Search Through Grants for Land Conservation in Virginia in the U.S.

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 

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

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

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

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.

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.

Centene Charitable Foundation

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

Vision

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

Areas of Focus

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

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

Grant-making Priorities

As part of its Strategic Planning process, the Virginia Environmental Endowment’s Board of Directors adopted the following grant-making priorities in 2013. Current grant-making priorities in the Virginia Program are focused on improvement of local rivers and protection of water quality, restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, innovative land conservation and sustainable land use practices, environmental literacy and public awareness, and emerging issues of concern.

Water Issues 

• Improve local rivers and protect water quality throughout Virginia:  With a focus on tangible improvements to water quality, pollution reduction and pollution prevention, preference will be given to projects and policies that promote implementation of best practices for advancing agricultural stewardship, address local and regional stormwater infrastructure needs and achieve on-the-ground improvements that contribute to healthy watersheds.     
• Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay:  With a focus on implementation of Virginia’s Watershed Implementation Plan to meet the Bay’s total maximum daily load (TMDL) interim and final goals by 2017 and 2025, respectively, preference will be given to innovative and creative strategies designed to reduce implementation costs and pollution and accelerate progress, when possible. Improved fisheries management, restoration of keystone fisheries and expanded recreational access are also an interest. 

Land Conservation and Use     

• Enhance land conservation and sustainable land use:  Special emphasis is placed on strategies, policies and projects focused on conserving large landscapes, restoring and protecting riparian buffers and headwater streams, establishing conservation practices on land previously placed under protective easement, and establishing local land trusts in areas where a gap exists.  A nexus with water quality protection is important. The Endowment does not provide grant funds for land purchases. 

Environmental Education and Public Awareness     

• Advance environmental literacy and public awareness:  Preference will be given to outcomes-based proposals that incorporate best practices related to student learning and teacher/principal training, including regional standards and Next Generation Science Standards, and those that offer meaningful experiential learning opportunities which connect students and families to nature.  Regarding public awareness, projects that tie environmental stewardship to jobs and those that use innovative, collaborative, and creative approaches such as media messaging to reach non-traditional environmental supporters are also encouraged. 

Climate Adaptation and Emerging Issues

• The Virginia Environmental Endowment is interested in using its strategic investments to make a difference on emerging issues, such as climate adaptation for coastal communities and projects that advance water supply planning and implementation, and efforts to mitigate invasive species.

Community Conservation Program

Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE) funding under the “Community Conservation Program” provides funds for conservation initiatives located within the counties of Craig, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pittsylvania and Roanoke, and the cities of Salem and Roanoke. The Program focuses on water quality protection, restoration, and improvement; land conservation support; and environmental literacy and awareness within the listed jurisdictions. VEE will also consider funding portions of initiatives that extend beyond the listed jurisdictions.

The application process for the Community Conservation Program is open to any qualified organization. However, VEE strongly suggests that any organization interested in submitting a proposal first provide VEE with a one to two page letter briefly explaining the proposal so as to allow VEE staff the opportunity to provide an informal review and response before submission.

VEE will consider proposals of no less than $50,000 and multi-year projects of up to three years are eligible. VEE will decline without further review any proposal that is clearly outside the purposes and geographic limitations of the Program.

VEE encourages proposals that promise measurable results to improve the environment consistent with the mission and priorities of VEE and the Community Conservation Program. Applicants should describe specifically how they will measure success of a proposal.

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.

Get Outdoors

Established in 2020, the Virginia’s Outdoors Foundation’s Get Outdoors (GO) program provides grants for projects that increase equitable access to safe open space in Virginia’s communities. Some examples of costs that can be covered include planning, capacity building, and infrastructure. The intent of the program is to serve as a flexible, adaptable tool to be used to address communities’ needs.

Current Opportunity

VOF is seeking proposals for projects that increase access to safe open space in Virginia’s communities, especially those that are underserved. The GO Fund requires the submission of a short pre-application. Pre-applications most aligned with program parameters will be invited to submit a final application.

Invitations to apply for the GO Fund will be sent within one week of receipt of a successful pre-application. The responses provided in the pre-application will be incorporated in and elaborated on in the final application.

What does VOF mean by “inadequately served, overlooked, or marginalized” communities?

