Search Through Grants for Environmental Conservation in New Jersey in the U.S.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Mission

Dedicated to improving and protecting public health and the environment we share, NJDEP uses the best available science to guide the conservation of natural and historic resources, ensure a stable climate and resilient communities, and secure clean and healthy air, water and lands throughout New Jersey. Committed to sustainable economic growth, NJDEP invests in communities and infrastructure, provides quality open and recreational spaces for residents and visitors, enforces environmental laws, and furthers the promise of environmental justice for all.

Purpose of Funding

To support environmental health services undertaken by certified local health agencies on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to the County Environmental Health Act, N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21 et seq.

Grant Limitations

Grants are awarded on an annual basis. The certified health agency’s contribution shall be a 100% match of the State’s approved legislative designated funds. Grants awarded for pilot projects/elective programs do not have a match requirement.

Application Procedures

Certified local health agencies must attend a grant conference/meeting and submit a countywide Environmental Health Assessment and Improvement Plan.

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.

About DEP

A national leader. A balanced approach. A commitment to be guided by science. That is the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

For over 50 years, DEP has made New Jersey a stronger and fairer state by protecting our environment and public health. With hard work, exceptional knowledge and expertise, the DEP’s staff has made the agency an unfailing guardian of New Jersey’s precious natural and historic resources.

DEP MISSION

Dedicated to improving and protecting public health and the environment we share, NJDEP uses the best available science to guide the conservation of natural and historic resources, ensure a stable climate and resilient communities, and secure clean and healthy air, water and lands throughout New Jersey. Committed to sustainable economic growth, NJDEP invests in communities and infrastructure, provides quality open and recreational spaces for residents and visitors, enforces environmental laws, and furthers the promise of environmental justice for all.

Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant (EC-SDC)

Purpose of Funding

To provide grants to public water systems in small or disadvantaged communities in order to address emerging contaminants, including PFAS.

Green Acres' State Land Acquisition Program

The Green Acres Program serves as the real estate agent for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), acquiring land – much of which has been offered for sale by property owners – that becomes part of the system of state parks, forests, natural areas, and wildlife management areas. Green Acres works with programs throughout DEP, including Parks and Forestry, Fish and Wildlife, and the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust to determine which lands should be preserved. Green Acres does not own the land it acquires; instead land is assigned to the divisions for management. Land and easement interests in land can be acquired not only by purchase but also by donation and bequests.

PURPOSE OF FUNDING

To acquire land offered for sale or donation by property owners for open space, to be used for recreation and conservation purposes.

Acquired land becomes part of the system of state parks, forests, wildlife management areas, and natural areas, and is assigned to the NJ State Park Service, NJ Fish and Wildlife, or NJ Natural Lands Trust for management.

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

HEP Action Agenda: NY/NJ Community Engagement Sessions

One of 28 National Estuary Programs, the New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP), was created by EPA and the two states to bring the benefits of the Clean Water Act – fishable and swimmable waters – to the people and wildlife of the Estuary.

HEP brings stakeholders together to work collaboratively and develop and implement an Action Agenda to protect, conserve and restore the estuary and the communities that make up this extraordinary resource. HEP's Action Agenda serves as a blueprint to guide and improve future management decisions. It presents shared priorities of our Program and partners to address a wide range of estuary issues. Click here for an interactive map of HEP's geographic scope. The map also shows all of the overburdened communities within our program area as defined by EPA and the states of NY and NJ.

This year, HEP will be developing a new Action Agenda that outlines the major goals and objectives of our Program and partners for the next 10 years. Through this process we seek to: Make all partners feel ownership of the new Action Agenda; ​Ensure that we are addressing the needs of the Estuary and all of its communities; Develop actions that are reflective of estuarine challenges, community needs and partner priorities.

Our Ask: We are asking NGOs/Community-Based Partners to host in-person community engagement sessions, this spring and early summer, and gather members of their community to share their vision for the estuary and the challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed. These sessions can take place in the form of standalone meetings or be made a part of other ongoing programs/events. In order to help support organizations interested in hosting a community engagement session, HEP has created these guidance materials.

