Funding Opportunities
The purpose of this solicitation is to fund applied research to increase California’s hydropower generation through precipitation enhancement (cloud seeding). Research funded by this solicitation will foster cost-effective, robust approaches to manage anticipated needs for zero-carbon, fast-ramping resources in the context of a rapidly evolving energy system and climate change.
The Foundation embraces the protection of biodiversity as its overarching priority.
The Weeden Foundation uses an online application system for our grantmaking process. Please click to start the application or log on to your existing account. You will need to create an account to apply.
New applicants – The Foundation requires that new applicants complete a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) which is due 4 weeks before the application deadline. Please complete the “New Applicants” form to submit your LOI. You will receive a confirmation email when your form is complete. We will review your application and get back to you with a reply. If the work proposed is of interest and/or fits into one of our program areas, we will invite a full proposal.
Returning grantees – Please complete the “Returning Grantees” application. Your proposal must describe both the purpose for which the grant is solicited and a brief evaluation process in a clear and precise manner. Shorter descriptions are preferred to longer descriptions, and a brief Executive Summary of the proposal must be included. The Executive Summary is an especially important part of the proposal, as it is the best vehicle for an organization to present the nature and intent of their project directly to the Board of Directors. The summary should be concise and should include mention of both recent and future projects. In addition to the narrative, you will need the following materials to complete your application.
Thank you for your interest in applying for a grant from the Fund for Wild Nature. The Fund provides small grants for North American campaigns to save native species and wild ecosystems, with particular emphasis on actions designed to defend threatened wilderness and biological diversity. We support biocentric goals that are premised on effective and intelligible strategies. We give special attention to ecological issues not currently receiving sufficient public attention and funding. We seek proposals with visionary and yet realistic goals to create tangible change. All proposals must be highly cost effective.
Examples of activities we fund include advocacy, litigation, public policy work, and similar endeavors. We do NOT fund basic scientific research, private land acquisition, for-profit enterprises, individual action or study, conferences, or organizations which receive government funding or support. Although we commend the work of wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, botanical gardens, zoos, learning centers, and habitat restoration, these are beyond the scope of our mission and for that reason we do not fund this type of work. We will only fund media projects that have a clear, significant strategic value to biodiversity and a concrete plan for dissemination of the final product. We strongly recommend reading about our grantees’ work to find parallels, if any, with your work. View recent grantees and past annual reports for more information.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, aims to promote scientific progress towards the understanding of coastal ecosystem resilience by seeking applications proposing research to 1) characterize, quantify, and define indicators or metrics of resilience for various types of coastal ecosystems, especially those ecosystems that have climate mitigation and adaptation and/or blue (ocean-stored) carbon sequestration potential and 2) develop methods and approaches to advance economic valuation of resilience benefits provided by coastal ecosystems.
The Bureau of Land Management Arizona Rangeland Management Program administers grazing for more than 155 million acres of public land. This includes, but is not limited to, such things as inventorying, controlling, and managing noxious weeds and invasive species; improving rangelands through grazing management, vegetation restoration treatments, and grazing management structures; and soil resource management. Coordination with land managers and other stakeholders is conducted to complete priority soil surveys, ecological site descriptions, and on-the-ground projects to improve soil stability and reduce erosion. Appropriate management of rangeland and soil resources also support actions and authorizations that include, but are not limited to, such things as endangered and special status species recovery, grazing of domestic livestock, recreation, forest management, hazardous fuels reduction, and post fire rehabilitation. This program supports the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act PL 117-58, Section 40804(b) Ecosystem Restoration and Section 40803 Wildland Risk Reduction. This program supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI.
Funding Opportunity Goals:
1. Conserving and restoring lands to combat climate change: promote climate resilient landscapes by focusing on maintaining/improving land health through appropriate livestock grazing use, management of invasive species and noxious weeds, and managing soil resources.
2. Restoring legacy disturbances: Support restoration of landscapes improving rangelands through grazing management on the ground projects including vegetation restoration treatments, and grazing management structures, and soil resource management.
3. Decision support for adaptive management: To better support land management decisions regarding grazing and other range management treatments, soil management, and invasive species, the BLM will place a priority on collecting data through the use of consistent, comparable, and common indicators, consistent methods, and an unbiased sampling framework which will allow for analyses that are repeatable and comparable across a region, and decisions based on science and data that are legally defensible.