There are communities in Virginia that have been subject to discrimination because of race, ethnicity, income, or other factors, which has resulted in less access to safe open space for recreation, education, and other uses. These communities may not have a high rate of land ownership, and therefore are unable to participate in traditional land conservation programs. VOF seeks to ensure that all Virginians have access to safe open spaces that result in better health and a higher quality of life. During the application process, applicants should describe how their community has been inadequately served or marginalized. The application should make clear how the project will result in better access to open space and who will benefit. Letters from community organizations and leaders should support the application. 

 Program History or Background

AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that connects over 70,000 Americans every year in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, health, and homeland security. AmeriCorps members serve with more than 2,000 non- profits, public agencies, and community organizations. AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle some of the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering.

AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Senior volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make services a cornerstone of our national culture. AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions/practices to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community services through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving.

Upon successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal Education Award that they can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans. AmeriCorps State programs in the Commonwealth are managed by Serve Virginia, within the Virginia Department of Social Services. For more information on Serve Virginia and the activities promoting volunteerism, national service, and community support programs in the Commonwealth, including AmeriCorps, please visit here.  

Operational Grant

AmeriCorps operational grants support programs that engage members in evidence-based interventions to strengthen communities. Awards may include up to $27,000/MSY (AmeriCorps Member Service Year, equivalent to one full-time term of service), with no limits on the number of MSY.

AmeriCorps Focus Areas & Funding Priorities

Over the next two years, AmeriCorps will invest in existing and new partnerships with nonprofit, faith-based, and Tribal organizations, and state service commissions. To carry out Congress’ intent and to maximize the impact of investment in national service, and to achieve the goals laid out in its Strategic Plan, AmeriCorps has the following Focus Areas: 

• Disaster Services: Helping individuals and communities prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of disasters and increase community resiliency.
• Education: Improving educational outcomes for underserved people, especially children. AmeriCorps is particularly interested in program designs that support youth engagement and service learning as strategies to achieve high educational outcomes.
• Economic Opportunity: Improving the economic well-being and security of underserved individuals.
• Healthy Futures: Supporting for health needs within communities, including mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and other public health crises, access to care, aging in place, and addressing childhood obesity, especially in underserved communities.
• Environmental Stewardship: Supporting communities to become more resilient through measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve land and water, increase renewable energy use and improve at-risk ecosystems, especially in underserved households and communities.
• Veterans and Military Families: Improving the quality of life of veterans, military families, caregivers, and survivors

 Program History or Background

AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that connects over 70,000 Americans every year in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, health, and homeland security. AmeriCorps members serve with more than 2,000 nonprofits, public agencies, and community organizations. AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle some of the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering.

AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Senior volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make services a cornerstone of our national culture. AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions/practices to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community services through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving.

Upon successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal Education Award that they can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans. AmeriCorps State programs in the Commonwealth are managed by Serve Virginia, within the Virginia Department of Social Services. For more information on Serve Virginia and the activities promoting volunteerism, national service, and community support programs in the Commonwealth, including AmeriCorps, please visit here.  

Planning Grant

AmeriCorps planning grants provide resources, technical assistance, and support to develop the framework for an AmeriCorps program to propose for a subsequent operational grant. Awards range from $75,000 to $240,000 to cover the costs and staff time needed to design an AmeriCorps program. Planning grants do not support costs associated with AmeriCorps members in service.

AmeriCorps Focus Areas & Funding Priorities

Over the next two years, AmeriCorps will invest in existing and new partnerships with nonprofit, faith-based, and Tribal organizations, and state service commissions. To carry out Congress’ intent and to maximize the impact of investment in national service, and to achieve the goals laid out in its Strategic Plan, AmeriCorps has the following Focus Areas: 

• Disaster Services: Helping individuals and communities prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of disasters and increase community resiliency.
• Education: Improving educational outcomes for underserved people, especially children. AmeriCorps is particularly interested in program designs that support youth engagement and service learning as strategies to achieve high educational outcomes.
• Economic Opportunity: Improving the economic well-being and security of underserved individuals.
• Healthy Futures: Supporting for health needs within communities, including mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and other public health crises, access to care, aging in place, and addressing childhood obesity, especially in underserved communities.
• Environmental Stewardship: Supporting communities to become more resilient through measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve land and water, increase renewable energy use and improve at-risk ecosystems, especially in underserved households and communities.
• Veterans and Military Families: Improving the quality of life of veterans, military families, caregivers, and survivors

About the Virginia Outdoors Foundation

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is Virginia’s leader in land conservation, protecting more than 850,000 acres in 111 counties and cities. VOF was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966. Today, we receive both public and private support for our work. VOF protects a wide variety of open spaces, from farms and forests to parks and historic landscapes. We work with federal, state, local, and private conservation organizations to achieve our mission.