HEP will provide small grants ranging between $2,000-$4,000 to a limited number of organizations that apply to host one of these community engagement sessions. Organizations interested in hosting should apply at least 20 days before their proposed community engagement session date. HEP will make small grant decisions on a rolling basis. Priority will be given for proposed sessions that involve multiple NGOs/Community-Based Partners and that take place or otherwise engage disadvantaged/overburdened communities as identified in our map here. HEP seeks to work with partners addressing issues in each of our 10 major waterbody regions: The Bronx River and Western Long Island Sound; East River and Harlem River; Jamaica Bay; Passaic River and Newark Bay; Hackensack River; Lower Raritan River; Lower Hudson River; Upper New York Bay; Arthur Kill and the Kill van Kull (The Kills); Lower Bay (Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, and the Lower New York Bay).

Goals and Objectives

WATER QUALITY

Reduce the sources of pollution so that the waters of the Estuary will meet the fishable/swimmable goal of the Clean Water Act, where attainable.

OBJECTIVES:

• Improve coordination and begin to establish consensus amongst regulatory agencies on science, standards, and design conditions in shared waters.
• Accelerate creation, adoption, and implementation of Long Term Control Plans and MS4 Permits.
• Address monitoring gaps and lack of information for key locations, parameters, and state and local track-down programs.
• Share water quality information in a clear and easy-to-understand way with the public, focusing on uses and potential public health risks.
• Assess the potential impacts of climate change on water quality.

PUBLIC ACCESS AND STEWARDSHIP

Improve public access to the waters of the Estuary and the quality of experience at public spaces along the waterfront.

OBJECTIVES:

• Increase public access and new possibilities for contact recreation, particularly in areas of higher need
• Improve stewardship and programming at existing public access sites, particularly in areas of highest need
• Promote and expand awareness of public access opportunities and issues

HABITAT AND ECOLOGICAL HEALTH

Protect and restore the vital habitat, ecological function, and biodiversity that provide society with renewed and increased benefits.

OBJECTIVES:

• Make progress towards restoring the Estuary’s target ecosystem characteristics.
• Improve the quality and likely success of habitat restoration.
• Support restoration monitoring and the utility of monitoring data.
• Advance understanding and incorporation of climate change impacts in habitat management and restoration.

PORT AND MARITIME

Support port and associated maritime operations so that they are both economically and ecologically viable.

OBJECTIVES:

• Improve understanding and management implications of changing sediment contamination in the Estuary, including the timeline for achieving HARS-suitable sediments in the navigation channels
• Help design and implement port and maritime improvement projects that are more environmentally friendly

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Foster community understanding and involvement in decisions about the Estuary.

OBJECTIVES:

• Increase and improve the quality of citizen science efforts
• Support Urban Waters Federal Partnerships in target waterways
• Enhance public understanding of the Harbor Estuary

Meetings Dates

For an entire list of all meeting dates and to sign up for the in-person events please click here.

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

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

DEP Mission

Dedicated to improving and protecting public health and the environment we share, NJDEP uses the best available science to guide the conservation of natural and historic resources, ensure a stable climate and resilient communities, and secure clean and healthy air, water and lands throughout New Jersey. Committed to sustainable economic growth, NJDEP invests in communities and infrastructure, provides quality open and recreational spaces for residents and visitors, enforces environmental laws, and furthers the promise of environmental justice for all.

Natural Climate Solutions Grants

Purpose of Funding

The Natural Climate Solutions Grant program will fund on-the-ground implementation of projects that create, restore, and enhance New Jersey’s natural carbon sinks, such as salt marshes, seagrass beds, forests, urban parks and woodlands, and street trees in order to meet New Jersey’s climate, clean energy, and equity goals.

Qualifications Required for Consideration

There are two initiatives for the investment of DEP’s carbon sequestration funding: Promoting Blue Carbon in Coastal Areas and Enhancing Forests and Urban Forests (Green Carbon). Eligible types of blue carbon projects include Living Shorelines, Restoring Tidal Flows in Tidal Wetlands, Tidal Salt Marsh Vegetation Restoration. Eligible green carbon projects include Forest Restoration and Urban Forest Canopy and Water Quality Enhancement.

