California Wildlands Grassroots Fund

The California Wildlands Grassroots Fund (Cal Wildlands) supports the heroic efforts of grassroots activists to preserve California’s wildlands and natural habitat. Donor Name: Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment State: California County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline:  08/15/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: 1 Year Details: The Fund champion’s conservationists advocating for the permanent protection, including restoration and stewardship, of intact wildlands on both public and private lands, to help preserve California’s wilderness and native biological diversity. This includes policy advocacy, litigation and regulatory watchdogging at the local, state and federal levels; efforts to advance wildlands and open space protection through county general plans and local planning; as well as direct stewardship and maintenance of intact wild areas. Priority Areas Community-based advocacy and organizing efforts steered by affected community members. Efforts predominantly driven and staffed by volunteers. Projects in areas that have not received significant foundation support, including rural communities. Projects that build diverse constituencies for wildlands protection and engage non-traditional stakeholders, especially communities of color. Project-specific requests, though general support requests will be accepted from strong organizations whose work is well aligned with the fund’s objectives. Projects that will establish or combat a critical precedent that will influence other wildlands protection efforts. Funding Information Maximum grant award is $10,000, and typical grants range between $4,000-$8,000. If your organization’s actual annual income and expenses are $30,000 or less, they strongly encourage you to request a grant of $5,000 or less. Organizations seeking the maximum grant size of $10,000 must be able to articulate a clear project and budget that justifies the full grant. Grants are for a one year period. Geographic Scope Project impact must be within the state of California. Eligibility Criteria Annual actual expenses and income of $200,000 or less. Applicants may be a nonprofit, or an individual/organization fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit. The Fund supports: Projects that protect and preserve wildlands and open space, or support the good stewardship, restoration and management of wild areas. Cal Wildlands defines “wildlands” as natural habitats, privately or publicly owned, that are (or have the potential to be) permanently preserved through legislation or deed restrictions, and are on a scale necessary to support significant native plant and animal life. Projects in urban or suburban settings, must feature connectivity to larger protected areas and/or be located along critical wildlife corridors. Activities such as grassroots organizing and outreach; communications campaigns; regulatory advocacy; lawsuits; wildlands restoration and stewardship (including trail maintenance); scientific research; organizational capacity building and equipment purchases. Environmental education programs must include a strong element of environmental advocacy to be considered. For more information, visit RFCE.