Search Through Transportation Grants in the U.S.

About the Banfield Foundation

Since 2015, Banfield Foundation has been making preventive care possible for the pets that need it most. Through grants and partnerships, we provide medical supplies and resources to nonprofit partners in need; support pets, people and communities in crisis; and enable veterinary professionals to deliver compassionate and inclusive preventive veterinary care in under resourced communities areas across the nation. We also leverage the expertise and passion of Banfield Pet Hospital, part of Mars Veterinary Health, and its Associates to care for pets in need. At the Banfield Foundation, we are committed to living our collective purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

Disaster Relief Grant

This grant program is for nonprofit animal welfare organizations and/or government agencies whose communities suffer the impact of natural or other disasters.

Grants will also be considered for organizations that have not been directly impacted by a disaster but are helping another organization in need such as the rescue and/or intake of animals. 

Grant funding can be used for:

• Medical supplies and veterinary care treatment for pets 
• Pet food, pet supplies, including crates, etc.
• Temporary shelter or boarding costs for rescued or at-risk pets
• Other immediately needed materials including cleaning supplies, tarps, bedding, blankets, etc. to keep pets safe and comfortable
• Transportation costs to rescue or relocate pets
• Other expenses related to providing temporary shelter for rescued pets including overtime salaries, rental equipment or facilities, cleanup costs, etc.
• Reimbursement up to three months post-disaster for expenses incurred and related to the above. 

Climate Ride is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that organizes life-changing charitable events to raise awareness and support sustainability, active transportation, and environmental causes.

Since 2008, Climate Ride has granted nearly $14 million to more than 375 organizations working on sustainability, bicycle advocacy, conservation, and climate change issues.

Climate Ride Grants

In order to become a partner beneficiary, the beneficiary organization must commit to doing outreach and engaging supporters to select them as a beneficiary on any Climate Ride event. 

If your organization is interested in becoming a beneficiary, or if you would like to nominate an organization, please contact us. We will schedule a call for the organization and Climate Ride to discuss if this could be a beneficial partnership.

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

Grants & Advocacy

The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation partners with and provides grants to select nonprofit organizations across the United States whose guiding principles are aligned with our fundamental goals. We strive to work with dynamic and proactive groups who can deliver successful programs that:

• Benefit as many animals as possible.
• Maximize awareness, education, and efficiency.
• Produce measurable results.
• Promote positive change.
• Leverage support from other sources.

These organizations help support our mission by offering free or subsidized spay and neuter clinics, adoption, rescue, foster and transport services, obedience training and pet care education; and, they are directly involved in the fight against the inhumane treatment of animals.

Collectively, we promote the adoption of companion pets from local shelters and discourage the purchase of pets from pet stores that obtain animals from commercial puppy factories know as “puppy mills.”

We are fierce advocates of a compassion revolution — a collective effort by animal advocates across our country to work together to end animal overpopulation and cruelty. This may seem like an overwhelming challenge, but impossible tasks can be accomplished if we take them on in measured steps.

Grant FocusThe focus of our grant program is currently the Namaste Spay and Neuter initiative, which we believe will have the most significant impact on animals nationwide. We prioritize applications that seek to implement this initiative.

What is Ecosystem Thinking?

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

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

This is Ecosystem Thinking.

What are Ecosystem Grants?

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

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

Our Funding Priorities

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

Examples of Funded Projects

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

Funding Amount and Duration

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

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

About Us

At Alliance Bank of Arizona, striving to help the vibrant and diverse communities we serve sustain a high quality of life and long-term economic growth is an integral part of our business culture.

To advance economic growth, we believe every community should have access to quality education, safe and affordable housing, job opportunities, transportation and health care. Alliance Bank of Arizona takes great pride in our proactive and consistent lending and investments, grants and  donations to underserved communities, low- and moderate-income individuals, and the nonprofits that serve them.

Nonprofit Assistance

Our commitment to growing the not-for-profit base in our markets is an essential value for our banking divisions. Members of the teams actively support local not-for-profit organizations often serving on multiple boards and committees. Our Community Alliance Program, which features competitive banking products, including checking, Money Market and Analysis accounts, reflects this strong commitment.

In addition to strong lending and investment programs, we make charitable contributions to help 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations that provide services and support in low- or moderate-income areas. Among other efforts, our banking divisions work with organizations and programs that provide:

• Affordable housing for low- or moderate-income individuals
• Community services targeted to low- or moderate-income individuals
• Education for low-income and at-risk students
• Economic Development
• Revitalization or stabilization of low- or moderate-income areas
• Cultural and Artistic Enrichment in underserved communities

About Us

Since 2018, the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has directed more than $59 million to organizations, innovators and changemakers across the country to address a fundamental absurdity in our food system: 38% of all food in the U.S. is unsold or uneaten,1 yet 34 million Americans struggle with hunger.

Through innovation, collaboration and community engagement, we’re committed to our mission of creating communities free of hunger and waste.

Overview

The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation exists to support nonprofit organizations, social entrepreneurs and creative thinkers who are focused on improving food security, ending food waste and more. The foundation cares for the communities we call home one meal at a time and is guided by three pillars.

• Enabling collective action
• Catalyzing innovation
• Creating a more equitable food system

The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Grant

Since 2018, the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has directed more than $59 million to organizations that are aligned with our mission to create communities free of hunger and waste.

We support nonprofits, innovators and community-based organizations that help:

• Meet critical transportation needs for food banks and partner agencies.
• Operate mobile pantry programs to improve food access in underserved communities.
• Increase access to, and enrollment in, SNAP benefits.
• Provide breakfast after the bell for students at school.
• Serve homeless men and women who want to gain skills, stabilize their lives and find permanent housing.
• Improve nutrition education and access to healthier foods.

