California Watershed Protection Fund

About the Fund

The California Watershed Protection Fund is enabled by court-ordered environmental mitigation payments. Most of the mitigation payments relate to federal Clean Water Act problems and are limited to supporting projects designed to benefit the surface water quality of many of California’s watersheds and their ecosystems. Due to funding fluctuations, the specific watersheds eligible for grants may vary – please check the list of currently eligible watersheds. Maximum grant amount of $35k with most grants expected to range between $10,000 and $30,000. All applicants must be able to demonstrate a strong track record of community-based water quality stewardship.  The Rose Foundation welcomes proposals from small grassroots conservation and environmental justice groups, but if your organization is really new or very small we urge you to consider applying to our California Environmental Grassroots Fund instead.

Deadlines

Fall 2023 Round

• Letters of Inquiry are due August 25, 2023.
• Invited Applications are due September 29, 2023.
• Grant awards will be announced in November 2023.

Eligibility and Priorities

This process funding process is competitive, and most grants will be awarded to community oriented and grassroots groups as well as to organizations with a strong track record of community-based water quality work. We are specially encouraging that involve impacted communities and that benefit vulnerable populations and that are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice.

View the fund’s eligibility, priorities, and geographic restrictions. 

Note: In order to make space for new applicants, organizations that have been funded may only re-apply in the next cycle after their grant report has been submitted and approved. This means that organizations with an active grant from this Fund are not eligible to reapply.

How To Apply