About the Fund
The Columbia River is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest and has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific. The Columbia River watershed extends from the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. Historically, the Columbia River supported one of the greatest salmon and steelhead runs on Earth, and through 1840, up to16 million salmon and steelhead returned to the Columbia River to spawn each year. These massive salmon runs, along with other fish and wildlife populations, historically supported, and continue to sustain, rich Native American cultures and traditions across the entire Columbia River Basin. Since 2014, the Columbia River Fund, funded through settlements of legal actions as part of the Columbia Riverkeeper’s Clean Water Act enforcement program, has awarded over $1 million in grants to support community-based water quality stewardship projects along the Columbia River.
Deadlines
A grant opportunity from this fund is expected in the first half of 2023.
Click here to receive notification of future grant opportunities.
ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITIES
The Columbia River Fund supports projects designed to improve, protect, and benefit clean water and aquatic habitat in the Columbia River Basin. To be eligible for a grant, the projects must be benefit:
- the main stem of the Columbia River from Richland downstream to its mouth at Astoria; and in
- the reaches upstream from Richland in the general vicinity of Malaga in Chelan County, and tributaries north of Wentachee including the Wentachee River, Entiat River, the Chelan River, the Methow River, and the Okanogan River.
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 stewardship, legal advocacy, outreach and education. We are specially encouraging that involve impacted communities and that benefit vulnerable populations and that are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice.
For a full list of eligibility requirements and to see examples of eligible Columbia River Fund projects, please visit: https://rosefdn.org/columbia-river-fund/eligibility
HOW TO APPLY
In this grant opportunity through the Columbia River Fund, grant awards will be in the $10,000 – $40,000 range. If your organization has an annual budget of $100,000 or less, we encourage you to apply for a grant of $10,000 or less.
Please check all eligibility requirements before starting the online application. Click here to read the instructions on how to use our online system.
GRANT REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS
If your group is awarded a grant, you must provide a final grant report within one year of receiving the money, or before your group can receive additional funding. Click here for the full grant reporting instructions.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Jodene Isaacs, Mitigation Funds Director
jisaacs@rosefdn.org
Tim Bell, PNW Program Officer
tbell@rosefdn.org
