[!WARNING]
Applications currently closed (checked 2026-05-17). The next screening-proposal deadline already passed (August 29, 2025 for the 2026 grant year). The district plans to refresh forms and reopen for the 2027 grant cycle in June 2026 — check the program page then, or get on the mailing list now (see contact below).
What this is
The AB 2766 DMV Surcharge Program is a small competitive grant for projects that reduce air pollution from motor vehicles in Nevada, Plumas, and Sierra counties. It's funded by a ~$4/year surcharge on vehicle registrations in California (Assembly Bill 2766, 1990) and administered locally by the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD).
Who can apply
Per the South Coast AB 2766 fact sheet (statewide rules), eligible applicants include:
- Local government agencies
- Private-sector businesses
- Nonprofit organizations (501(c)(3) or similar)
- Research institutions
The project itself has to happen inside NSAQMD's three-county area and has to actually cut motor-vehicle emissions or vehicle-miles-traveled — not just be vaguely "green."
What it actually funds
Past awards (from NSAQMD's own list):
- Electric / CNG / alternative-fuel fleet vehicles
- Bus stop shelters, transit subsidies, transit marketing
- CNG fueling infrastructure
- Video conferencing equipment (counts as VMT reduction)
- VMT-reduction programs (rideshare, telework support)
If your nonprofit's program doesn't have a clear "miles not driven" or "tailpipe emissions avoided" story, this is the wrong grant.
How the process works
- Screening proposal (2 pages). Short pitch with your math — emission reductions and cost-effectiveness per pound of pollutant reduced. Use the 2020 Emission Factors tables, not the older numbers inside the cost-effectiveness guide. Show your work — cite which table you pulled each factor from.
- Eligibility letter. If your screening proposal passes, the District invites you to submit a full Request for Proposal (RFP).
- Full RFP. Detailed budget, timeline, monitoring plan.
- If awarded: you submit monthly/quarterly financial reports, a monitoring report, and a final report. PDF and Word versions of all forms are on the program page.
Cost-effectiveness — the make-or-break number
NSAQMD scores proposals largely on $/pound of emissions reduced. The methodology is in Method for Finding Cost Effectiveness. Use that formula, but pull emission factors from the 2020 tables (the ones inside the methodology PDF are outdated).
Contact and mailing list
- Melissa Klundby, NSAQMD
- Phone: 530-832-0102 ext. 3
- Email: melissak@myairdistrict.com (note: the program page has a typo —
myairdistirct.com— the real domain ismyairdistrict.com)
- Ask to be added to the AB 2766 grant notification mailing list
Primary source
- NSAQMD AB 2766 DMV Funds program page — checked 2026-05-17