May 2025
- Project implementation: May - December 15, 2025
- Reporting Deadlines: Keep America Beautiful will require every grant recipient to complete interim and final reports by the following deadlines.
- Interim Report Due: 5pm ET, September 30, 2025
- Final Report Due: 5pm ET, December 15, 2025
General Guidelines (Applicable to all funding tracks)
- All grantees are strongly encouraged to recycle their cigarette butts. Applicants that signal commitment to cigarette butt recycling and/or outline a plan to recycle their cigarette butts will be prioritized for funding.
- Note that Grantees who recycle their butts via TerraCycle will also benefit from TerraCyle’s commitment to donating $1 per pound of cigarette waste collected from CLPR grantees. Registration with TerraCycle is required for this benefit.
- Proposals specifically interested in using CLPR as a clean water strategy will also be prioritized for funding.
- Proposals must clearly describe the need for the project.
- Applicant must demonstrate the ability to conclude the project and required reporting within the grant period.
- Applicants will be required to provide a budget and an accompanying rationale in their applications.
- As you plan your grant program activities, please keep in mind that grantees will receive 70% of their cash grant upon executing a grant agreement and submitting an invoice. The remaining 30% of the award will be disbursed after submitting a final invoice and having their final reports approved by Keep America Beautiful.
Grant Review Process & Considerations
Applications will be reviewed & decided by a grant review and selection committee and evaluated for:
- Clear articulation for program need.
- Expected impact and outcomes in terms of cigarette litter reduced, materials recycled, and population served.
- Willingness and commitment to recycling cigarette butts and using the program as a clean water strategy.
- Ability to successfully implement the program within implementation period.
- Completeness, clarity, and respect for word limits.
Evaluation criteria above are not all required but highly encouraged to ensure strong and successful applications.
Please note that 2023 and 2024 grant recipients who did not submit final reports to KAB will not be eligible for a grant in 2025.
Reporting Requirements
Grantees will be expected to detail the following items in their final report:
- Date receptacles were received and placed into service.
- Photos and stories showcasing project impact.
- Verification and/or updates of materials in grant application.
- Documented status of cigarette litter (less/same/more) where the program is implemented.
- Weight of cigarette butts collected and recycled.
- Media outreach and/or coverage.
- Locations where receptacles are placed
- Copies of educational and/or marketing materials.
Funding Tracks
In 2025, KAB will be offering the following funding tracks:
Track 1: New Communities
Eligibility This funding track is available to affiliate or partner organizations/communities that have never received a CLPR grant in the past and are looking to implement the proven 4-step approach for the first time.
Funding Available
Cash grants ranging between $5,000 - $20,000
Budget Guidelines
- We expect a substantial portion of the requested budget to go towards the purchase of cigarette litter receptacle infrastructure (eg. standing or mounted cigarette collection bins), as this is critical to the program’s success. The amount can range depending on need, but KAB recommends allocating 20% to 40% of the total budget to infrastructure. Grants will not be issued to new communities that:
- fail to include a budget for purchasing infrastructure OR
- if not planning to purchase infrastructure with the grant funds, fail to justify the source of infrastructure to meet your program’s needs.
- Up to 20% of the project budget can be allocated to administrative, project management, and maintenance costs.
Other Considerations
Applicants must commit to implementing the field-tested 4-step Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program. - Applicants are highly encouraged to learn more about the 4-step CLPR process and scope the feasibility of executing it within the grant’s implementation period before applying.
- Keep America Beautiful affiliates can access additional resources by joining the ‘CLPR Implementation Group’ in the KAB Affiliate Hub.
- All applicants can view our 2024 pre-implementation webinar here. KAB will publish an updated webinar in February 2025.
Track 2: Existing CLPR communities
Eligibility
This funding track is available to affiliate or partner organizations/communities that have received a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program in the past and want to:
- scale their program footprint, either through new partnerships or scaling into new areas within their geographies OR
- maintain existing efforts, revitalize past efforts or adjust their programming to implement learning from past program evaluations.
Guidelines
- Grants ranging between $500 and $15,000
- No infrastructure will be provided by KAB. Applicants should factor the cost of cigarette butt collection infrastructure into their budget request.
Budget Guidelines
- For applicants looking to scale efforts, KAB recommends that at least 20-30% of the requested budget is allocated to the purchase of cigarette litter receptacle and infrastructure.
- Up to 20% of the project budget can be allocated to administrative, project management and maintenance costs.
Track 3: Infrastructure Replacement Grants
Eligibility This track is available to affiliate or partner organizations/communities that have received a CLPR grant in the past and need to replace aging, damaged or stolen receptacle infrastructure.
Assets Available
- This track will provide in-kind mounted cigarette butt receptacles. No cash funding is available.
- Requests will be fulfilled until existing inventory is exhausted.
- Available inventory includes TerraCycle mounted aluminum receptacles with the following dimensions: 3 1/8" x 3 1/8" x 19"
- The minimum number of receptacles you can order is six.
Grant Terms Acknowledgement