Open Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund

Established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1997 and administered by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund (PTF) provides grants for acquisitions, easements, rights of way, and other methods of protecting open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, water quality, and more. A right, privilege, or interest in real estate must be conveyed to either VOF or a locality, pursuant to Virginia’s Open-Space Lands Act, to be eligible for PTF funding

Funding

There is approximately $1.8 million available this grant round. Historically, grant awards on average have not exceeded $150,000 per project. However, there is no absolute cap and projects with substantiated needs have been funded at higher amounts. Partial funding is a possibility.

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. 

About

The Preservation Leadership Forum of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is a network of preservation leaders — professionals, students, volunteers, activists, experts — who share the latest ideas, information, and advice, and have access to in-depth preservation resources and training.

Henry A. Jordan, M.D., Preservation Excellence Fund - Mid-Atlantic States

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Henry A. Jordan, M.D., Preservation Excellence Fund provides funding to deserving organizations demonstrating commitment to the protection of natural and cultural resources in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Jordan Preservation Excellence Fund was established in November 1996 in recognition of Dr. Jordan’s distinguished service to the National Trust and his visionary leadership of the national preservation movement. Applicants can apply for up to $5,000.

The fund awards programs and activities that:

• Facilitate positive dialogues between the diverse interests of historic preservation, land conservation, business development, transportation, and government in a search for common ground in protecting the environment
• Stimulate the development of local and state policies that protect the cultural landscape and its resources
• Heighten public awareness of or increase involvement in issues relating to the livability and sustainability of communities
• Encourage innovative partnerships and approaches to open space conservation and historic preservation

Mission and Focus

The mission of the Virginia Environmental Endowment is to improve the quality of the environment by using its capital, expertise and resources to encourage all sectors to work together to prevent pollution, conserve natural resources, and promote environmental literacy.

James River Water Quality Improvement Program (JRWQIP)

VEE continues to seek substantial proposals that produce significant water quality benefits through on-the-ground investments and initiatives. The JRWQIP Strategic Investment Plan will continue to help guide VEE’s funding decisions.

The JRWQIP funding priorities, as noted in the Strategic Investment Plan, are:

• Riparian buffer installation: The implementation of riparian forested or vegetative buffers, with a focus on agricultural and rural lands containing restoration area opportunities which will generate significant pollution reductions. Permanent protection and long term maintenance of the riparian buffers are critical elements of this investment priority.
• Accelerating implementation of agricultural pollution reduction practices: Programs that enhance and accelerate the delivery and implementation of cost-effective farming best management practices along with other agricultural initiatives that reduce agricultural pollution and improve water quality.
• Construction of living shorelines: Living shoreline construction, particularly in the Lower James River region. The provisions of the “Virginia Shoreline and Tidal Marsh Inventory,” consistency with regional and county-level conservation and shoreline management plans, the incorporation of riparian buffers, and permanent protection are important relevant elements.
• Stream restoration: Stream restoration can be expensive, so proposed location, inclusion of riparian buffers, and co-location with other water quality improvement efforts are important factors.
• Investments in the Jamestown region (“Area of Potential Effects”) and surrounding jurisdictions: The “Area of Potential Effects,” or APE, is a region upstream and downstream of Jamestown on both sides of the James River. (See Map of Area of Potential Effects.) Remediation of illicit sewage discharges and failing septic systems as well as cost-effective stormwater management initiatives are potential investments.

Applicants that submit proposals which differ from VEE’s identified funding priorities will be expected to demonstrate the significance and cost effectiveness of the proposal to improving the water quality of the James River.

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.

Wild East Action Fund

The Wild East Action Fund supports projects that accelerate the pace of conservation within the Appalachian Trail landscape.

Since 2018, the Wild East Action Fund has supported a variety of land protection and conservation capacity-building projects that have accelerated the pace and scale of conservation within the Appalachian Trail landscape. This funding opportunity is available to conservation organizations, including nonprofit partners and public agencies, that support the mission of the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership (ATLP).

In celebration of ATC’s 100th anniversary and the ATLP’s 10th anniversary, ATC is excited to host a Wild East Action Fund cycle!