Funding

When requesting a donation, please specify the type of support needed from these options: 

• Cash Donation: nonprofit organization request for charitable cash support to help drive community impact. This includes Foundation Grants for philanthropic support to transform our communities without any commercial incentive
• Sponsorship: nonprofit organization request for cash support with the purpose of achieving commercial objectives
• Gift Card: nonprofit organization request for gift cards
• Product: nonprofit organization request for in-kind or product donations

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms who seek to confront economic, environmental, racial, and social injustice. Since our founding in 1992, the Impact Fund has made more than 800 recoverable grants totaling more than $10 million for impact litigation. We award grants four times per year, most within the range of US$10,000 to US$50,000.

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Texas and North Carolina, incarcerated people with mental health disabilities are forced to remain in jail despite being found not guilty and unable to proceed with a criminal trial.
• In Orange County, California there are currently 13 gang injunctions under effect, which disproportionately affect young men of color.
• In Chicago, Illinois, the city’s homeless shelter program is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
• In Springfield, Oregon, the city and its police department used excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters.
• In West Virginia, the state fails to protect children in foster care from abuse and neglect. 
• In Montana, voter suppression laws disadvantage young adults and give priority to gun owners.
• In Gary, Indiana, a gun manufacturer negligently marketed and distributed its guns, leading to an epidemic of gun violence in the city. 
• In Vancouver, British Columbia, the police perpetuate systemic discrimination against Indigenous people through bureaucratic measures.

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice. These grants are for cases aiming to help people or communities who are affected by environmental harm or who lack access to basic environmental needs, such as clean water, clean air, adequate waste treatment, and green spaces. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Centreville, Illinois, the city’s failure to maintain its sewer system has caused raw sewage to flood peoples’ homes, endangering the property and health of a predominantly Black community.
• In Fresno County, California, the California Department of Transportation approved a highway expansion project that would increase air pollution and traffic in one of the state’s most environmentally burdened communities.
• In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the proposed expansion of a highway would divide the region's Black, Asian, and Latine neighborhoods and cause pollution and ill health.
• In North Dakota, the five-month closure of a highway in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests disproportionately affected the livelihoods and health of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members.
• In Ontario, Canada, mercury contamination of the English-Wabigoon river system causes catastrophic environmental and health impacts for the Grassy Narrows First Nation.
• In Sacramento, California, the county government and Sacramento Area Sewer District violated the Clean Water Act by discharging raw sewage into nearby rivers.
• In the Eastern Coachella Valley in California, 1,900 residents of the Oasis Mobile Home Park suffer from arsenic-laced drinking water, wastewater contamination, and overcharging for utilities.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporationss and the government accountable. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Brooklyn, New York, a prominent mortgage lender engaged in predatory practices, leaving homeowners of color at risk of losing their homes. 
• In Washington, live-in caregivers are unconstitutionally excluded from the state’s wage-and-hour protections.
• In Ravalli County, Montana, the county has created a “modern-day debtors’ prison” by incarcerating people unable to afford pre-trial fees. 
• In San Diego, California, vehicle ordinances target unhoused vehicle owners even when no adequate housing alternative exists.
• In New York, a federal immigration detention facility is violating minimum wage and forced labor laws by forcing detainees to work for just a dollar a day. 
• In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city and county destroy the property of unhoused individuals and conduct forced evictions from public spaces. 
• In Miami, Florida, insurance companies discriminate against a nonprofit community development corporation renting to tenants with Section 8 rental subsidies.

Program overview

As a pillar of the Paralysis Resource Center, the Quality of Life Grants Program, pioneered by the late Dana Reeve, impacts and empowers people living with paralysis, their families and caregivers by providing grants to nonprofit organizations whose projects and initiatives foster inclusion, involvement and community engagement, while promoting health and wellness for those affected by paralysis in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Grants have been awarded in all fifty states, a number of U.S. territories and though we no longer fund projects outside of the United States of America, grants have previously been awarded in 33 countries outside the U.S.

Quality of Life Grant Details

Grants are awarded to organizations that address the needs of people living with paralysis caused by spinal cord and other injuries, diseases or birth conditions, including (but not limited to) stroke, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Direct Effect (Tier 1)

Direct Effect (Tier 1) is open-focused and awards grants of up to $25,000 to support a wide range of projects and activities. Grants fund programs and projects that will clearly impact individuals living with paralysis and their families.

Direct Effect Quality of Life grants fund specific budget items up to a total of $25,000 to support the wide range of projects and activities that will clearly impact individuals living with paralysis and their families. Funded projects must be completed within 12 months after the award is received.

Examples of funded projects may include (but are not limited to):

• sports wheelchairs for a wheelchair basketball team;
• adapted glider in a community playground;
• kayak for a rowing program;
• accessible gym equipment;
• hydraulic lift at a pool;
• electronic door openers at a community center;
• workshop education series on sex and sexuality with a spinal cord injury;
• wheelchair accessible picnic table at a county fairground;
• program for preventing abuse in adaptive sports;
• camp programs;
• subsidized lessons for therapeutic riding;
• transportation costs for an inclusive afterschool program; and
• support groups.

See Types of Direct Effect (Tier 1) Projects Funded

Direct Effect grants will have short- to mid-range impact. Long-range impact and sustainability are not expected for projects at this level. Grantees will be required to submit a 6-month interim report and a final report and evaluation survey at the end of the project.

What is the EJ4Climate Grant Program?

Initiated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the CEC established this new grant program to fund grants and cooperative agreements1 that will work with underserved and vulnerable communities, and Indigenous communities, in Canada, Mexico, and the United States to prepare them for climate related impacts. This program will provide funding directly to community-based organizations to help them develop community-driven solutions to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

For this inaugural grant cycle, the CEC is calling for initiatives that:

• Support community resilience to climate change and climate-related impacts;
• Yield tangible, equitable benefits for local communities by addressing or adapting to climate change impacts;
• Consider local knowledge and transform that knowledge into an innovative action or solution; and
• Build partnerships that respond to community-identified challenges.

