Search Through Grants for Environmental Projects in San Francisco, California in the U.S.

Coastal Conservancy Grants

Each year, the Coastal Conservancy issues millions of dollars in grants for projects that restore and protect the California coast, expand public access to it, and enhance its resilience to climate change.

The State of California has made an unprecedented investment in the resilience and accessibility of the coast. As a result, the Coastal Conservancy has significant funding available for projects that benefit public access, natural resources, working lands, and climate resiliency at the coast, coastal watersheds, and the San Francisco Bay.

Ongoing Funding Opportunities

Most Conservancy grants are awarded through a rolling pre-application solicitation. This includes Climate Ready, Wildfire Resilience, and all regional grant programs.

The application is a two-step process, though all applicants are encouraged to request a technical assistance consultation with the Regional Manager covering your project area to discuss project eligibility before beginning the application process. The first step in the application process is to submit a pre-application. If a pre-application meets the Conservancy’s Eligibility Criteria (found here) and there is available Conservancy funding for the project, applicants will be invited to submit a full application.

What We Fund

The Coastal Conservancy funds a wide variety of projects along the California coast, San Francisco Bay, and in coastal watersheds to increase availability of beaches, parks and trails for the public, protect and restore natural lands and wildlife habitat, preserve working lands, and increase community resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The Conservancy will fund most stages of a project including: pre-project feasibility studies, property acquisition, project planning including community involvement, design, environmental review, permitting, construction, and project-related monitoring. We do not fund operation and maintenance activities.

Available SF Bay Area Program funding pots are now mainly focused on projects that use nature-based approaches to address sea level rise. We are also coordinating support for Adaptation Projects with fellow state agencies; refer to this guide, and happy to schedule a discussion to find the best fit for your project.

The Conservancy uses Project Selection Criteria to communicate priorities to potential applicants and project partners, to evaluate grant applications, and to select projects for funding. Multi-benefit projects, projects that serve disadvantaged communities, and projects that advance the objectives in our 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan and regional and statewide plans will receive higher priority for funding.

Grant Amounts

There are no maximum or minimum grant amounts for this funding; however, it is anticipated that most grants will be between $200,000 and $5,000,000.

Making community possible

At U.S. Bank, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating lasting change in our communities. Through our Community Possible Grant Program, we are partnering with organizations that focus on economic and workforce advancement, safe and affordable housing and communities connected through arts and culture.

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners.

How we partner with nonprofits

We focus on collaborative grantmaking and sustainable, high-impact funding with 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners. We partner with organizations that support:

• Economic and workforce advancement
• Safe and affordable housing
• Community arts and culture

Our strategy

Our community affairs and foundation team work closely with U.S. Bank regional leadership, business resource groups and our National Community Advisory Committee to ensure that prevailing needs are addressed in all the communities we serve.

To make the most meaningful impact, we prioritize organizations that:

• Focus on economic development issues related to work, home and play
• Address more than one of the grant pillars (work, home and play)
• Are based in and serve designated U.S. Bank communities
• Advance diversity, equity and inclusion

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

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.

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.  

Our Mission

Established in 1992 by Lisa and Douglas Goldman, the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund is a private foundation committed to providing support for charitable organizations that enhance our society.  As natives of San Francisco, the Goldmans place a high priority on projects that have an impact upon the San Francisco community.  Within its grantmaking areas, the Fund strives to be responsive and flexible as well as to make informed and responsible grants to support qualified projects.  We invite you to review the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund’s newly stated Interests and Priorities.

Interests & Priorities - Environment

Environment

• Goal: Promote industry practices that mitigate climate change and protect natural resources.
  • Geographic Area:
    • Projects that are implemented nationally and/or in multiple states.
      • This program goal does not currently accept applications for projects that are implemented in a single city or state.
  • Strategies:
  • Support sustainable industry practices throughout the lifecycle of products.
  • Influence market shifts toward environmentally-responsible materials and decreased use of harmful chemicals.
• Goal: Advance nature-based solutions to the climate crisis.
  • Geographic Area:
    • Projects that are implemented internationally, nationally and/or in California.
      • This program goal does not currently accept applications for projects that are implemented in a single city or state other than California.
  • Strategies:
    • Protect and conserve ecosystems that sequester carbon, with a special interest in primary forests and engaging Indigenous communities in climate solutions.
• Goal: Reduce local sources of greenhouse gas emissions and help prepare for the impacts of climate change on Bay Area ecosystems.
• Geographic Area: San Francisco Bay Area
• Strategies:
  • Advance responsible land use and transportation policies and practices.
  • Protect natural resources from the effects of climate change.

