Sometimes funding a Meaningful Watershed Education Experience can be outside of your classroom budget. If you are looking for a way to finance field trips for your students or buy supplies to install an outdoor classroom on your school grounds, the list below will link you to relevant grant programs in your state.
Clif Bar Family Foundation Small Grants support programs with measurable goals that strengthen food systems and communities, enhance public health, and safeguard the environment and natural resources.
Organization: Clif Bar Family Foundation
Who Should Apply? Innovative small and mid-sized 501c3s in the US.
Amount: Approximately $7,000
Deadline: February 1st (Annual), June 1st (Annual), and October 1st (Annual)
Contact: Clif Bar Family Foundation familyfoundation@clifbar.com 510-596-6383
NEEF, with major funding support from Samsung, is offering a total of $12,000 in funding to educators in the New York City/northern New Jersey area and the Washington DC/Baltimore metro area for programs that support the integration of Greening STEM into place-based, hands-on learning experiences on a public land or waterway. Grants will range in size from $1,000 to $5,000 each.
Organization: National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)
Who Should Apply? Educators
Amount: $12,000
Contact: Jeff Chandler jchandler@neefusa.org
The NOAA Office of Education has issued a competitive funding opportunity for education projects designed to strengthen the public’s and/or K-12 students’ environmental literacy to enable informed decision-making necessary for community resilience to extreme weather events and other environmental hazards. Successful projects will advance NOAA’s mission and build the environmental literacy necessary for community resilience by focusing on geographic awareness and an understanding of Earth systems and the threats and vulnerabilities that are associated with a community’s location.
Organization: NOAA Office of Education
Who Should Apply? institutions of higher education; other nonprofits, including informal education institutions such as museums, zoos, and aquariums; K-12 public and independent schools and school systems; and state, local and Indian tribal governments in the United States.
Amount: Proposed projects should be between two and five years in duration and have total budget requests of $250,000 to $500,000 for all years of the project.
Deadline: 11:59:59 pm EST on February 8, 2016.
Contact: oed.grants@noaa.gov.
The Chesapeake Bay Trust Mini Grant Program supports field experiences, fieldwork and student-led action projects as well as teacher professional development and programs to advance environmental literacy in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Organization: Chesapeake Bay Trust
Who Should Apply? Non-profit organizations, community associations, faith-based organizations and more.
Amount: Up to $5,000.
Deadline: January (Annual), and August (Annual)
Contact: Tara Baker tbaker@cbtrust.org 410-974-2941 x102
Funds support projects that demonstrate creativity, involve risk-taking, possess a visionary quality, and model a novel way of presenting science. Proposed projects should promote exciting and innovative activities to motivate students in science.
Organization: Toyota
Who Should Apply? School science teachers. Middle and high school teachers must teach at least two science classes per day. All applicants must have at least two years science teaching experience in a KÐ12 school not including the current school year.
Amount: up to $10,000
Deadline: March (Annual)
Contact: National Science Teachers Association tapestry@nsta.org
The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET Chesapeake) grant program supports hands-on watershed education to students and teachers to foster stewardship of the Bay. Environmentally literate citizens with the skills and knowledge to make well-informed environmental choices are key to sustaining the nation’s ocean and coastal environments.
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Who Should Apply? K-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, community-based and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments
Amount: $25,000 to $200,000
Deadline: January (Annual)
Contact: Kevin Schabow kevin.schabow@noaa.gov (410)295-3145
The Chesapeake Bay Trust Environmental Education Grant Program awards funding to expand and enhance Bay environmental education programs for pre-K through 12 grade student in Maryland that provide meaningful outdoor learning experiences.
Organization: Chesapeake Bay Trust
Who Should Apply? Non-profit organizations, community associations, faith-based organizations and more.
Amount: Applicants may request from $5,001 to $40,000 per year for up to three years (Maximum $120,000 total award over years 2017-2020).
Deadline: December (Annual)
Contact: Tara Baker tbaker@cbtrust.org 410-974-2941 x102
Maryland’s Aquatic Resources Education (ARE) Grants Program assists public and private schools (pre-K -12) and environmental education centers that are part of the public school system by providing funding for aquatic based projects.