This program is targeted to underserved and vulnerable communities, including Indigenous communities, low-income communities, and communities with heightened risk and increased sensitivity to climate change and that have less capacity and fewer resources to cope with, adapt to, or recover from climate impacts. The degree of risk and sensitivity stems from physical (built and environmental), social, political, and/or economic factors, which interact with each other and are exacerbated by climate impacts. These factors include, but are not limited to, race, class, sexual orientation and identification, national origin, and income inequality.

This program seeks to support environmental justice by facilitating the involvement of underserved and vulnerable communities in the search for solutions and the development of partnerships that address the unequal distribution of environmental vulnerabilities to climate change impacts. In Mexico, the concept of environmental equity (equidad ambiental) is analogous, and entails an equal distribution of environmental benefits and impacts.

The program also seeks to foster climate resilience by improving the capacity of communities to prepare for, withstand, respond to, and recover from hazardous events or disturbances related to climate change, which poses risks to human health, the environment, cultural resources, the economy, and quality of life. These changes are expected to create further challenges to protecting human health and welfare and the environment, and impact vulnerable and underserved, and Indigenous communities disproportionately.

Projects

Possible projects under the grant program could include addressing extreme weather impacts, transitioning to clean energy and/or transportation systems, or utilizing traditional ecological knowledge to address climate change impacts. Project types can include, but are not limited to, capacity building, pilot projects, transfer of innovative technologies, conducting outreach or education, sharing best practices, communication and preparedness/response process improvements, training environmental and community leaders, engaging youth on environmental activities, reducing risks to the environment.

Funding

Projects are funded for a duration of 12 (twelve) to 24 (twenty-four) months. The CEC encourages applicants to submit proposals up to C$200,000 and will consider additional funds (where available) for exceptional projects. The CEC recognizes that a project can have a great impact at a low cost; therefore, no minimum grant amount has been established. 

Company Giving

We provide financial support for projects across four pillars to support the causes our employees care most about:

• Health Care
• Veterans' Support
• Education
• Crisis Management

Truist Foundation

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses.

Inspire Awards

We’re collaborating with MIT Solve to kick off our third year of the Inspire Awards. Nonprofits from across the country are invited to pitch their solution to advance workers through career navigation and workforce development.

This year’s Inspire Awards challenge aims to improve resources and wraparound services for workers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career transitions to uplift themselves—and their families. For workers looking to develop skills to help them adapt to industry changes, career navigation and workforce development solutions can make an impact. These tools can aid smoother career transitions, foster economic mobility, and empower workers to pursue personal growth.

2025 Truist Foundation Inspire Awards Challenge Question

How are nonprofits providing innovative solutions for the reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation needs of adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers?

Challenge Dimensions

We are seeking innovative nonprofit solutions that improve resources and wraparound services for adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation support, including:

• Wraparound Services – Supporting unemployed and underemployed individuals on their journey to economic mobility through innovative and comprehensive resources including transportation support, childcare, mentorship, mental health services, and more.
• Coalition Building – Generating greater buy-in and support for workforce navigation efforts through coalitions, promoting communication and collaboration across diverse sectors and stakeholders including businesses, nonprofits, and government entities.
• Career Navigation – Enabling workers to navigate their career choices more easily, helping to facilitate informed decisions about which high-quality jobs and career trajectories best suit them.
• Upskilling and Reskilling – Providing accessible, high-quality, skill-building and training opportunities for those transitioning between careers or facing unemployment.

Here are the grants for this challenge

• First place: $250,000
• Second place: $150,000
• Runners-up: $25,000
• Audience favorite: $75,000

Keeling Curve Prize

The Global Warming Mitigation Project’s flagship program, the Keeling Curve Prize, awards $50,000 annually to each of 10 global projects that demonstrate the ability to reduce, replace, or remove greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and oceans. Since 2018, we’ve awarded $1.75M to 60 nonprofits, for-profits, and startups, vetted more than 1,130 viable solutions, and grown one of the largest networks of global warming mitigators in the world. The initiatives we’ve awarded are currently projected to reduce 3.27 gigatons of CO2e emissions this year alone (self-reported data).

Categories

The Keeling Curve Prize for Excellence will be awarded to two projects in each of the following categories:

Carbon Sinks (Natural & Engineered)

Projects in this category activate and accelerate natural and/or man-made systems for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS). They are advancing technological and nature-based strategies for capturing and/or utilizing heat-trapping gases from the air or oceans. 

Energy

Projects in this category decarbonize energy, support zero-carbon energy innovations and are leading the way in the supply, distribution, access, infrastructure, or improvements of low or zero-emissions energy systems worldwide. 

Finance

Projects that apply in this category are making the economics and/or financial mechanisms work for heat-trapping gas reduction and/or reversal ventures.  

Social & Cultural Pathways

Projects in this category are changing the way people consider, understand, and act on humanity’s impacts affecting the livability of planet Earth. They are trying to answer the question: what does it take, socially and culturally, to develop beyond fossil fuels? 

Transport & Mobility

Projects that apply in this category should be reimagining and reinventing all types of vehicles, fuels, and mobility options for both people and products. These projects will confront the carbon footprint of the vehicles themselves and the routes traveled.  

The Trails Capacity Program invests in nationwide trails community capacity. We will maximize available funding focused on trail maintenance, research, and stewardship training projects. We find the best trail partners from all nonmotorized and motorized trail user groups (including water trails), and we measure our success in terms of visible, on-the-ground maintenance of trails and increased capacity of trail stewards to do the job effectively.