The Goldman Fund considers requests by invitation only from organizations in the following fields:

• Health & Recreation
• San Francisco Bay Area Institutions & Projects
• Special Projects & Initiatives

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

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

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

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. 

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. 

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.

Background

The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) is a statewide program of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). UC SAREP envisions a food and farming system that:

• supports resilience through diversified production, marketing, and distribution systems,
• values all food system workers and supports their physical, economic, and social wellbeing,
• contributes to the health and vitality of urban, rural, and Tribal communities,
• is environmentally regenerative, using resources for production and distribution in a way that protects the environment in trust for future generations, including under changing climate conditions, and
• is culturally responsive and reflects the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of California.

Funding Priority Areas 

Priority Area 1:  Support California’s farmers, ranchers, and land stewards of all scales in piloting and transitioning to:

• environmentally regenerative approaches to producing crops and livestock (including but not limited to soil health, organic and agroecological practices, integrated pest management, crop diversification);
• pathways for realizing economic return from ecologically-sound crop management practices and fair labor practices;
• marketing and distribution strategies that support diversified, decentralized, and locally-based supply chains;
• strategies that promote producer-to-producer networking and/or producer-to-supply chain networking.

Priority Area 2:  Support California’s rural, urban, and Tribal communities in identifying and implementing strategies to:

• expand access to healthy, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods;
• ensure worker wellbeing across the food chain;
• minimize the community and environmental costs of food production and distribution;
• strengthen connections between consumers and producers;
• establish and strengthen producer-to-producer connections and producer-to-supply chain connections.

Proposal Categories

Proposals are requested for three types of projects: 

• Planning Grants
  • Planning grants are intended to support processes that bring together diverse stakeholders to plan for larger, more complex research and outreach projects for which larger funds are being sought.
  • Examples of previously funded Planning projects include:
    • the creation of a new food policy council;
    • exploring how green jobs for women farmworkers can improve their working conditions and the well-being of their communities;
    • building a research team and developing plans for conducting a life cycle analysis of California’s beef production system; and
    • community food access planning in East Salinas.
• Education and Outreach Grants
  • Education and outreach grants include educational events, materials and outreach components of research projects.
  • Examples of previously funded Education and Outreach projects include:
    • providing legal guidance to low-income entrepreneurs interested in urban and suburban farming,
    • home-based food businesses and cooperatively owned agricultural companies in the San Francisco Bay Area;
    • helping Southeast Asian and other small farmers in Sacramento connect with processors and buyers;
    • implementing a bilingual educational campaign to communicate the importance of locally and sustainably grown produce from farmers of diverse backgrounds in Napa County; and
    • developing and documenting opportunities and success stories for ecosystem services provided by rangeland stewardship.
• Applied Research Grants
  • These projects are intended to fund original, applied research in the above Program Priority Areas.
  • An example of a previously funded research grant includes funding to study the effects of livestock guardian dogs on wildlife species and the potential for conflict with recreationists.
  • Research projects should include an outreach component.

Funding Availability

Individual grants will be limited to a maximum of $10,000, with one Applied Research Grant awarded up to $20,000.

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. 

Background

A family foundation that believes in strategic infusions of funding, we dedicate nearly 100% of our grant dollars to the environment. As citizens of the planet, we are compelled to participate in the protection of natural resources in the communities where we live.

The Campbell Foundation was established in 1998 to improve the conditions of America’s largest and most ecologically diverse and productive estuary systems: the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. In 2003, Keith expanded the geographic focus of The Campbell Foundation to include Northern California and the San Francisco Bay watershed under the leadership of his daughter and the Foundation’s President, Samantha Campbell.

Chesapeake

The Campbell Foundation’s Chesapeake Initiative seeks to accelerate the pace of nutrient reduction in the Bay through engagement of diverse stakeholders and partnerships between agricultural interests and environmental concerns that forge new paths of working together.

The Campbell Foundation endeavors to identify, broaden and enhance leadership and grassroots advocacy by building capacity for those who chart a sensible course for the future, with 360° view of the needs and tradeoffs.

The grantees we support are thoughtful, inclusive and coordinated, with an enthusiasm for consensus-based solutions.

Our mission in the Chesapeake Bay Region is to improve water quality and ecological balance in the Bay and its rivers, as a healthy Bay fosters a vibrant regional economy and provides exceptional recreational opportunities.

Pacific

The Campbell Foundation’s Pacific Initiative strives to identify opportunities in the field that a) are gaining political momentum, b) present a great opportunity to leverage resources of all kinds, and c) are innovative from a business and social perspective.