Organization: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Who Should Apply? Public and private schools (pre-K -12) and environmental education centers that are part of the public school system.
Amount: Schools can apply for up to $2000.00 per school year for student driven projects that benefit Maryland’s aquatic resources. County Environmental/Outdoor Education Centers that are part of the public school system can apply for up to $4000.00 per school year.
Deadline: rolling deadline but please allow 4-6 weeks for approval before you start your project.
Contact: Cindy Etgen cindy.etgen@maryland.gov 410-260-8716
Administered through Department of Environmental Protection, funds are used for projects ranging from creative, hands-on lessons for students, teacher training programs, and outdoor learning resources to conservation education for adults. Funds can be used to provide education resources, materials, equipment, and transportation to support creative, hands-on environmental education lessons for students.
Organization: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Who Should Apply? Public and private schools
Amount: Mini-Grants up to $3,000
General grants up to $50,000 (applicants require a 20% match)
Deadline: December (Annual)
Contact: (717) 772-1828
Grants will not be awarded to individuals. Funding for projects that emphasize environmental education or restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay. Projects focusing on environmental education should increase public awareness and knowledge about the Bay, and projects of a restoration and conservation nature should be action oriented. Preferences will be given to environmental education and action-oriented conservation and restoration projects within Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Organization: Chesapeake Bay Restoration Advisory Committee
Who Should Apply? State agencies, local governments, and public or private not-for-profit agencies, institutions, or organizations.
Amount: Most are less than $5,000
Deadline: October (Annual)
Contact: Martin Farber (804) 786-3591
Funding provides teachers with small amounts of money for environmental education programs that promote meaningful outdoor experiences. Activities that are eligible for funding include restoration, enhancement, protection and monitoring projects and investigative or experimental design activities that foster academic success, reinforce responsible citizenship, and give children the tools they need to contribute to a healthy and enduring environment.
Organization: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Education
Who Should Apply? School or school division.
Amount: $500, $750 or $1,000
Deadline: December (Annual)
Contact: Jennifer Underwood (804) 698-4533
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has grants available to increase the capacity of nonprofit and community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide environmental education programs to District schools represented in the 2016 Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre.
Organization: Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Who Should Apply? Non-profits and CBOs with 501 (c)(3) status are eligible for funds.
Amount: Up to $350,000
Deadline: September 30th, 2017
Contact: Grace Manubay grace.manubay@dc.gov
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) – Division of Health and Wellness, is soliciting applications for the District of Columbia Environmental Literacy Fellowship Grant pursuant to the “Environmental Literacy Specialist Pilot Program Amendment Act of 2015.” The purpose of this grant is to support teachers at District schools represented in the 2016 Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre who are serving as environmental literacy specialists by coordinating programs and activities related to school-based environmental literacy programs such as creating, if applicable, or maintaining the school garden, implementing composting and recycling programs, and implementing the 2012 DC Environmental Literacy Plan.
Organization: Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Who Should Apply? Teachers at DC schools represented in the 2016 Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre who are serving as environmental literacy specialists by coordinating programs and activities related to school-based environmental literacy programs
Amount: -
Deadline: Feb. 10, 2016
Contact: Grace Manubay Grace.Manubay@dc.gov
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) – Division of Health and Wellness, is soliciting applications for the District of Columbia Environmental Literacy Advancement Grant pursuant to the “Environmental Literacy Specialist Pilot Program Amendment Act of 2015.” The purpose of this grant is to increase the capacity of nonprofit and community based organizations (CBOs) to provide environmental education programs to District schools represented in the 2016 Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre.
Organization: DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Who Should Apply? • K-12 public schools and public charter schools in the District of Columbia
represented in the 2016 Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre.
• Environmental education nonprofit and community based organizations
Amount: The total amount of anticipated funding available for this award period is $345,000
Deadline: Feb. 3, 2016, at 3 p.m
Contact: Grace Manubay Grace.Manubay@dc.gov