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Arizona Aquatic Resources Program protects and restores riparian and wetland areas, aquatic habitats, and water resources to provide functioning ecosystems for a combination of balanced and diverse uses including fish and wildlife, and for the long-term needs of future generations. Policy guidance for the Program ensures that public land management based on multiple use and sustained yield provides healthy and productive riparian, wetland, and aquatic habitat, achieves land health standards, and considers society’s long-term needs for healthy watersheds. The issues the Program addresses are diverse and include restoration, habitat fragmentation and degradation, drought resiliency, water availability, and aquatic invasive species. Program staff provide professional expertise and policy guidance to BLM managers, Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, and non-governmental partners on these issues, and implement the best management practices to minimize or avoid impacts to water resources, riparian and wetland areas, and aquatic habitats on public lands. This program supports projects funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Section 40804 (b) Ecosystem Restoration. This program also supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI.
Funding Opportunity Goals :
1. Ensuring water availability to sustain healthy riparian and wetland areas and aquatic habitats.
2. Restoring degraded water resources, riparian and wetland areas, and aquatic habitats, with a focus on process-based approaches and promoting riverscape health.
3. Advancing decision support models, and the inventory, assessment, and monitoring information that feeds such models, to inform the protection of remaining high quality habitats and the strategic restoration of degraded systems.
In accordance with Section 404 of The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), as amended, lands and water eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement under Section 404 of Public Law 95-87 (the Act), Stat. 445-532 as amended, are those which were mined for coal or which were affected by mining, waste banks, coal processing, or other coal mining processes prior to August 3, 1977, and left in an unclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition, for which there is no continuing reclamation responsibility under state or other Federal laws. The Watershed Cooperative Agreement Program (WCAP) is designed to be partnered with other funding sources to assist groups such as small watershed organizations to complete local Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) reclamation projects. Funding is available to assist local 501(c)(3) status organizations and groups that undertake local AMD reclamation projects to improve the water quality of streams impacted by acid mine drainage. The funding priorities and technical focus for this announcement are to restore streams affected by AMD to a level that will support a diverse biological community and provide recreational opportunities for the public. Non-Federal entities may use WCAP funds only for AMD problems related to SMCRA defined abandoned coal mining activities and processes, which include remediation of AMD, sources of AMD, and installation of passive or active water treatment systems, including repairs and renovations. Projects may also include reclamation of lands that are contributing sediment or acid forming materials to streams. For other provisions relating to lands and waters eligible for such expenditures, see Section 402(g)(4), Section 403(b)(1), and Section409 of Public Law 95- 87.
Project Grants are competitive grants supporting public programming using the humanities to provide context, depth, and perspective to the Arizona experience and explore issues of significance to Arizonans. Organizations may request up to $10,000 to support their program implementation. Project Grants are awarded twice yearly and there is no annual budget limit for applicants. For more information please see the Arizona Humanities Grant Guidelines.
The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) is authorized and funded by Section 30002 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, (Public Law 117-169) (the “IRA”), titled “Improving Energy Efficiency or Water Efficiency or Climate Resilience of Affordable Housing.” The program seeks to amplify recent technological advancements in utility efficiency and energy generation, bring a new focus on preparing for climate hazards by reducing residents’ and properties’ exposure to hazards, and protecting life, livability, and property when disaster strikes. GRRP is the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency, energy generation, and climate resilience strategies specifically in HUD-assisted multifamily housing. All of the investments under the GRRP will be made in affordable housing communities serving low-income families in alignment with the Administration’s Justice 40 goals. HUD is offering GRRP funding through three separate cohorts designed to meet the different needs of HUD’s assisted multifamily portfolio.
Round One of the GRRP consists of three cohorts of awards, implemented through three parallel Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs):
The Elements NOFO provides modest awards designed to add proven and highly impactful climate resilience and carbon reduction measures to the construction scopes of in-progress recapitalization transactions.
The Leading Edge NOFO provides funding to Owners aiming to quickly meet ambitious carbon reduction and resilience goals without requiring extensive collaboration with HUD.
The Comprehensive NOFO provides funding to initiate recapitalization investments designed from inception around deep retrofits, focused on innovative energy efficiency and greening measures, renewable energy generation, use of structural building materials with lower embodied carbon, and climate resilience investments.
Comprehensive Awards are designed for the widest range of properties, including those that have not yet developed a recapitalization plan. To the greatest extent feasible, these approaches will: Substantially improve energy and water efficiency, including moving properties toward net zero, zero energy ready, or zero over time energy performance; Address climate resilience, including synergies that can be achieved between efficiency and resilience investments; Enhance indoor air quality and resident health; Implement the use of zero-emission electricity generation and energy storage; Minimize embodied carbon and incorporate low-emission building materials or processes; and Support building electrification.
Over the last 34 years, NCF has awarded nearly half a billion dollars in funding to support movements, organizations, and individuals pursuing justice for people and the planet. We embrace a ‘totality of assets’ approach to impact, meaning we leverage the full power of the foundation’s financial and non-financial resources to support our partner’s solutions.