The Wild East Action Fund is a private, competitive grant opportunity, administered by ATC, supporting the ATLP mission to connect the wild, scenic, and cultural wonders of the A.T. landscape. The Wild East Action Fund seeks applications that aim to accelerate the pace and scale of A.T. landscape’s conservation and resiliency.

ATC has identified needs and strategies, at multiple scales, to effectively support the acceleration of conservation and resiliency within the A.T. landscape. The program’s three grant categories are designed to catalyze new and existing conservation partners’ knowledge, abilities, and expertise to address many of these dynamic needs:

• Land Protection
• Conservation Planning
• Community Resilience

The Wild East Action Fund supports projects that contribute to the protection of lands and waters within the A.T. landscape, enhance capacity for strategic conservation activities, build community support for a conserved and resilient A.T. landscape; and champion an A.T. landscape that encourages all people to feel welcome, respected, supported and valued.

Community Resilience

Purpose - Recover from and build community capacity to address/mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Community Resilience grants are available for projects that support community resiliency in the face of weather-related impacts and a changing climate. We anticipate three types of resilient community projects to be competitive in this cycle; the most competitive applications will address more than one of the following themes:

• Recovery, rebuilding, development of outdoor recreation, cultural, or historic assets.
• Restoration, stabilization, recovery of natural resources, ecological systems, or open space.
• Community building, place-making, or preparedness.

Eligible projects can include, but are not limited to, volunteer workdays/clean-ups/events, youth leadership and workforce training related to conservation or natural resource stewardship, public education or outreach campaigns or events, downtown recovery, beautification, revitalization, and resiliency planning or pre-planning activities, and recreational/cultural/historic asset improvements. Competitive projects will advance climate resiliency, be collaborative and/or community-driven, support public access to open space and recreation opportunities, and/or address Hurricane Helene recovery. It is important that applications clearly demonstrate how the project will help the community recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene and/or strengthen a community’s capacity to respond, mitigate, or adapt to future risk and uncertainty associated with the increasing severity of weather events and a changing climate. As much as possible, project outcomes should include, or strive to strengthen community support for, conservation actions and nature-based solutions to climate change. 

Funding

Up to $400,000 will be granted through the Wild East Action Fund to qualified land protection, conservation planning, and community resiliency projects. Conservation Planning and Community Resiliency grant requests between $5,000 and $20,000 will be considered.

All funding opportunities require a cash or in-kind match. Match ratio will be considered on a case-by-case basis, evaluated on the circumstances of the organization and project context. The match should be secured or demonstrate with confidence that it will be secured during the grant period.

Funding for the Conservation Planning and Community Resilience grant categories are made possible through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s A.T. Resiliency Fund. 

Wild East Action Fund

The Wild East Action Fund supports projects that accelerate the pace of conservation within the Appalachian Trail landscape.

Since 2018, the Wild East Action Fund has supported a variety of land protection and conservation capacity-building projects that have accelerated the pace and scale of conservation within the Appalachian Trail landscape. This funding opportunity is available to conservation organizations, including nonprofit partners and public agencies, that support the mission of the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership (ATLP).

In celebration of ATC’s 100th anniversary and the ATLP’s 10th anniversary, ATC is excited to host a Wild East Action Fund cycle!

The Wild East Action Fund is a private, competitive grant opportunity, administered by ATC, supporting the ATLP mission to connect the wild, scenic, and cultural wonders of the A.T. landscape. The Wild East Action Fund seeks applications that aim to accelerate the pace and scale of A.T. landscape’s conservation and resiliency.

ATC has identified needs and strategies, at multiple scales, to effectively support the acceleration of conservation and resiliency within the A.T. landscape. The program’s three grant categories are designed to catalyze new and existing conservation partners’ knowledge, abilities, and expertise to address many of these dynamic needs:

• Land Protection
• Conservation Planning
• Community Resilience

The Wild East Action Fund supports projects that contribute to the protection of lands and waters within the A.T. landscape, enhance capacity for strategic conservation activities, build community support for a conserved and resilient A.T. landscape; and champion an A.T. landscape that encourages all people to feel welcome, respected, supported and valued.

Conservation Planning

Purpose - Building organizational, partnership, or community capacity/buy-in for future strategic conservation actions.