Mission

Our mission is to protect, enhance and promote the vital water and other natural and cultural resources of the New Jersey Highlands to sustain current and future generations.

Specifically, our focus is on:

• Safeguarding the water resources, ecological integrity, biodiversity, and the cultural and scenic resources of the New Jersey Highlands.
• Promoting the implementation of a strongly protective Highlands Regional Master Plan.
• Faithful implementation of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, and the promulgated regulations of NJDEP and other agencies.
• Increasing local, state, federal and private sources of funding for land conservation and stewardship in the region, and promoting better planning, growth management and land acquisition strategies.
• Educating the public and decision-makers on, and serving as an information source for, New Jersey Highlands cultural and natural resource protection.
• Creating strong partnerships and alliances with organizations and individuals to effectively protect, preserve and enhance the New Jersey Highlands.

New Jersey Highlands Coalition: Small Grants - Emergency Funding

Each year the New Jersey Highlands Coalition awards a number of grants to assist grassroots organizations working on projects located within the New Jersey Highlands or associated with protecting New Jersey Highlands resources.

Grant Amount

Grants will be awarded up to a maximum of $5,000. Applicants are encouraged to think carefully about their request, and make sure they fully justify the amount requested.

OSI partners with conservation organizations in the Northeast to assemble networks of protected lands most likely to preserve plant and animal diversity in a changing climate. The Fund supports projects in four focus areas in New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the Central Appalachians offering the greatest opportunity to conserve missing links for resiliency in the overall landscape.

Grant Opportunities

The Fund provides capital grants and loans to qualified non-profits for the acquisition of land or conservation easements on climate-resilient lands, capitalized with a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Through an in-depth review process, we selected four focus areas in order to target funds most effectively. A fact brochure with maps for each focus area can be downloaded:

Potomac Headwaters – West Virginia & Virginia

Highlands and Kittatinny Ridge – New Jersey & Pennsylvania

Middle Connecticut River – Vermont & Massachusetts

Southern New Hampshire & Maine Forests 

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.

Advancing Sustainable Communities

Since 2002, we’ve been empowering local communities with sustainability solutions. Through nonprofit partnerships and sustainability grants, we’ve delivered projects promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental stewardship.

Mission

"Choose wisely. It's a small planet." That's how it all started back in 1997, when a crew of like-minded folks in Vermont set out on a mission: to use the power of consumer choice and help change the way power is made. Over 20 years later, we’re proud to be a carbon-neutral company that continues to keep sustainability at the heart of everything we do. Join us as we help make the planet a cleaner, greener place to be.

Sustainability Grants

If you’re a U.S.-based nonprofit looking to make a positive environmental impact and you want access to a network of sustainability experts, it’s time to plant seeds of sustainability in your community.

Eligible Sustainability Initiatives

In addition to supporting rooftop solar installation projects, we've expanded our mission to support other sustainability initiatives that include but aren't limited to:

• Clean Transportation
• Education and Awareness
• Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy
• Resource Conservation
• Sustainable Agriculture

We’re open to new, creative ideas from nonprofit organizations interested in utilizing and promoting sustainability initiatives.

Selection Process - Impact Measurement

We measure environmental, social and financial impacts:

• Environmental impact calculations consider how the project is more impactful for the planet than the alternative.
• Examples: CO2 prevented (renewable versus traditional generation methods), miles not driven, gallons of water conserved, green space created, pounds of waste diverted.
• Social impact calculations assess how the project will elicit change in the community.
• Examples: results of an email or newsletter story about the project, number of students impacted through curriculum, attendee numbers on sustainability tours.
• Financial impact calculations assess how the project will save your organization money, and how those savings can further support your mission.
• Example: a solar array would save your organization $2,000 per year, resulting in 100 more meals distributed to the homeless or 30 more children receiving free tuition.

Award Amounts

Donation amounts depend on a number of factors, including evaluation of the environmental, social, and financial impact of the donation. Past donations have ranged from $50,000 to $400,000.

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. 

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.

Agricultural Land Easements (ALE)

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) component is a voluntary program that provides an opportunity for eligible partners to receive financial assistance to purchase agricultural land easements targeted at working agricultural lands.

