California Environmental Grassroots Fund

• Annual income or expenses of $150,000 or less.
• Applicants may be a nonprofit, be fiscally sponsored by another nonprofit, or ask for fiscal sponsorship from the fund.

Project impact must be within the state of California.

• Initiatives working on environmental health and justice, climate advocacy and resilience, land management and urban sprawl, habitat and wilderness protection, water resources, sustainable agriculture, and pollution and toxics.
• Activities such as community-based advocacy, litigation, restoration, community organizing, grassroots campaigns, and environmental education.

***Due to limited funding, we anticipate this application round will be very competitive. If your project does not fit the fund’s priority areas, please do not apply.***

• Movement–building: Groups building broad community support and engaging in effective public outreach.
• Impacted and Underserved Communities: Groups that serve and represent historically marginalized or impacted communities, especially BIPOC, frontline, immigrant, and low-income communities.
• Community-Oriented: Organizations grounded in the communities they serve and addressing important local problems.
• Big Picture Vision: Organizations who are thinking strategically about how their work fits into the larger landscape of environmental challenges we face today.
• Climate Resilience and Environmental Justice: These priority areas encompass a wide scope of work, from fighting to protect our forests and natural biodiversity, planning for sustainable and equitable management of our water resources, reimagining our food and transportation systems, and addressing the disproportionate effects of pollution and climate impacts on poor, BIPOC, and immigrant communities.

• Maximum grant award is $7,500 and typical grants range from $4,000-7,500.
• All grants are for general organizational support.
• Grants are for a one year period. In order to make space for emerging new organizations, after three years of funding, groups must wait a year before reapplying.

• Organizations whose proposals are rejected may re-apply after six months.
• Organizations that are funded may re-apply after one year if their report form has been submitted and accepted.

• Capital campaigns, annual fundraising appeals, government agencies, colleges or universities, and individuals.
• One-day or weekend events and festivals because of the short-term nature of events, and difficulty in measuring the long-term impact.
• Supporting or opposing political candidates (nonprofits are banned from supporting or opposing any candidate running for elected office, or supporting any political parties).