Hello, NYSG friend!
 
The FY2026 Federal Budget season in underway! 
 
As Congress members in both the House and the Senate identify and negotiate their priorities for funding, your support is needed more than ever to ensure continued robust funding for Sea Grant and the community-based work we do in New York, and across the country to sustain the collaborative programming that enables and empowers resilient and sustainable New York coastal economies, communities, and environments.
 
Here is how you can help (please!):
 
• Please reach out to your district/ local congressperson and New York's two Senators to request robust funding for Sea Grant.

You can look up your representatives and their contact HERE: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials.
 
• Using their online email and/ or contact forms, submit one or more of the following:

1) Letter (.docx)
[use when emailing a contact]
 
2) Abbreviated version (.docx) 
[use when filling out an online contact form, as it is likely to have a word count restriction]

Additional helpful information for your reference:

1) What is NYSG? (pdf)

2) NYSG 2024 Highlights: Story Map

3) National Sea Grant By the Numbers (pdf)

4) FY 2026 Programmatic Request for Sea Grant Program (pdf)

5) More NYSG 2024 Highlights: Sea Grant's Benefits in NYS

Thank you so much for your partnership and support.

Let us know if you have any questions or need assistance:

• Becky Shuford, NYSG Director: rebecca.shuford@stonybrook.edu

• Kathy Bunting-Howarth, NYSG Associate Director: keb264@cornell.edu