Conservation Planning grants are available to support the strategic conservation planning efforts of organizations, regional partnerships, or local governments or agencies that aim to catalyze local or regional land protection and nature-based solutions for climate change within the A.T. Landscape. Eligible projects can include, but are not limited to, developing strategic conservation or open space plans, preplanning needs such as data collection or analysis, building parcel prioritization/decision support tools for land protection, or creating natural resource stewardship/restoration planning. Competitive projects will use collaborative and/or community-driven conservation approaches, support public access to recreation opportunities, advance climate resiliency, and protect clean water where appropriate. It is important that conservation planning projects clearly demonstrate how efforts will result in or catalyze future landscape conservation, address climate change, and strive to strengthen community support for conservation.

Funding

Up to $400,000 will be granted through the Wild East Action Fund to qualified land protection, conservation planning, and community resiliency projects. Conservation Planning and Community Resiliency grant requests between $5,000 and $20,000 will be considered.

All funding opportunities require a cash or in-kind match. Match ratio will be considered on a case-by-case basis, evaluated on the circumstances of the organization and project context. The match should be secured or demonstrate with confidence that it will be secured during the grant period.

Funding for the Conservation Planning and Community Resilience grant categories are made possible through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s A.T. Resiliency Fund. 

Since 1999, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (Foundation or VLCF), established under Va. Code §§ 10.1-1017 through 10.1-1026, has funded land conservation projects throughout the Commonwealth. The Foundation administers, manages, and holds competitive grant rounds from a special, nonreverting fund in the state treasury known as the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, Va. Code § 10.1-1020 (Fund).

The Foundation administers the Fund for the purpose of providing grants to state agencies, other public bodies, qualifying nonprofits and state-recognized and federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribes. The grant funds can be used for the costs associated with permanently conserving land throughout the Commonwealth, including the purchase of development rights. VLCF grants are awarded only for acquiring interests in property that have not yet been permanently protected. There are five grant categories set out in Va. Code § 10.1-1020 (D): farmland preservation; forestland conservation; historic area preservation; natural area protection; and open spaces and parks.

The Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, serving as Administrative Secretary and assisted by an interagency task force, is charged with administering, reviewing, and making recommendations on grant applications to the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the Foundation. Using specific criteria defined in each grant category, grants may be awarded for up to 50 percent of total project costs. The program can pay up to 100 percent of these costs for state agencies and eligible Virginia Indian Tribes, Va. Code § 10.1-1020 (A)(2).

Guiding factors for distribution of VLCF funds are set out in Va. Code §§ 10.1-1020 and 1021.1, which specify that at least one third of the funds shall be used to secure open-space easements to be held or co-held by a public body, and that the Foundation shall seek to achieve a fair distribution of land protected throughout the Commonwealth. Additionally, the state budget customarily specifies that no less than 50 percent of the VLCF funds shall be used for projects that provide public access

About the Forest Legacy Program

The federal government established the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) with the intent to partner with state agencies to protect important forestlands under threat of conversion to other uses. This USDA Forest Service program uses federal grant funding to support state efforts to identify and protect important private forest tracts threatened by conversion to non-forest uses.

FLP funding helps states purchase land or conservation easements to protect forestlands that provide public benefits, including sustainable forest resources, clean water and air, wildlife habitat, and forested scenic views, as well as protect sensitive sites and essential habitat for threatened and endangered species.

Forest Legacy Program in Virginia

The Virginia Department of Forestry’s (DOF) Forest Legacy Program (FLP) partners with the USDA Forest Service to protect important forestlands under threat of conversion that then provide a sustainable forest resource for generations. Annually, the USDA Forest Service offers competitive federal funding and DOF in turn issues a corresponding request for project proposals that are reviewed by the state Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee to advise which would contend at the national level amongst all states for the competitive federal funds available.

FLP-awarded federal funds help facilitate the purchase of conservation easements or fee simple acquisitions from a willing landowner. The FLP is geared towards large, landscape-scale projects that either involve a single landowner with significant landholdings or involve multiple tracts with different landowners that do not necessarily need to be contiguous but must have an overarching connection. Due to their sheer size and the rhythm of the federal funding, FLP projects have a multi-year timeline for completion.

One of the primary tenets of the FLP is to ensure the conservation of working forests to provide a multitude of benefits to Virginians including sustainable forest resources, clean water and air, forested scenic views, as well as protection of sensitive sites and essential habitat for threatened and endangered species. Providing strong economic incentives to landowners to keep their existing forestland through purchase of conservation easements helps facilitate sustainable forest management and supports strong markets for forest products. Loss of forested areas poses an increasing threat to the integrity of Virginia’s natural resources. As these areas are fragmented and disappear, so do the benefits they provide.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society—a private, non-profit organization established in 1831. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation. For use in its state history museum and its renowned research library, the historical society cares for a collection of more than nine million items representing the ever evolving story of Virginia.