These perpetual easements prevent productive working lands from being converted to non-agricultural uses and maximize protection of land devoted to food production. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, pastureland, and nonindustrial private forestland. Each easement is required to have an agricultural land easement plan that promotes the long-term viability of the land.

Under the Agricultural Land component, NRCS may contribute up to 50 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement. Where NRCS determines that grasslands of special environmental significance will be protected, NRCS may contribute up to 75 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement.

To enroll land through agricultural land easements, NRCS enters into cooperative agreements with eligible partners. NRCS in New Jersey has partnered with the following eligible entities to preserve over 200 agricultural lands in New Jersey through the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP): 

• State Agricultural Development Committee (SADC)  
• New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) 
• Hunterdon Land Trust (HLT) 
• D & R Greenway Land Trust  

Grasslands of Special Significance

Grasslands of Special Significance are grasslands that provide essential habitat for threatened or endangered species or at-risk species such as the American Kestrel, bobolink, and northern bobwhite quail. Along with agricultural land, NJ grasslands face the daily threat of development. New Jersey is an important stop along the Atlantic Flyway and grasslands resources provide essential habitat along the migratory pathway to rest and refuel. Species that depend on this essential habitat along the corridor have experienced significant declines.

Grasslands of special significance must:

• Contain little or no noxious or invasive species, as designated or defined by State or Federal law
• Be subject or the threat of conversion to nongrassland uses or fragmentation
• Contain rangeland, pastureland, shrubland, or wet meadows on which the vegetation is dominated by native grasses, grass-like plants, shrubs, or forbs, or is improved, naturalized pastureland, rangeland, and wet meadows.
• Provides, or could provide, habitat for threatened or endangered species or at-risk species, protects sensitive or declining native prairie or grassland types, or provides protection of highly sensitive natural resources.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

Our Mission

The Columbia Bank Foundation is committed to serving the needs of its local communities. The Foundation actively seeks and focuses on innovative programs that provide a measurable impact in the communities that it serves.

Who We Serve

CBF resources are allocated with priority given to requests that benefit low-and-moderate income individuals and communities within Columbia Bank’s footprint. The primary goals and objectives of the Foundation are to identify community based non-profits, civic, business and charitable organizations that meet the necessary Foundation criteria, and to provide support funding for their service initiatives.

Community Grant Program

Our Community Grant Program is a testament to our commitment to uplift individuals and communities within our footprint. We identify community-based non-profits, civic organizations, businesses, and charities, to provide funding that fuels their impactful service initiatives. Applications for the Community Grant Program will be accepted for $5,000 - $15,000.

Charitable contributions from the Foundation will be focused on supporting the following major areas:

Community investment and economic development

We aim to strengthen our communities, by addressing the economic needs of individuals and families; enhancing the community’s financial health through economic development and investment and community sponsored events; improving neighborhood revitalization and promoting small business expansion. 

Financial literacy and education

Education is critical to us and for that reason we support programs that enrich a child’s educational opportunities, early childhood development and special education programs, with preferences given to those programs targeting low-and- moderate income individuals. Educational programs designed to meet the housing needs of low and moderate income population, local housing coalitions, housing crisis programs, homeownership counseling and other financial services education.

Health and human services

It is important to be healthy and well. The foundation supports programs that revitalize or stabilize low-and-moderate income areas and/or community services and initiatives that provide access to quality healthcare programs. 

Food insecurity

We aim to provide low-and-moderate income people access to healthy food and meals to improve one’s quality of life.

Environmental sustainability

We believe that it is important to support programs that will help create environmentally conscious communities and assist in the conservation of our natural resources and protection of our global ecosystems. 

The Arts

We believe that association with arts and cultural institutions sustain the vitality of communities while providing opportunities to expand economic growth. The arts also create vivacious and exciting opportunities for our youth. 

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 Memorial Trust

In 1975, two years after his death, The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust was established in New York. The four original trustees were a member of the Snow family, a lawyer, a publishing associate and a corporate trustee, the Irving Trust Company, now BNY Mellow N.A.. The current Trustees continue this legacy being well aware of the donor and his beliefs, values and ideals. The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust strategically focuses funding within specific geographic regions of the United States across a range of program areas. They meet once a year, usually in June.