We allocate the resources of our California office to projects in these areas:

• Water Quality (California)
• Land-Sea Connection (California)
• Protection of Special Places (California)

Our mission in the Pacific Region is to safeguard the ocean environment of the Pacific Coast and elevate environmental issues in our culture by promoting the implementation and enforcement of adequate policies, leveraging the power of markets to advance sustainable economies and supporting innovative communication.

Cycle 1 & Cycle 2

We offer two unsolicited grant cycles per year. The budget for each of our cycles is $50,000. Individual grants will vary in size, but will be no greater than $25,000. We accept proposals for any type of program in any geography. The maximum amount you can request is $25,000.

Grant Priority

Gaia Fund’s highest priority is to address the environmental problems caused by prevailing agricultural practices.

California is our nation’s most productive agricultural state and, as studies have consistently shown, prevailing practices related to the U.S. conventional food and farming system carry high environmental and human welfare costs. With this in mind, the Fund seeks to foster the transition of California’s food and farming system to one that is sustainable, integrating the goals of best organic practices, responsible environmental stewardship, profitability, and social and economic equity.

The Fund focuses on sustainable agriculture methods which, concurrently, produce nutritious food crops, mitigate climate change, protect natural resources, and promote biodiversity.

The fund considers requests for california initiatives that:

• Encourage farmers to adopt sustainable practices
• Support sustainable farming that operates on a smaller commercial scale and that serves local markets
• Train individuals for careers in sustainable farming
• Preserve land that will be farmed sustainably

The current focus is on the following food crops:

• vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. 

Capital and Endowment Campaigns

Gaia Fund will consider capital and endowment campaign requests, but assigns such requests a lower priority. Grant awards in support of capital and endowment are typically consistent with the grant amounts awarded for specific programs.

Renewals

The Fund may elect to renew general support or project grants in succeeding years, but renewal is not guaranteed and grantees are cautioned to plan accordingly. Non-renewed general support or project grants will be ineligible for reconsideration until at least two years have passed since the last grant was awarded.

Background

The California State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) announces the availability of grants to public agencies, federally-recognized tribes and indigenous communities, and nonprofit organizations for programs that facilitate and enhance the public's opportunities to explore California's spectacular coast and San Francisco Bay shoreline. The ocean, coast, and beaches have long been recognized and used as spaces of joy, relaxation, and healing for many Californians. The ability to experience the coast without fear of physical barriers, feelings of not belonging, or financial challenge is crucial to how individuals cultivate their lifelong connections with the coast. The Explore the Coast grant program seeks to provide enjoyable coastal experiences for people and communities who face challenges or barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast ("ETC Priority Communities").

ETC Priority Communities may include but are not limited to lower-income individuals and households, people with disabilities, people of color, indigenous communities, immigrant communities, foster youth, and other historically excluded communities who face societal challenges or barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast. You can use this mapping tool or other resources you know of to help determine if you are serving low-income communities (please note the tool linked will refer to these as a “disadvantaged” or “severely disadvantaged community”).

Projects should also meet one or more of the following priorities:

• Provide an enjoyable experience at the coast.
• Reduce economic, physical, operational, or societal barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast.
• Inspire ongoing coastal resource stewardship ethic through active learning and interactive activities.

Eligible Projects

Eligible projects include a wide range of programs and activities that help to bring people to the coast and/or enhance their experience at the coast. Other benefits such as ecosystem stewardship and environmental education are secondary benefits and are not necessary for a project to be eligible.

Examples of eligible projects:

• Providing transportation for ETC priority community members to participate in recreational, educational, or stewardship programs at the coast.
• Providing coastal experiences such as kayaking, surfing, or sailing for persons with disabilities.
• Providing beach recreation day trips for participants and their families.
• Facilitating festivals, docent programs, or other outreach events to promote and increase coastal recreational opportunities for ETC priority community members. Applicants should have a clear plan for engaging ETC priority community members in large-scale festivals open to the public.
• Providing overnight coastal experiences for participants.
• Promoting the use of public transit to access the coast.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

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. 

Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program

Building a More Just and Sustainable Outdoor and Environmental Movement Together

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led organizations are on the frontlines of the grassroots work being done to build a better planet but our work is chronically overlooked and underfunded. We know that when our voices are left out, our communities suffer, and our planet does too. With the Liberated Paths Program, we envision a way to bridge that gap.

Through this program, we are working to create a more just and sustainable outdoor and environmental movement by shifting resources to and building power with Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. The Liberated Paths Program supports outdoor initiatives and organizations that cultivate and celebrate the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color and affirm the many experiences and identities our communities hold, through grantmaking, capacity building, and network building.

