Deadline: 31-Mar-2024
The 11th Hour Racing is offering grants to improve ocean health.
The 11th Hour Racing vision for the future includes cleaner, healthier waterways through strong local stewardship and collective action around the world.
As the climate crisis intensifies, so does the impact on ocean health. They need a global paradigm shift from an extractive economy that depletes the natural resources to a sustainable economy that uses resources wisely and protects the ocean. They work to facilitate this transition by supporting local solutions to global problems, led by community organizations and industry leaders.
By supporting local pilot programs that model best practices of sustainability, restore coastal ecosystems, and advance ocean stewardship, their grantees are creating systemic change to restore ocean health.
Focus Areas
- Ocean Literacy and Stewardship
- They believe in the power of ocean literacy and stewardship to change how humanity sees the ocean. They support opportunities for students and adults to personally experience their local waterways or gain a new perspective of the sea through powerful storytelling. Their goal is to shift how they treat the ocean – from a resource they exploit to a respected, essential ecosystem.
- Their grant giving program includes outreach and education initiatives for any age group focused on improving their knowledge and treatment of the ocean. They prioritize youth-led initiatives, citizen science, and experiential education. They are interested in supporting programs specializing in increased stewardship, access, and ocean literacy within historically under-resourced communities. They support a limited amount of ocean-focused investigative journalism and storytelling. They do not support curriculum development or general funding for educational programming.
- Clean Technologies and Best Practices
- They believe in the power of technological ingenuity and collective behavior change to overcome the environmental impact of human-made systems. From composting to ghost gear removal to preventing plastic pollution through the elimination of single-use plastic, the capacity for systematic change that leads to significant results has untapped potential.
- Their grant giving program includes community campaigns that shift to more sustainable practices, as well as technologies that reduce the environmental footprint of coastal communities, sailing-related activities, and the maritime industry. Activities may involve improving practices regarding plastic pollution prevention or food waste, such as composting, techniques that improve water quality, environmentally responsible vessel disposal methods, or construction materials or processes. They do not invest in proven technologies or support offshore marine debris clean-ups or advertising.
- Ecosystem Restoration
- They believe in the power of nature to restore itself. In the face of an overwhelming climate crisis, nature has solutions to mitigate coastal flooding, erosion, and ocean acidification. Whether it’s the small but mighty oyster or stretches of seagrass and mangroves, when they support restoration efforts, their funding helps nature and the people who depend on it.
- Their grant giving program includes using coastal habitats like mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass to sequester carbon (commonly referred to as “blue carbon”) or using nature-based solutions such as living shorelines, oysters reefs or kelp farming to improve coastal water quality or build coastal resilience to a changing climate. Priority goes to community-led projects and initiatives that involve collaborations amongst multiple organizations and stakeholder engagement. They do not support hard infrastructure projects, conservation easements, or land acquisition.
Funding Information
- Grants are typically one year in length, and they generally offer fewer multi-year grants.
- Typical grant awards range from $40,000 – $150,000, with an average grant size of $75,000. First-time grants to new organizations are generally smaller.
Eligibility Criteria
- They prioritize projects led by 501(c)(3) organizations, but other types of nonprofit or charitable entities may apply as long as the proposed project addresses one or more of 11th Hour Racing’s strategic goals. They award grants in the U.S. and globally; however, they prioritize funding on the East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. 11th Hour Racing seeks proposals that align with one or more of their focus areas.
For more information, visit 11th Hour Racing.