The Commonwealth History Fund

The Commonwealth History Fund (Fund) was established by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture to support and encourage meaningful history education and preservation projects throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Made possible by generous funding from Dominion Energy and others, the Fund is designed to provide grants of approximately $400,000 per year and nearly $2,000,000 overall in its first five years of operation.

The Commonwealth History Fund is a restricted fund owned and managed by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) and is facilitated in partnership with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR).

Grant Criteria

Preliminary grant criteria include, but are not limited to:

• The significance of the project or resource and its impact on the community and Commonwealth.
• The project’s focus on underserved people, communities, narratives, etc.
• The need for funding and the urgency of the project.
• The project’s budget, how funds will be allocated, and the applicant’s proven ability to secure all necessary funds.
• The project’s timeline, scope, scale, and level of professionalism.
• The qualifications of the key personnel, volunteers, consultants, etc. and theirproven ability to complete similar projects.
• The applicant’s history of support via the Fund, and the proximity to other Fund supported projects (multi-year grants are not given; but applications over consecutive years are allowed).
• The applicant’s ability to secure matching funds via other grants or various forms of in-kind support (not required, but encouraged).

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. 

Conservation Stewardship Program

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps you build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation.

Whether you are looking to improve grazing conditions, increase crop resiliency, or develop wildlife habitat, we can custom design a CSP plan to help you meet those goals. We can help you identify natural resource problems in your operation and provide technical and financial assistance to solve those problems or attain higher stewardship levels in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner.

How It Works

If you are already taking steps to improve the condition of the land, chances are, CSP can help you find new ways to meet your goals.

NRCS works one-on-one with producers to develop a conservation plan that outlines and enhances existing efforts, using new conservation practices or activities, based on management objectives for your operation. Producers implement practices and activities in their conservation plan that expands on the benefits of cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving their agricultural operations.

For example, if you have been planting a cover crop, you may decide to try an enhancement for a multi species cover crop or implement a deep-rooted cover crop to break up soil compaction and further improve the health of your soil.

CSP offers annual payments for implementing these practices on your land and operating and maintaining existing conservation efforts. Want to take it a step further? CSP also offers bundles where you can select a suite of enhancements and receive a higher payment rate.

Benefits

CSP is for working lands and is the largest conservation program in the United States. Thousands of people voluntarily enroll in the program because it helps them enhance natural resources and improve their business operation.

CSP participants are seeing real results.  Some of these benefits include:

• Enhanced resiliency to weather and market volatility
• Decreased need for agricultural inputs
• Improved wildlife habitat conditions

CSP Contracts

The program represents a genuine commitment to conservation – CSP contracts are for five years, with the opportunity to compete for a contract renewal if you successfully fulfill the initial contract and agree to achieve additional conservation objectives. An NRCS conservation planner will work closely with you, throughout the entire contract process.

Contract payments are based on two components:

• Payments to maintain the existing level of conservation, based on the land uses included in the contract and an NRCS assessment of existing stewardship at the time of enrollment, and

Payments to implement additional conservation activities.NRCS may provide a minimum annual payment of $1,500 in any year the Chief determines the total contract payment amount is below a base level.

Virginia Priority Resource Concern Categories

• Agricultural Land
  • Crop
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Degraded plant condition
    • Field sediment, nutrient and pathogen loss
    • Soil quality limitations
    • Terrestrial habitat
    • Wind and water erosion
  • Pasture
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Degraded plant condition
    • Field sediment, nutrient and pathogen loss
    • Livestock production limitation
    • Soil quality limitations
    • Terrestrial habitat
    • Wind and water erosion
  • Farmstead
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Storage and handling of pollutants
    • Terrestrial habitat
  • Associated Ag Land
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Terrestrial habitat
    • Wind and water erosion
• Forestry Land
  • Forest
    • Aquatic habitat
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Degraded plant condition
    • Fire management
    • Pest pressure
    • Soil quality limitations
    • Terrestrial habitat
    • Wind and water erosion
  • Farmstead
    • Aquatic habitat
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Terrestrial habitat
  • Associated Ag Land
    • Aquatic habitat
    • Concentrated erosion
    • Pest pressure
    • Terrestrial habitat
    • Wind and water erosion

