Search Through Grants for Environmental Conservation in Mississippi in the U.S.

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Global Impact Cash Grants

Identifying and incubating innovative early-stage solutions. We identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We're looking for programs that fit within our investment sectors, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.

We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. A brief Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application. Please expand and carefully review each of the three sections below to learn more

Our priority social impact sectors

We focus on investing in innovative, tech-enabled solutions to the challenges and opportunities that matter most to communities in need, prioritizing four social impact sectors:

Cisco Crisis Response

Mobilizing to provide essentials to communities in need and those in crisis, including food, housing, secure connectivity, and disaster relief

By leveraging Cisco’s people, technology, financial resources, and strategic partnerships, we help strengthen community resilience and drive long-term recovery from crises.

Education

Supporting students, teachers, and schools by increasing engagement, building skills, promoting subject mastery, and expanding their capacity to thrive

Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. Through programs like Cisco Networking Academy and social investments in education, we create new opportunities for individuals to thrive.

Economic Empowerment

Transforming communities through skill development, long-term career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and access to financial products and services

Strategic grants that unlock economic prosperity and growth for individuals and communities.

Climate Regeneration

Building an inclusive, regenerative, and resilient climate future through education, regenerative agriculture, conservation, protection, and clean energy solutions

Our efforts began in 2021, when the Cisco Foundation committed US$100 million over 10 years to fund nonprofit grants and impact investing in climate solutions. 

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Social Service Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Funding Priorities in Social Service

In the recent past, 15% of total funding has been allocated to Social Service. Organizations with budgets over $5 million have received 60% of funding in Social Service.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted for new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and general support

Funding

Minimum grant size is $100,000.

The Labcorp Charitable Foundation

We believe every person deserves equitable care and education.

In 2020 Labcorp established a private charitable 501(c)(3) foundation to advance our desire to bring quality healthcare access to all by supporting education and our local communities. 

Common grant opportunities include:

• Supporting food pantries and meal programs
• Providing healthcare and patient services for underserved populations
• Encouraging STEM programming
• Advocating for healthy lifestyles through ongoing medical research and screening

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

What is Ecosystem Thinking?

Humans are an integral part of the ecosystem, and living in consistent connection with the natural world is good and healthy. Everything is connected. The decisions we make have upstream and downstream effects.

A healthy bull elk is part of a much larger story. His existence reflects an intricate food web supported by everything from soil and water to songbirds and predators.

This is Ecosystem Thinking.

What are Ecosystem Grants?

We believe extraordinary impacts can be made not only by large organizations but also by grassroots efforts led by passionate individuals.

SITKA Ecosystem Grants fund proposed projects that improve the state and function of an ecosystem, allow for the growth of the hunting experience through access and education, and create opportunities for collaborative conservation.

Our Funding Priorities

• Nurturing Natural Systems
  • Habitat Restoration,
  • Biodiversity,
  • Conservation,
  • Working Landscapes
• Encouraging the Hunting Experience
  • Mentorship,
  • Access,
  • Education,
  • Well-Being
• Shared Stewardship
  • Prioritizing Whole Ecosystems Through Collaboration

Examples of Funded Projects

• Supporting efforts to remove fencing that prohibits or threatens ungulate migrations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and efforts to install wildlife friendly fencing in key migratory areas.
• Supporting research efforts to better understand mallard duck overwinter habitat use and population dynamics in the Mississippi River Flyway.
• Supporting a scholarship fund for a Montana backcountry hunting course tailored to youth and first time hunters.
• Supporting a local trail crew who, on their personal time, maintain and restore public trails.
• Supporting efforts to restore the Mississippi River Delta by planting native trees to help capture downstream transported sediment, strengthen existing freshwater ecosystems and reduce the rate at which critical habitat and land is lost due to sea level rise, increase frequency and severity of storms, saltwater encroachment and a reduction of land building downstream sediment transport.
• Supporting efforts by leading scientific groups and universities to research CWD with hopes of curbing its spread, and lobbying efforts to pass legislation that can increase CWD education, advocacy and awareness.

Funding Amount and Duration

SITKA Ecosystem Grants vary in amount depending on significance of the project, though most range between US $3,000 and $20,000. However, we do not have a cap on individual grant funding requests. Each grant request is reviewed on a case by case basis. SEG funds often serve as complimentary support, which is why we encourage applicants to seek additional, concurrent funding, and disclose supporting funds and partners within the SEG application.