What the program does:

Supports partners to complete trail research, design, planning, stewardship, and maintenance projects that are inclusive, foster improved trail user behavior and connect trail assets to a broader spectrum of users. This program is targeted for non-Forest Service Federal lands, as well as State, local, and private lands. Projects on Forest Service lands should be directed to the Legacy Trails Program.

Our Mission

American Trails advances the development of diverse, high quality trails and greenways for the benefit of people and communities. Through collaboration, education, and communication, American Trails raises awareness of the value these trail systems offer.

Vision

American Trails envisions the nation’s public trails and greenways being within reach of all people wherever they live, work, and play. This vision ensures that:

• We connect people with the natural world by enabling those who build, maintain, use, and dream of trails.
• We improve the nation’s quality of life, health, and well-being with trails and greenways used for recreation and transportation.
• We invigorate communities financially by supporting trails that add valuable amenities that spur economic development.

American Trails Grant

Our Mission

To protect and restore America’s trails.

Our Vision

The Trail Fund’s vision is to engage the trail, outdoor recreation, and conservation industry giving community to partner with critical stewardship organizations to save our trails.

Our Values

• We connect - Providing a link between foundations, businesses, and the trails community, we enable and inspire our colleagues to work together to protect the trails that are vital to their business.
• We are collaborative - We recognize that our greatest strength is our collective nature. Our partners are trail industry leaders who come together around a common need of saving our trails from neglect.
• We get results - We strive to put 90-95% of all funds collected in our inaugural year directly into trail maintenance, research, and stewardship training projects. We strive to find the best trail partners from across the trails spectrum, and we measure that success in terms of measurable, on-the-ground maintenance of trails and increased capacity of trail stewards to do the job effectively.
• We are responsible - As a group of trails industry representatives, we have a responsibility to invest in protecting the trails that are a critical part of the American experience.

The Trail Fund will be administered by the Trails Move People Coalition, a diverse coalition of trail user groups, led by American Trails, and will support grants for trail maintenance, research, and stewardship training all across the country, serving all types of trail users. The amount of funding available and number of grants we can offer will vary year by year, pending funding.

The Trail Fund is a collaborative program of American Trails (a private 501(c)(3) charitable organization) launching with a generous gift of $50,000 from the Ford Corporation (plus additional funding in smaller amounts from individuals from the trails community and ongoing support from the Waterford Press and Rhino Marking and Protection Systems). With this gift, Ford, through the Bronco Wild Fund made clear its commitment to support all trail users across the country and ensure that high-quality trails are available to all.

Our Funding Priorities

Priority #1: Trail Maintenance Backlog on State and Local Lands

• Unfortunately, trails do not receive the ongoing maintenance support that they need through the Federal, State, and local appropriations process, resulting in a huge trail maintenance backlog.
• By current estimates in the US Forest Service alone, if nothing were to change in the current appropriations for trail maintenance, it would take over 1000 years to eliminate the current trail maintenance backlog.
  • And that does not even take into consideration the additional miles of trail that will be added to the backlog in that same time.
• Maintenance is not sexy, or easy to fund, but it is critical in helping our country, our citizens, and our communities maintain their connection to nature and to the enjoyment of our country’s most beautiful landscapes.

• Priority #2: Research:
  • Research and data on trails are critical to show the impact and benefits of trails.
  • The trails community is witnessing unprecedented growth and a shift in leadership away from Federal agencies, toward foundation and private investment driving trail development.
    • This highlights the need to develop the tools that allow a dynamic trail community to come together, professionalize and standardize, document our value and impact, and articulate this value and impact to public leaders, the outdoor industry, and other industries that unwittingly benefit from trails.
  • Our goal is to establish a robust and collaborative industry research capacity with a focus on the development and understanding of how trails and the industry create value and impact at the community, state, and federal level. Utilize the data and knowledge from research initiatives to inform and grow the trails knowledge base that would inform the needs in creating a professional development program.
• Priority #3: Stewardship Training:
  • Research informs us how to effectively engage trail stewards on public lands.
  • By focusing on engaging younger, under-served, and diverse populations as active trail stewards, we can build a force of passionate individuals to tackle our nation’s trail maintenance needs.
  • The goal of developing high quality, consistent training opportunities is to preserve skills that have been developed over decades as well as teaching the newest technology.
  • Top quality and readily accessible training will help all of us perform to the best of our abilities.
  • By focusing on engaging younger, diverse populations as active trail stewards, we can build a force of passionate individuals to tackle our nation’s trail maintenance needs.

Background

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative responds to the growing number of cities around the world embracing art as an effective and relatively low-cost strategy to activate their streets.

While cities incorporate art into public spaces in a variety of ways, the focus of this initiative is what we’re calling asphalt art: visual interventions on roadways (intersections and crosswalks), pedestrian spaces (plazas and sidewalks), and vertical infrastructure (utility boxes, traffic barriers, and underpasses).