Through our Liberated Paths regional grants, we support organizations and initiatives of all sizes located in California, the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico), and the Delaware River Watershed that work at the intersection of racial justice, outdoor experiences, and the environment. In 2023, we will also launch grantmaking in North and South Carolina. Our Liberated Paths: Youth Access to Nature Fund supports efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area that increase safe and equitable access to the outdoors for Young People of Color.

We work with leaders and organizations who are rooted within their communities with the lived experiences to understand how to best advance justice and center the needs of the community. We support Leaders of Color to design and lead the types of joyful outdoor experiences and environmental efforts that are most meaningful to them and their communities. 

Liberated Paths support looks like:

• Relationship-driven and trust-based support
• Multi-year grants of $1,000 to $20,000 per year when possible
• Long-term, deep engagement in financial, operational, and fundraising capacity building
• Network building with a cohort of grantees to facilitate shared learning and systems-level changes
• Eligibility that is not hinged on organization size, ability to do impact reporting, or 501(c)(3) status
• Support for organizations and initiatives of all sizes and in all stages of their development
• Prioritized funding for organizations and initiatives led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
• Capacity building trainings and workshops for grantee partners

Capacity Building

Our model offers financial grants, as well as consistent coaching and mentorship. We want to connect our grantee partners with the tools and resources they need to sustain their vital work. To that end, in addition to trainings and workshops for all grantee partners, we work with each partner to identify areas where they want to grow and tailor our support to their needs. These areas could include: board recruitment, financial sustainability, staffing and hiring considerations, executive leadership coaching, budget planning, program design, insurance and liability considerations, safety, guidance on applications for additional grants, and more.

Network Building

Through Liberated Paths, we seek to bring together organizations and leaders working at the intersection of environment and racial justice. We do this through virtual get-togethers and information sessions. We facilitate network building within each cohort of grantees to facilitate shared learning and systems-level changes.

We also bring together funders and partners through a webinar series to connect, share information about the Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program and to also hold critical conversations regarding topics such as the explicit role of race in Liberated Paths, the racial funding gap, and racial bias and its impact in philanthropy.

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

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.

Justice Outside

Justice Outside advances racial justice and equity in the outdoor and environmental movement. We shift resources to, build power with, and center the voices and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color because the health of current and future generations demands it. We envision a just world where Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color experience safety, health, and abundant joy through meaningful relationships with one another and the outdoors. We are thrilled to invite applications to help us achieve this mission and vision through the Youth Access to Nature Fund.

Established in 2016, the Youth Access to Nature Fund works to ensure youth of color in the San Francisco Bay Area have access to meaningful experiences in nature to support their growth as leaders and students, and to improve their mental and physical health. To that end, the Youth Access the Nature Fund is committed to the young people of the Bay Area, by centering the strength, joy, and leadership of their communities. By offering flexible funds and capacity-building the Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program: Youth Access to Nature Fund seeks to embody grantmaking that is built on trust, relationships, and support. 

Funding

The total grant amount requested for a period of one year should be no more than $25,000

Background

The California Watershed Protection Fund supports projects designed to improve water quality and protect watersheds across California.

The fund originated with a $50,000 mitigation payment from a Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement case brought by San Francisco Baykeeper, and out of this humble beginning, the SF Bay Citizens Action Fund was created. Within a few years, the fund expanded to cover watersheds throughout the State as several other groups including the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Los Angeles Waterkeeper among others, directed their mitigation payments to Rose. The fund continues to be enabled by settlements in CWA citizen suits and supports projects which benefit the surface water quality where enforcement actions have been brought.

Due to funding fluctuations, the specific watersheds eligible for grants may vary – please check the list of currently eligible watersheds. The maximum grant amount is $40,000 with most grants expected to range between $10,000 and $30,000. All applicants must be able to demonstrate a strong track record of community-based water quality stewardship.

Allowable Projects and Activity Focus

• Projects must benefit the surface water quality of the watershed in question.
  • Eligible activities include water stewardship, conservation, outreach and education, restoration, and watershed protection.
• Projects focusing exclusively on groundwater quality are only eligible if there is known interconnectivity to surface waters.
• We especially encourage projects that involve impacted communities, benefit vulnerable populations, and are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice.
• Please note: Any projects with an education component must have a palpable water quality benefit. 
  • Applicants should consider the inclusion of hands-on activities such as planting, restoration, or trash cleanups as part of their projects or other activities that will have a more immediate impact and should be a substantive part of the project proposal.
• The applicant must demonstrate the capacity to complete the proposed project, including experience in successfully conducting similar or otherwise related work in the past.

Most grants are for a one-year period; however, you do not have to ask for a one-year grant. It is permitted to request a shorter or longer grant period if that is what you need. Project proposals must protect or benefit the surface water quality of an eligible watershed.

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

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