Typically, SITKA Ecosystem Grants support projects for one year. However, in certain circumstances, we support grants on a multi-year basis.

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Centene Charitable Foundation

Successful corporate citizenship happens when companies invest in the local organizations that know their communities best. The Centene Foundation works with our local partners on initiatives that focus on inclusion, the whole person and community development.

Vision

Centene’s purpose is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. The Centene Foundation is an essential part of how we pursue this purpose. We achieve measurable impact for the communities we serve through partnerships and philanthropy efforts that invest in initiatives with holistic approaches to dismantling barriers to health.

Areas of Focus

Reflecting Centene’s commitment to the needs of those who rely on government-sponsored health care and to addressing social determinants of health and health equity, preference will be given to initiatives in three distinct areas of focus.

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

EQIP

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is NRCS’ flagship conservation program that helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands.

EQIP provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns, such as:

• Improved water and air quality;
• Conserved ground and surface water;
• Increased soil health;
• Reduced soil erosion and sedimentation;
• Improved or created wildlife habitat; and
• Mitigation against drought and increasing weather volatility.

How It Works

NRCS works one-on-one with producers to develop a conservation plan that outlines conservation practices and activities to help solve on-farm resource issues. Producers implement practices and activities in their conservation plan that can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving their agricultural operations. EQIP helps producers make conservation work for them. Financial assistance for practices may be available through EQIP.  Some producers may also qualify for advance payment.

Benefits

Some of these benefits include:

• Reduced contamination from agricultural sources, such as animal feeding operations.
• Efficient use of nutrients, reducing input costs and reduction in nonpoint source pollution.
• Improved soil health, which mitigates against increasing weather volatility, improves drought resiliency and can positively affect climate change.
• Implementation of climate-smart practices that improve carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building resilient landscapes.

Mississippi is proposing the following EQIP practices for increased payment rates capped at 90%:

• Cover Crop (340) – grasses, legumes, and forbs planted for seasonal vegetative cover resulting in many possible conservation benefits.
• Residue Management (329) – limiting soil disturbance to manage the amount, orientation and distribution of crop and plant residue on the soil surface year around.
• Riparian Forest Buffer (391) – an area of predominantly trees and/or shrubs located adjacent to and up-gradient from watercourses or water bodies, such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands.
• Well Decommissioning (351) – the sealing and permanent closure of an inactive, abandoned, or unusable water or monitoring well.
• Riparian Herbaceous Cover (390) – grasses, grass-like plants and forbs that are tolerant of intermittent flooding or saturated soils and that are established or managed in the transitional zone between terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
• Forage and Biomass Planting (512) – establishing, reestablishing, or interseeding adapted and/or compatible species, or cultivars of herbaceous species suitable for pasture, hay, or biomass production.
• Field Border (386) – a strip of permanent vegetation established at the edge or around the perimeter of a field. The primary purpose is to provide early successional habitat buffers for wildlife to provide food, nesting cover and escape cover for quail and other upland birds in cropland areas.
• Filter Strip (393) – a strip or area of herbaceous vegetation that removes contaminants from overland flow. They are established where environmentally sensitive areas need to be protected from sediment, other suspended solids, and dissolved contaminants in runoff.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More

ABOUT ROOTED IN JUSTICE

“Rooted in Justice” is a funding program designed to help amplify youth voices and actions in the environmental and food justice movements.  Rooted in Justice supports community-based organizations and groups that manage established, youth-led, urban greening programs within a justice framework as a core part of their work, with two-year grants of $25,000/year.  

Rooted in Justice recognizes the importance and undeniable right of every young person to have the ability to develop their own relationship with the environment, be it through growing food, spending time with nature, creating community green spaces, or becoming environmental stewards. Rooted in Justice also honors the power and possibilities that arise when young people collectively work to be change-makers in their communities.

Rooted in Justice supports organizations, groups, collectives, and programs that work with young people between the ages of 12 to 20 in youth-led programming for communities or cultures which have historically or currently experience:

• A lack of access to land or nature;
• Agricultural oppression and/or neglect;
• Food apartheid; and/or
• Other forms of injustice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics and disability.

Rooted in Justice awards a small number of grants each year with applications due in the fall and decisions made the following spring. Final grant decisions are recommended to the Cedar Tree board via a participatory grantmaking process with outside reviewers who have experience in youth-led urban greening, as well as food or climate justice programming. So far the program has awarded multi-year grants to 21 organizations and one-time grants to 10 additional organizations since 2021. 