Goals

The Asphalt Art Initiative grant program is designed to fund visual art on roadways, pedestrian spaces, and public infrastructure in cities with the following primary goals:

• Improving street and pedestrian safety
• Revitalizing and activating underutilized public space
• Promoting collaboration and civic engagement in local communities

Eligible Projects

Reflecting the larger grant size in this latest round, proposed projects should be ambitious arts driven street designs with the goal of catalytic improvements to a key location in the city. Improving road safety, especially for pedestrians and cyclists, must be a component of all proposals. Applicants may demonstrate the intended impact through a variety of approaches:

• Critical Intersections:
  • Enhancing safety, mobility, and access in crossings with concentrated pedestrian, bicycle, and/or vehicular traffic
• Major Corridors:
  • Transforming one or more important streets to enhance the walking or cycling network, including significant reallocation of space for non-motorized transportation
• Signature Destinations:
  • Improving access to culturally, historically, or otherwise significant locations at the neighborhood or civic scale
• Large New Public Spaces:
  • Creating or activating plazas or other pedestrian space with amenities such as seating, greenery or space for cultural programming
• Catalysts for Future Projects:
  • Launching or expanding ongoing programs or policies (g., Vision Zero safety program, plaza program, etc.) in the city or the region

Selection Criteria

Competitive proposals must clearly demonstrate:

• Impact
  • The chosen site is significant to the city (e.g., central location, concentrated pedestrian and vehicular traffic, cultural or regional significant).
  • The proposed project addresses a relevant and meaningful challenge faced by the identified site, the surrounding neighborhood, or the city (e.g., traffic safety, underutilized or insufficient public space, etc.), with a particular emphasis on road safety for pedestrians and/or cyclists.
  • The proposed project clearly benefits the local community and engages residents stakeholders in its planning, development, execution, and post-installation activation.
  • The proposed intervention would produce sufficient, appropriate metrics to determine success.
• Viability
  • The characteristics of the proposed site (e.g. physical layout, traffic or pedestrian volume, neighborhood context) are such that the proposed intervention has a high likelihood of success.
  • The project team and partners have the necessary authority and expertise to oversee a project of this nature.
  • The project has demonstrated support from city and community stakeholders, through existing partnerships or a thoughtful outreach/engagement plan.
  • The proposed budget and timeline are realistic and demonstrate notable in-kind city support.
• Quality & Visual Interest
  • The process for artist selection and design development is well-defined and appropriate for the proposed project, and will be overseen by someone with appropriate expertise.
  • If the artist has already been selected, the chosen artist has demonstrated creative skill and the potential to develop a visually compelling design.
  • The surface being painted is in good repair or there is a reasonable plan to repave or otherwise treat it to be receptive to the chosen materials.
  • The proposed maintenance plan is realistic and lays out clear responsibilities for keeping the mural maintained for at least two years.

Funding

The program will award 10 cities grants of up to $100,000 each, as well as on-call technical assistance from the tactical urbanism firm Street Plans and impact evaluation support from Sam Schwartz Consulting.

AARP Community Challenge

The AARP Community Challenge grant program is part of the nationwide AARP Livable Communities initiative that helps communities become great places to live for residents of all ages. The program is intended to help communities make immediate improvements and jump-start long-term progress.

Since the program's debut in 2017, AARP has awarded $20.1 million through over 1,700 grants. Projects have been completed across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Flagship Grant

Flagship AARP Community Challenge grants have ranged from several hundred dollars for smaller, short-term activities to tens of thousands of dollars for larger projects. Since 2017, AARP has funded projects with an average grant amount of $10,000 to $12,000. Nine out of 10 grants (or 92 percent) are for $20,000 or less.

This year, grants will not exceed $25,000. AARP also reserves the right to award compelling projects of any dollar amount.

We are accepting applications for projects that benefit residents — especially those age 50 and older — in the following categories:

• Creating vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities.
• Delivering a range of transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability and access to public and private transit
• Supporting a range of housing options that increases the availability of accessible and affordable choices
• Increasing digital connections and enhancing digital literacy skills of residents
• Supporting community resilience through investments that improve disaster management, preparedness and mitigation for residents

About Us

PEDIGREE Foundation is working to find a solution to the problem of the millions of homeless dogs in this country. Through our grant programs, we support organizations that save the lives of dogs that would otherwise be lost.

The Foundation was established in 2008 by dog lovers with a passionate belief that every dog deserves a loving home. PEDIGREE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation that supports shelters and rescue organizations, as well as encouraging people to ADOPT, VOLUNTEER, and DONATE.

PEDIGREE Foundation grants are funded by the PEDIGREE® Brand and contributions from dog lovers like you. Your tax-deductible donation* helps us reach even more dogs in need.

Program Development Grants 

To increase adoption rates, with a priority on the following types of programs: transport, matching and foster.

Specifically, our grants are intended to:

• help improve the quality of care of dogs while in shelter or rescue to increase adoption potential
• increase adoption rates within shelters or rescues through programs and/or new initiatives in the animal welfare community 

Mission

Founded in 1943, the McKesson Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporate foundation dedicated to advancing health outcomes for all. The Foundation’s mission is to remove barriers to quality healthcare across North America, especially for vulnerable and underserved communities.

Strategic Giving Pillars and Areas of Focus

The McKesson Foundation champions health equity by partnering with nonprofit organizations to advance efforts aligned with three strategic giving pillars and corresponding areas of focus:

Reducing the Burden of Cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates 1.9M people will receive a cancer diagnosis in 2022 and two in five Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. These cancer diagnoses often create both a health and financial crisis for patients and their families. Studies show factors including race/ethnicity, health insurance status and income can affect the timing of a patient’s diagnosis and treatment, as well as their survival and financial impact. Working with our partners, we aim to reduce the risk of getting cancer and address socioeconomic barriers to care.

• Prevention
  • provide education and services to encourage people to adopt healthy diets, exercise regularly, avoid tobacco, and protect their skin.
• Screening and Treatment
  • increase awareness of the importance of screenings, early detection and timely treatment among vulnerable populations; provide free health screenings for patients and connect them to care.
• Financial/Logistical Assistance
  • connect uninsured and underinsured patients to programs providing low or no-cost co-pays and social determinants of health (SDOH) interventions, e.g., transportation, childcare, healthy food, home meal delivery; reduce the economic burden of low-income patients with emergency funds for rent, utilities and other household expenses.