EQIP

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

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

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

How It Works

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

State Priorities

• Conservation Planning Activities (CPAs), Design and Implementation Activities (DIAs) and Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activities (CEMAs)
  • Planning, design, implementation and monitoring tasks for NRCS conservation program purposes (previously known as Conservation Activity Plans or CAPs)
• Cropland
  • Practices to enhance water and soil quality while improving plant health and productivity
• Forestry
  • Practices that will lead to the conversion of marginal land (active cropland, pasture or abandoned open land) to hardwood, longleaf or shortleaf pine
• Livestock
  • Practices to improve and protect water and soil quality while benefiting plant and animal health.
• Longleaf Pine
  • Stand establishment and management within the historical range in Southeastern Virginia.
• National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI)
  • Targeted practices to clean up impaired streams and improve aquatic habitats.
  • The following watersheds are eligible for this fund pool: War Branch and Mountain Run in Rockingham County and Gap Creek in Rockingham and Shenandoah counties.
• On-Farm Energy
  • Agricultural Energy Management Plans (AgEMP) or farm energy audits to assess energy use and recommend ways to reduce it.
• Organic
  • Practices to help certified organic growers, those working to achieve organic certification, and specialty crop producers address resource concerns on their operations.
• StrikeForce
  • Priority ranking for cropland, high tunnel and livestock practices to support program participation among underserved producers in rural communities.
• Wildlife
  • Practice to create, improve and manage habitat for wildlife. (See also Working Lands for Wildlife initiative)
    • American Black Duck Initiative
      • Focused conservation practices to restore wintering habitat in the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay watersheds
    • Eastern Hellbender
      • Targeted conservation practices to reduce sediment and nutrient inputs for improved habitat and water quality
    • Golden-winged Warbler
      • Young forest habitat restoration in Appalachian breeding territory
    • Northern Bobwhite in Pine Savannas
      • Management strategies to convert commercial loblolly and shortleaf pine plantings to highly valuable pine savannah habitats
    • Northern Bobwhite in Working Grasslands
      • Native grass restoration to address habitat loss while maintaining or improving cattle production on the land.

National Program Initiatives

• Conservation Planning Activities (CPAs), Design and Implementation Activities (DIAs), and Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activities (CEMAs)
  • Non-Tribal
  • Tribal
• EQIP - Conservation Incentive Contracts: statewide competition for grazing lands to promote implementation of 528 Prescribed Grazing
• High Tunnel Systems (Socially Disadvantaged by NRCS Area)
  • Area High Tunnel System - competitive on an area basis
  • Beginning Farmer High Tunnel System – competitive statewide
  • Socially Disadvantaged High Tunnel System - competitive statewide
• Urban Agriculture - competitive statewide for land within an urban areas as defined by the latest U.S. Census or, or land within an Incorporated towns
• Organic Initiative (Certified and Transitional)
• On-Farm Energy (Conservation Activity Plans)
• StrikeForce Initiatives (eligible land must be within designated StrikeForce localities) Cropland and livestock ranking pools - StrikeForce Cropland
• Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership (Eastern Divide)

Landscape Conservation Initiatives

• Longleaf Pine Initiative
• National Water Quality Initiative (Smith Creek Watershed)
  • Dry Fork
  • Gap Creek
  • Mountain Run
  • War Branch
• Working Lands for Wildlife
  • American Black Duck
  • Golden-Winged Warbler
  • Northern Bobwhite in Working Grasslands

State Conservation Initiatives

• Cropland
• Forestry (competitive statewide)
  • Longleaf Pine/Shortleaf Pine and Hardwood Management
  • Tribal Longleaf Pine/Shortleaf Pine and Hardwood Management
• Livestock
• Wildlife
  • Aquatic
  • Hellbender
  • Northern Bobwhite in Pine Savannahs and
  • Terrestrial (competitive statewide)
  • Tribal Terrestrial Wildlife

Corporate Contributions

Community involvement and corporate citizenship are an example of Insperity’s mission in action. We are committed to helping the communities where we live and work because together, we know we can make great things happen.

Grants

Philanthropic grants are a strong part of our community outreach and aid institutions needing financial support to meet important service goals.

Event Sponsorship

Fundraising events are an important part of nonprofit support. Insperity provides event sponsorships to approved charities to assist them in meeting their financial and community goals.