Deadline: 28-Oct-21
The Rose Foundation has launched its California Wildlands Grassroots Fund to support the heroic efforts of activists to preserve California’s wildlands.
Funding Priorities
- Requests for discrete, project-specific support in which both the site and strategy are concrete and specific, e.g., saving the River Styx from hydroelectric development by getting stakeholders and community members to a hearing in Sacramento.
- Geographic or issue areas that have not received significant financial support in the past, including rural communities and other regions without easy access to financial and political support.
- Community-based advocacy and organizing efforts in which the campaign/project is steered by affected community members and interest groups.
- Effort is predominantly driven and staffed by volunteers.
- Project will establish or combat a critical precedent that will influence other wildlands protection efforts.
- Innovative strategies.
- Project seeks to build diverse constituencies for wildlands protection and engage non-traditional stakeholders, especially communities of color.
Funding Information
- Typical grants range between $2,500- $6,000.
- Maximum grant is $7,500.
- If your organization’s actual annual income and expenses are $30,000 or less, they strongly encourage you to request a grant of $5000 or less.
- If your organization’s actual annual income and expenses are between $50,000-$150,000, you may request up to $7,500.
- Organizations seeking the maximum grant size of $7,500 must be able to articulate a clear project and budget that justifies the full grant.
- The fund prioritizes project-specific requests, but will accept general support requests from strong organizations whose work is well aligned with the fund’s priorities. They will support stipends for organizers; portions of staff salaries linked with a project; consulting fees for technical experts; equipment purchase; and research costs.
- Their goal is to help as many organizations throughout the state as possible and, as a result, they are not always able to provide 100 percent of the funding requested.
- Environmental education programs must include a strong element of environmental advocacy to be considered.
Note: Individuals may apply for Cal Wildlands support, but must be affiliated with 501(c)(3) organization. Cal Wildlands cannot make grants directly to individuals.
Strategies
- The strategies they support include, but are not limited to the following:
- Grassroots organizing; organizational capacity building; participation in public meetings and hearings; public education; communications; legislative and regulatory advocacy; media campaigns; lawsuits; listing petitions; conferences and meetings; skills and leadership trainings; restoration and trail maintenance; scientific research, including citizen science; coalition building; and developing partnerships with government agencies, private entities, nonprofit organizations, and communities.
Activities
- The activities they support include, but are not limited to the following:
- Communications campaigns (including mailings, web-based communications and social media, paid advertising, etc.); strategic campaign planning and implementation; advocacy-related travel or other expenses; research; hiring technical, legal, or scientific experts or consultants; equipment purchase or rental; training; conferences; retreats; monitoring; mapping; and restoration and trail maintenance. Educational activities targeting legislators are allowable, but grant dollars may not be used for lobbying as defined by IRS 501(c)(3).
Eligibility Criteria
- Because of the complex network of agencies, stakeholders, processes, and programs that affect land and habitat issues in California, wildlands protection efforts are challenging.
- That is why the Cal Wildlands Fund provides a broad range of support for activists and organizations working to protect wildlands and habitat throughout the state. The Fund supports:
- Small nonprofit organizations with annual actual expenses and income of $150,000 or less; and
- Individual activists (with a sponsoring organization) with a solid track record of protecting California’s natural landscapes, ecosystems, plants, and wildlife.
- Geographic areas and advocacy efforts that have not received significant foundation support.
For more information, visit https://rosefdn.org/calwildlands