Preparing Tomorrow's Healthcare Workforce

Patients report that they feel more heard and are more compliant with medical guidance when they share race/ethnicity with their healthcare practitioner. Nearly a third of the U.S. population is Black or Hispanic, yet the combined Black and Hispanic representation among oncologists is 8 percent and the combined Black, Indigenous and Hispanic representation among pharmacists is 10.7 percent. Closing the gap between diverse representation among the general population and among healthcare practitioners will improve health equity and patient outcomes.

• Oncology Professionals
  • increase underrepresented in medicine (URiM) student recruitment and retention;
  • increase all health professionals’ cultural competency to better serve a diverse patient population.
• Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians 
  • increase URiM recruitment and retention;
  • prepare students for broader pharmacist roles;
  • leverage pharmacists’ extensive training, community presence and public trust to serve vulnerable and rural patient populations.
• Student Engagement
  • increase students’ awareness of STEM careers;
  • support students’ financial literacy;
  • help prepare middle and high school students for higher education.

Accelerating Crisis Response

With the increased frequency and intensity of climate events, more people across North America need temporary or extended shelter, as well as food and medications, during and in the aftermath of crises. And with 10 percent of the population in both Canada and the U.S. living in food insecure households, programs to provide regular, nutritious meals to children, families and seniors can reduce chronic disease and improve long-term health.

• Preparedness
  • support relief agencies’ efforts to prepare for forecasted as well as unforeseen emergencies;
  • support relief agencies’ efforts to help people become Red Cross Ready.
• Disaster Relief and Recovery
  • mobilize resources to provide acute services, such as water, food, shelter, comfort kits, medicines, and healthcare for people affected by natural disasters or crises;
  • help families return to normalcy after a disaster.
• Medicine and Food
  • assist vulnerable individuals and communities by supporting acute and chronic care services that provide medicines and food.

Greening STEM Grants

In Spring 2025, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) will collaborate with PPG Foundation (PPG) to select a cohort of Greening STEM projects from the PPG communities of Cleveland, OH, Greensboro, NC, and Huntsville, AL. The awards will support holistic STEM programs that infuse environmental science and resources into school curricula focused on student-directed investigations of relevant topics of research, local environmental issues, or problems affecting local public lands. The funding will allow formal and nonformal educators to design and deliver STEM programming that engages youth in place-based learning and environmental monitoring.Through these PPG Foundation Greening STEM grants, PPG and NEEF seek to advance mutual STEM education goals by providing program participants with access to authentic STEM learning experiences that use the environment as a context for engagement.Programming funded by these grants will utilize STEM-focused content, instructional strategies, training approaches, and collaboration and dissemination technologies to assist school educators and staff in implementing and enhancing learning in and outside of the classroom. Following project completion, all resources and related content developed under these grants will be made available via NEEF’s Greening STEM Hub. 

Grant Program Priorities

NEEF and PPG aim to increase grantee teams’ understanding of how to use STEM learning activities to address environmental challenges, engender stewardship, and forge lasting collaborations by:

• bringing Greening STEM programming that includes citizen science or environmental monitoring activities to middle to high school students;
• building the capacity of BLM and formal and informal educators to offer high quality STEM programming that aligns with state education standards;
• helping schools build a culture that values using the environment as a context for improving student learning and achievement;
• facilitating a collaborative development and planning process for engaging youth in environmental monitoring activities—identifying a topic relevant to the community and collecting environmental data (e.g., air, soil, water quality) while practicing Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), acquiring Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), and applying Crosscutting Concepts (CCC)
• stimulating educational partnerships between schools, and community-based organizations that facilitate meaningful place-based learning experiences for students;
• engendering environmental stewardship through a learner-centered approach that encourages authentic problem-solving, collaboration, and leadership in planning and leading a learning expedition in public lands;
• increasing student interest in STEM content and careers.

Greening STEM Project Design Principles

The Greening STEM Model is an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to teaching STEM subjects that uses the natural environment and real-world challenges to engage learners and deliver high-quality STEM education. The student’s experiences and interests are at the center of learning as they explore STEM content and develop a 21st century skills set. Throughout the experience, students can be tasked with different levels of responsibility from working as a team on a project to planning and leading a learning expedition. By having autonomy to design and explore a question of interest related to local landscapes, students are offered opportunities for authentic problem-solving while making gains in environmental knowledge and fostering a stewardship ethic.

All PPG Greening STEM projects shall include elements of two or more of the 2025 Greening STEM Project Design Principles. These are: place-based learning, three-dimensional learning, project-based learning, and community-based learning.

Place-based learning elements

Students are encouraged to explore a topic of study, issue, or problem through direct first-hand experience; collaboration between students interested in the same topic of study, issue, or problem is encouraged; facilitators (DE affiliated educator, community partners, nonformal educators) serve as connectors to existing ways to involve learners with the topics of interest.

Three-dimensional learning elements

Exploration of an anchoring phenomenon encourages students to question assumptions and current understanding; STEM practices are used to motivate problem-solving; exploration of the anchoring phenomenon leads to disciplinary core ideas; cross-cutting concepts are used to connect the anchoring phenomenon to real world events.

Project-based learning elements

The learners are intellectually challenged by their project work; the nature of their project engages learners over the course of days, weeks, or even months; real-world authenticity is simulated by the selection of tools, techniques, and technology used to explore the topic of study, issue, or problem; the students have an opportunity to share their work with audiences beyond their classroom.

Community-based learning elements

The topic of inquiry is explored within a local cultural context, encouraging learners to understand the unique makeup of their communities and the factors that shape them. They consider which knowledge systems and traditions are recognized in discussions of the issue and which are overlooked, as well as how this influences current understanding. Students also examine how different solutions impact their communities, ensuring they are practical, respectful of local perspectives, and responsive to the needs of those affected.

Sports 4 Life Partner Funding Cycle

Sports 4 Life offers community funding and seeks to effect sustainable improvement to the overall health and development of girls in these communities through grant making, leadership training and capacity-building efforts.

