Deadline: 15-Sep-21
The Community Foundation of Mendocino County is offering Environmental Education and Conservation Fund to encourage the appreciation, conservation, and responsible use of the natural environment in Mendocino County.
The fund seeks to raise awareness about the natural world through education and to address important conservation issues directly.
The Community Foundation invites proposals from organizations, including educational institutions, which offer conservation and/or education programs on issues including, but not limited to:
- Ecological understanding and natural resource management;
- The importance of the scientific method in addressing conservation issues;
- The effects of climate change and humans’ role in causing and addressing climate change;
- Caring for the land through land stewardship best practices;
- Habitat and watershed restoration; and
- Providing and improving public access to natural lands so people from all walks of life can enjoy them.
Funding Information
- Total available: $10,000
- Grant range: $1,000 – $5,000
Eligibility Criteria
If you received a Field-of-Interest grant earlier in the year, your organization is still eligible to apply to this round of funding, provided you complete an interim report prior to the deadline. City and county entities will be considered on a request-by-request basis. All other applicant organizations must:
- serve residents of Mendocino County. Applicants not headquartered in Mendocino County must ensure that all grant dollars requested are spent within the County;
- be legally chartered in California and in possession of determination letter from the IRS declaring the organization a public charity that is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3); or be a school district, tribe, or special district (e.g. community services, recreation, fire protection); or have an aligned mission with a fiscal sponsor;
- have two years of operational history; and
- conduct business without discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, or religious affiliation.
Criteria
- Educational projects may include (but are not limited to) day and residential outdoor schools and science camp programs, college-level programs in natural resource management, and natural history displays. Eligible uses for education grants include:
- equipment and teaching materials,
- instructor compensation,
- staff and volunteer training/conferences,
- internships,
- student transportation costs, and
- scholarships that allow more people to participate in programs.
- Conservation projects may include (but are not limited to) wildlife surveys, training for wildlife surveys, land docent trainings, habitat studies, habitat and watershed restoration projects, improving existing public access to conservation lands, internships for land stewardship and trail building, tree planting, native plant management, and invasive plant removal. Eligible uses for conservation project grants include:
- staff time for project management,
- construction equipment and supplies,
- engineering and design,
- subcontractor services, and
- permit fees.
For more information, visit https://www.communityfound.org/grants-scholarships/grants/field-of-interest-grant-program/environmental-education-and-conservation-fund/