GRANT PROCESS

1. CONFIRM YOUR FIT

We will reach out to you if we are interested in possibly funding your organization; we do not review unsolicited inquiries. Although an invitation-based process, the process is still competitive, as we work to match available funds with each docket's particular requests.

We'll do our due diligence on your organization before inviting a proposal, but before applying, confirm that you can check "yes" to the following:

> Applicant organization is incorporated in the U.S. or Canada and holds 501(c)3 or (c)4 US charity status, or is a registered Canadian charity

> Organizational budget is under $750,000

> Proposal is focused within our geographic priority areas

> Proposal is not for the following activities or subjects which we do not fund:

General climate change education & awareness
Open ocean issues (beyond the coastal zone)
General environmental education (as opposed to goal-specific education)
Air quality or pollution and cleanup
Grants to educational institutions
Scientific research unless in support of a specific targeted action (for e.g.: drawing boundaries of a proposed wildlife corridor)

2. SEND A PROPOSAL

Your time is better spent saving nature than writing proposals... If you have already prepared a grant proposal for another foundation for something very similar to what you want to propose to us, just change the address line and send it to us, as long as it covers what we ask for below.

We are more oriented towards projects with very clear and achievable objectives than we are towards general support; however, if it's clear that your primary orientation as an organization is to protect the places and critters of our Priority areas, we may invite an application for general support.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Contact info, copy of IRS determination letter or Canadian charity registration; if a project grant, names of project's lead staff or board members

2. Annual budget, Profit & Loss Statement, and Balance Sheet

3. If a project (vs. general support): include project budget or make clear in your annual budget what section is the project you are applying towards | Also include project's general timeline.

4. Concise* summary of organization's mission and purpose

5. Brief* overview of the organization's goals and action plans for the next twelve or so months. State what of these you're seeking funding for.

7. If you have a Strategic Plan, please attach it.

* we will thoroughly read your website ~ there's no need to restate it all in a proposal

Please send everything as Excel, PDF, or Word attachments

3. WAIT & PACE IN A MUDFLAT...

We will accept proposals at any time after our invitation, and may well call with questions soon after receiving.

We make a first docket of grants by early March and then hold on the rest to see how the year develops, typically making a second docket of grants by early November.

4. REPORT

Upon completion of the activities for which we invested in you, email us a report on your progress. Most likely, you received a 1-year grant, and we'll thus expect a report roughly 1-year from the date on your acceptance letter. Please do not stay up all night long to get it in exactly 365 days later. Feel free to send it early if you completed the work in less than the grant period.

If our grant to you was under $10,000, a note no more than a page telling us what you did with the funding and confirming that you spent it is just fine; we'll call if we have further questions.

Reporting requirements:

Contact info | names of staff involved
Do not write any original (just for us) material longer than a page or two. If you've written a report to another foundation for the same work we supported you for, change the address line and send it to us.
We want to know if you got it done. If not, why? What changed? What's the next step? Tell us any helpful and relevant stats of your accomplishments ... acres protected, # of outreach events, etc.