Sports 4 Life, cofounded by the Women’s Sports Foundation and ESPN in 2014, was created based on the knowledge that while sports participation offers tremendous life-long benefits – from improved physical health and self-esteem, to better grades in school and enhanced leadership skills – young girls of color are disproportionately excluded.

The program seeks to increase the participation and retention of Black, African-American, Hispanic and/or Native American girls, inclusive of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

Grant Allocation

Funding can be used for coaching, curriculum, equipment, uniforms, transportation, facility rental, tournaments and/or team-building activities, all while fostering the Sports 4 Life benefits: leadership, self-esteem, confidence and perseverance.

Community Solutions Challenge 

The Community Solutions Challenge (CSC), launched in 2021, works to advance health equity through the support of community-based nonprofit programming that prioritize the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of historically excluded and disenfranchised populations. To date, CSC has provided more than $2.6 million to over 100 local nonprofit programs working to address health inequities and advance opportunities in STEM among underserved communities.

Program Focus: Community-based programs must cover one of the following areas:

Nutrition

Address nutrition as a social determinant of health, including reducing food insecurity and providing comprehensive nutritional education to improve health outcomes.

Healthcare Access

Improve access to quality healthcare by addressing barriers, including health education, access to preventive screenings, and transportation services.

Lung Health

Improve lung health and achieve improved health outcomes for those impacted by asthma, COPD and lung cancer

Canine Transportation Van GrantsAs part of its mission to strengthen the human/dog bond, the Stanton Foundation supports a grant program aimed at providing small transportation vans to animal shelters and rescue/foster groups with a canine transportation program. The Foundation provides a one-time capital grant of approximately $80,000 for the canine transportation van and associated customization costs.It is the Foundation’s hope that these grants will lead to an increased number of dog adoptions across the country, and therefore an increased number of happy “pups” in their forever homes.PLEASE NOTE: The goal for this grant program is to increase canine adoptions and reduce canine euthanasia due to lack of space in shelters. The primary use of these vans must be to transport dogs to adoption events or from areas with over-crowded shelters to areas with higher demand for canine adoptions. Transportation of canines to/from the veterinarian or spay/neuter clinics is an acceptable use of the van but should not be the organization's primary use for the van.To honor our donor's intent to help dogs exclusively, transportation of other species ("incidental ride-alongs") is permitted but must be kept to a minimum. Use of van for feline only events or programs (such as TNR) is NOT a permitted use of these vans.

Smart Growth Grants

Smart Growth Grants support state and local REALTOR Associations’ efforts to advance programs, policies and initiatives aligned with one or more of the 10 Smart Growth Principles.

Based on the experience of communities around the nation that have used smart growth approaches to create and maintain great neighborhoods, the Smart Growth Network developed a set of ten basic principles:

• Mix land uses
• Take advantage of compact building design
• Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
• Create walkable neighborhoods
• Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
• Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
• Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
• Provide a variety of transportation choices
• Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
• Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

Level 1

Level 1 Smart Growth grants support efforts to educate REALTORS® and community stakeholders about smart growth topics including hosting a Smart Growth for the 21st Century Class. Activities may include a class or forum, a speaker(s) who can address specific smart growth issues or a meeting with stakeholders to develop coalition efforts.

• Maximum award: $3,000.

Level 2

Level 2 Smart Growth grant supports activities to engage in local land-use, growth and transportation issues with other stakeholders and elected officials which will have an impact on policies. These activities could include community planning and input sessions, development of comprehensive plans and zoning policies, studies, research and reports

• Maximum award: $7,500.

Level 3

Level 3 Smart Growth Grant supports comprehensive initiatives leading to long-term impact in a community with significant REALTOR® and public and private stakeholder involvement.

• Maximum award: $15,000.

Danone Institute of North America: Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Overview

Danone Institute North America announces a request for proposals for the fourth offering of its Danone Institute North America Sustainable Food Systems Initiative. Danone Institute North America (DINA) is a nonprofit innovation center managed by Danone North America, a subsidiary of the global food and beverage company Danone, which has a mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. As a reflection of this, the goal of the DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative is to foster transdisciplinary, community-based work to impact human nutritional health.

Initiative Description and Scope

The DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative is a competitive program that will select and fund up to five transdisciplinary teams in 2025 to design, implement and evaluate actionable community-based projects that contribute to the nutritional health of adult populations and support publication and communication about their impact.

Funding from this initiative can be used for various types of projects and can include pilot studies, feasibility testing, and needs assessments. Each selected team will receive a USD 50,000 DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative grant to implement its project and amplify its message to a broader audience over a two-year period. Teams may use this grant mechanism to supplement current funding from other sources, but new project aims must be developed for the DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative funding.

As part of the initiative, selected teams must participate in a five-day in-person program June 22-25, 2025, in Boulder, CO. The objectives of this program are to provide expertise and support for enhancing projects through project-specific communication and evaluation assistance, and to facilitate the development of a community among award recipients to share ideas, offer support, and create a grassroots movement toward community-based approaches that improve human health and nutrition. Programming will include content on contemporary approaches to human health and nutrition, such as food as medicine; a communications training from experts from the Danone company; presentations and panels of community stakeholders involved in health promotion efforts around nutrition; approaches to team dynamics; and panels and group discussions among the selected teams. The Danone Institute North America will cover the costs of this in-person programming, including transportation, meals and lodging for up to four team members.

The in-person program will be followed approximately three weeks later by a virtual team presentation to a panel of experts of a communications plan to support their project. The team that presents the strongest communication plan as determined by the panel will be awarded an additional USD 10,000 prize to apply toward expanded communications.