The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust

The Memorial Trust strategically focuses funding within specific geographic regions of the United States across a range of program areas (prioritized below and visually depicted here) while responding to the ever-changing needs of various segments of the population, especially to the needs of youth and people who are disadvantaged economically, emotionally, or physically.

Dating back to the inception of the Trust in 1973, the primary and overarching grant making priority has been and continues to be programs that focus on education.

• Education: Targets funds to organizations that provide educational opportunities or academic assistance to individuals who demonstrate an intellectual aptitude and a financial need. Examples include scholarships, fellowships, academic tutoring or counseling, literacy, and journalism.

Secondarily, the Trust considers proposals within the areas of Arts and Culture, Community Initiatives, and Youth Programs. The Board’s objective is to extend the primary educational focus by providing funding support within these additional program areas.

• Community Initiatives: Provides funding for programs or services that directly improve the quality of life within the geographic focus areas that we serve. Examples include support for libraries, food pantries and shelters, and neighborhood revitalization. Generally, the Trust does not seek proposals for health care initiatives or animal welfare programs.
• Arts and Culture: Offers grants that promote arts education and appreciation, particularly for young adults, via the development of educational curriculum and professional instruction including visiting artists and performance support for targeted populations.
• Youth Initiatives: Offers grants that provide character education or enrichment opportunities via mentoring or after-school programming

As a third priority, the Trust does consider proposals in the areas of Disabilities and Universal Access, Environmental, and Historic Preservation. As these are not core focus areas, funding is often limited. Priority will be given to proposals with an educational focus.

• Disabilities and Universal Access: Offers grants to organizations in complying with ADA requirements within their facilities (e.g. elevator, handrails, automatic doors, and ramps) or offering services targeted for individuals with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
• Environmental: Provides funds for organizations that strive to protect strategic parcels of land and bodies of water as well as programs that educate the general public on key environmental issues such as conservation and water management.
• Historic Preservation: Provides funding for organizations that preserve historical artifacts (e.g. sites, structures, objects) and accounts (e.g. events), and educate the greater community on their significance. Examples include museums, historical societies and educational programming.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

Our Mission

To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund

To make the highest possible impact on the climate and biodiversity crises, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is committed to advancing solutions and supporting partners throughout the Appalachians to connect and conserve vital wildlife habitat, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and generate new job and recreation opportunities for communities.

Approximately one-third of the U.S. population lives in or within 100 miles of the Appalachians, including an estimated 36 million people that rely on the region for sources of drinking water. The landscape contains the world's largest remaining expanses of temperate broadleaf mixed forest and provides habitat to a wide diversity of plants of animals, many of which are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered. Conserving this landscape is critical for nature and for the people that live and work there.

However as climate change drives ecosystem instability, plants and animals are shifting their ranges northward, and people are having to find ways to adapt to complex and intertwined challenges. TNC and many others have been working to conserve vital Appalachian habitats for decades. Now we must ramp up our efforts and coordinate with partners across the Appalachians for maximum impact.

To succeed in these efforts, TNC’s Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund offers two grant programs for conservation and community organizations, municipalities, Federally Recognized Tribal Nations, and local and state agencies in the Appalachians who are working to protect and conserve this region:

• The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program
• The New York Climate Resilience Grant Program

Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program

The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program provides grants of up to $100,000 for fee and easement acquisition projects throughout the Appalachians.

Equitable Conservation and Community Benefits

Conservation organizations are increasingly acknowledging the importance of incorporating social equity in their missions, partnerships, and projects and evolving how they work to have better outcomes for people and nature.

TNC defines community benefits as the positive outcomes that directly result from or are included within conservation projects as experienced by local communities and people. This is particularly important for historically marginalized communities, communities with limited access to nature, communities experiencing heightened impacts of climate change due to systemic underinvestment and poor infrastructure, and Indigenous communities. 

RCA program funding will support projects that demonstrate meaningful community engagement, work with those historically excluded from conservation, and lead to a fairer distribution of benefits for people and communities.