Definitions

Rooted in Justice grants support organizations or programs that include all four of the elements described below: social justice, youth-led, urban greening, and cohort-based youth work. We articulate our understanding of those terms below in an effort to provide a guide for prospective organizations to use in determining whether their program is a good fit. However as we continue our work towards questioning and dismantling some of our preconceived notions, we recognize that these are not finite definitions and encourage prospective applicants who still feel their work may be a good fit to describe in their proposals why this is the case.  

Social Justice-Based Programs

Programs dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for communities directly affected by different aspects of injustice by:

• Sharing and redistributing power and resources;
• Amplifying voices and leadership;
• Tackling root problems through ongoing engagement and collaboration to find solutions, organize against oppression of all kinds and create mechanisms for change; and
• Developing a critical analysis with youth and community members.

Youth-Led

The development of youth leadership skills is a core part of programs funded by Rooted in Justice. Young people have the opportunity to play a role in the planning and decision-making for their program and may help shape the internal workings of the organization. Examples of youth-led programs include programs where participants: 

• Managing a portion of their programming budget;
• Co-facilitating program activities, meetings and gatherings;
• Shape their own programming and/or organizational strategic planning;
• Have regular and end-of-program opportunities to provide program feedback and evaluation; and
• Have opportunities for personal and/or professional growth within the program and organization.

Urban Greening

For the purpose of this grant we define “urban greening” as any activity that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between city dwellers and their environments. Programs that are a strong fit for Rooted in Justice will have many opportunities for youth to be outdoors.  Project settings can include, but are not limited to: 

• Urban and aquaponic farms
• Greenhouses and rooftop gardens
• Community gardens, green spaces, and rain gardens
• Composting sites
• Land conservation efforts
• Urban forests
• River or other water restoration  

Cohort-Based Youth Works

Rooted in Justice looks to fund organizations that build community with cohorts of youth through intentional, recurring programming. This grant is intended to support programs that offer youth significant learning and leadership opportunities as a group and as individuals. Priority will be given to organizations that have program infrastructure that supports a cohort of youth over time.  Drop-in programming, one-time conferences, or individual internships are not a good fit for Rooted in Justice.  

Youth Budgeting

As part of grant proposal, all Rooted in Justice grantees must share a plan to allocate a portion of the grant funds for youth participants to manage. What do we mean by this? We ask applicants to specifically set aside some amount of grant funds for youth to allocate to priorities of their choosing.  For example, youth participants can use their allocated funding to:

• Fund an entrepreneurial endeavor;
• Design the brand or swag for their group;
• Hire a speaker or outside expert to teach a new skill;
• Purchase supplies for a community-based art project;
• Host a celebration for their families, friends and neighbors;
• Pay for transportation to programming, special events, or conferences; and/or
• Any other youth-led activity the group may find beneficial.

Use of Funds

Rooted in Justice funding must be used for project support of existing youth led, urban greening, social justice work and associated general operating expenses. Operating expenses can include anything from program costs like staff salaries and youth stipends to organizational sustainability needs like major equipment purchases and leadership/staff training. If your organization’s entire mission is youth led, urban greening, social justice work, the Rooted in Justice grant can be general support. 

Funding

Two Year Grant

• Rooted in Justice Grant awards are two-year grants of $25,000 per year.
• After the initial two year grant, grantees may be eligible for a third year of funding at the same or lower level through a simple renewal process.
• In the 2025-2026 grant cycle, the Cedar Tree Foundation expects to support 4 organizations with multi-year grant awards.

Funding for Professional Development

• Each Rooted in Justice grantee organization also has access to an additional $6,000 to support professional development opportunities identified by each organization.  Half of these funds must be used to directly support the professional development of youth. 
• Rooted in Justice grantees can request reimbursement from this professional development fund to attend conferences, hire consultants, purchase equipment or software that increases organizational capacity, or participate in any activities that strengthen youth programming or justice practice of program providers in support of their youth development programming. The funds set aside for youth professional development can be used for youth exchanges or youth participation in conferences and other professional development opportunities directly for youth.  

Community Professional Development Calls

• Cedar Tree works with grantee partners to assess their professional development interests and facilitates on-line gatherings of staff or youth for skill shares, trainings, and networking opportunities.
• These network calls will likely happen 2-3 times per year.