The awards will cover a 24-month period for implementing and evaluating projects. Throughout this period, the teams will receive assistance by Danone Institute North America Board members to facilitate implementation, evaluation, and communication of their projects. Opportunities to stay connected with other award recipients will also be provided. The outcomes of funded projects will be communicated to the Danone Institute North America networks and broader groups of external stakeholders.

Specific Objectives of the DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative:

• Support innovative, actionable North America-focused initiatives to promote the nutritional health of populations. We are particularly interested in funding pilot interventions that promote healthy eating across the adult lifespan and at critical junctures, including young adulthood, pregnancy and postpartum periods, and healthy aging,
• Focus areas could include:
  • a food as medicine approach to improve eating behaviors of adults;
  • diet and nutrition improvements resulting from closing food systems gaps that prevent equitable and sustainable access to healthy foods;
  • promotion of accessible and balanced dietary patterns that help improve healthy aging, as well as short-term and long-term health across the lifespan.
• Foster a new generation of transdisciplinary thought leaders working together and advocating for food systems solutions that can build community and benefit the health and nutrition of community members.
• Amplify the understanding of the relationship between community-level food systems and human health among key decision-makers and the public.
• Forge new networks and collaborative relationships among Danone North America, Danone Institute North America, academic institutions in North America, community groups involved with food systems issues, health of community members, and broader food systems disciplines.

Danone Institute of North America: Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Overview

Danone Institute North America announces a request for proposals for a new award as part of its partnership with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). Danone Institute North America (DINA) is a nonprofit innovation center managed by Danone North America, a subsidiary of the global food and beverage company Danone, which has a mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. Danone believes that the health of people and the health of the planet are inseparable. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to build public-private partnerships that fund bold food and agriculture research. Over the past decade, FFAR has funded hundreds of grants and worked with more than 550 partners across the food and agriculture value chain to advance agricultural innovation The two purpose-driven organizations have partnered to expand DINA’s current Sustainable Food Systems Initiative grant program into a new grant program that demonstrates the link between agriculture, the food supply, and health.

Initiative Description and Scope

The DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative (SFSI) Focus on Food is a competitive program co-funded by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) that will select and fund up to three US or Canadian-based transdisciplinary teams in 2025. Projects may focus on designing and pilot testing action-oriented, community-based programs or etiological research aimed at understanding the factors that influence individuals or groups to:

• enhance or adopt sustainable food systems,
• improve access to the local food supply,
• build community self-sufficiency for meeting food need, or
• support soil health and climate related activities.

Projects that reach underserved local populations will be given priority consideration. Teams designing community-based programs also must identify and evaluate pre-specified outcomes of their work that support impact and show the potential for scalability or wider use.

Funding from this initiative can be used for various types of replicable, scalable projects and can include pilot studies, feasibility testing, needs assessments or quantitative or qualitative methods to understand factors influencing individuals or groups to engage in enhancing or adopting more sustainable food system approaches. Each selected team will receive a USD $50,000 SFSI Focus on Food grant to implement its project and amplify its message to a broader audience over a two-year period. Teams may use this grant mechanism to supplement current funding from other sources, but new project aims must be developed for the SFSI Focus on Food funding.

As part of SFSI Focus on Food, selected teams must participate in a four-day in-person program June 22-26, 2025, in Boulder, CO. The objectives of this program are to provide expertise and support for enhancing SFSI Focus on Food projects through project-specific communication and evaluation assistance, and to facilitate the development of a community of practice among award recipients to share ideas, offer support, and create a grassroots movement toward sustainable food systems that improve the climate, human health, and nutrition. Programming will include content on the relationship between sustainable food systems and human health and nutrition; a communications training; presentations and panels of community stakeholders involved in the sustainable food ecosystem; and panels and group discussions among the selected teams. Some portions of programming will overlap with recipients of SFSI nutrition grants and other programming will focus exclusively on issues around climate, soil health and sustainable food systems. The Danone Institute North America will cover the costs of this in-person programming, including transportation, meals and lodging for up to four team members.

The in-person program will be followed by virtual team presentations from SFSI and SFSI Focus on Food recipient teams on their project’s communication plan to a panel of experts. The team that presents the strongest communication plan as determined by the panel will be awarded an additional USD 10,000 prize to apply toward expanded communications.

The awards will cover a 24-month period for the active project and evaluation by the team regarding the project’s impact. Throughout this period, the teams will receive assistance by Danone Institute North America Board members to facilitate implementation, evaluation, and communication of their projects. Opportunities to stay connected with other award recipients will also be provided. The outcomes of funded projects will be communicated to the Danone Institute North America networks and broader groups of external stakeholders.

Specific Objectives of the DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative:

• Support innovative, actionable North America-focused food supply initiatives to promote sustainable food systems that reflect the interconnectivity of community, health of people, and health of the planet.
• Focus on areas of interest that could include:
  • exploring farmer, health professional, or community understanding of and/or attitudes regarding the connection between soil health, nutrient density, and human health;
  • assessing knowledge, attitudes and understanding regarding the impact of sustainable agriculture on healthier food systems and communities;
  • pilot-testing ways to close food systems gaps that prevent equitable and sustainable access to healthy food in local communities;
  • creating local farms in urban deserts; empowering local farmers to work within their community to improve access to healthy food;
  • researching or applying use of indigenous practices and their impact of sustainable agriculture;
  • research that supports an underserved population’s access to healthier food systems/sustainable agriculture.
• Foster a new generation of transdisciplinary thought leaders working together and advocating for food systems solutions that can build community capacity and benefit soil health, food access, equity, as well as the health and nutrition of community members.
• Amplify the understanding of the relationship between sustainable food systems, planetary health, and human health among key decision-makers and the public.
• Forge new networks and collaborative relationships among Danone North America, Danone Institute North America, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, academic institutions in North America, community groups involved with food sustainability issues, health of community members, and broader food systems disciplines.