Some examples of community benefits include improved and greater access to nature, protection of drinking water sources, recreational and resource-based economic opportunities, flood mitigation, engagement in cross-cultural initiatives, or protection of lands that will meet community-defined conservation needs. We encourage projects with meaningful community benefits that are integrated with the land protection goals.

Project Evaluation

Projects will be evaluated  according to their capacity to deliver land protection outcomes aligned with the program goals, including:

• Location:
  • the project is located within TNC’s Appalachians Program boundary and is in or near a mapped focal area.  Projects outside of focal areas will also be considered.
• Resilience:
  • the percentage of the total project area that is part of the Resilient and Connected Network.
• Connectivity:
  • adjacency to protected lands or other attributes that will lead to landscape connectivity over time (e.g., the project is a necessary acquisition for advancing a local or regional plan that aims to protect a critical conservation corridor).
• Collaboration:
  • evidence of engagement with other organizations, community groups, or local governments (including, but not limited to, shared funding).
• Community:
  • project elements that directly engage and or benefit people, especially vulnerable or marginalized communities.
• Timeline:
  • the project will close within 12 months from the start of the grant agreement term.
• Feasibility:
  • likelihood that the project will close and the costs seem reasonable.

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?

Mission

Our mission is to protect, enhance and promote the vital water and other natural and cultural resources of the New Jersey Highlands to sustain current and future generations.

Specifically, our focus is on:

• Safeguarding the water resources, ecological integrity, biodiversity, and the cultural and scenic resources of the New Jersey Highlands.
• Promoting the implementation of a strongly protective Highlands Regional Master Plan.
• Faithful implementation of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, and the promulgated regulations of NJDEP and other agencies.
• Increasing local, state, federal and private sources of funding for land conservation and stewardship in the region, and promoting better planning, growth management and land acquisition strategies.
• Educating the public and decision-makers on, and serving as an information source for, New Jersey Highlands cultural and natural resource protection.
• Creating strong partnerships and alliances with organizations and individuals to effectively protect, preserve and enhance the New Jersey Highlands.

New Jersey Highlands Coalition Small Grants

Each year the New Jersey Highlands Coalition awards a number of grants to assist grassroots organizations working on projects located within the New Jersey Highlands or associated with protecting New Jersey Highlands resources.

Grant Amount

Grants will be awarded up to a maximum of $5,000. Applicants are encouraged to think carefully about their request, and make sure they fully justify the amount requested.

Our Vision

Powering a future where people use less energy, and it’s cleaner, safer and delivered more reliably than ever.

Our Mission

• Be a positive force in a changing world by providing an infrastructure to access safe, affordable, reliable and cleaner energy;
• Work toward a carbon-free economy;
• Empower the lives of our customers, our communities, our workforce and other stakeholders;
• Embrace diversity and inclusion,  and promote equitable and ethical behavior.

Neighborhood Partners Program

The PSEG Foundation is committed to creating more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable communities for all. As part of the commitment to social value, the PSEG Foundation’s strategic pillars are environmental sustainability, social justice, equity, and economic empowerment. Through the NPP, the PSEG Foundation aims to partner with organizations that are transformative, leading change on issues impacting our communities and working towards collaborative solutions.

It is highly encouraged that prospective applicants review the Program Rules section to determine eligibility before applying.

Foundation Pillars

Funding consideration will be provided for programs in alignment with one or more of the PSEG Foundation pillars:

• Environmental Sustainability (ES)
  • promote environmental sustainability and stewardship; programs that encourage environmental education; facilitate clean energy innovation; preserve ecosystems and encourage conservation and foster environmental justice
• Social Justice (SJ) 
  • empower diverse and inclusive communities, focus on addressing inequities and elevate prosperity in communities through strategic initiatives aimed at closing the wealth inequality gap
• Equity & Economic Empowerment (EEE)
  • consideration will be given to programs that provide comprehensive support services that address pressing economic needs: affordability, food security and workforce development initiatives; additional areas that are part of the EEE pillar and may receive consideration include: ;increase awareness of STEM education and workforce readiness; expand educational opportunities; support neighborhood revitalization through economic development and build healthy, safe and resilient communities.

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.

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.