The Gray Family Foundation’s Environmental Education program seeks to support programs that stimulate or promote the teaching of environmental education in K-12 environments and increases outdoor experiences that connect youth with built and natural environments.
Donor Name: Gray Family Foundation
State: Oregon
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/31/2023
Size of the Grant: $189,000
Grant Duration: 3 year
Details:
In 2023 Gray Family Foundation continues to seek applications from organizations that will inspire and promote outdoor, environmental, land-based, and/or climate education in formal and informal K-12 educational environments and increase outdoor experiences for youth – either during the school day, as part of distance or virtual learning, or as a service or opportunity offered to families and youth outside of the context of the school setting.
This year, they are also providing an option for organizations to apply collaboratively if they are leveraging their expertise and resources across the same region to provide youth quality, environmental or outdoor learning experiences. Applicants must be serving or benefiting primarily K-8 youth.
Scope of the Foundation Grant
Gray FF’s Environmental Education Grant Program seeks requests that will increase and/or deepen:
- The diversity of youth, educators, and communities engaged in outdoor, environmental, land based, and climate education learning experiences.
- K-8 youth’s ability to collaborate, problem solve and apply critical thinking to local and global environmental issues.
- K-8 youth’s preparedness for success in careers inside and outside of the environmental field through increased participation in environmental education.
- Educators’ (K-8 teachers, administrators, and informal educators) preparedness to integrate environmental, outdoor, and climate education across subjects.
- Educators’ preparedness to support K-8 student needs utilizing promising practices and rigor
- K-8 professionals’ preparedness to use the natural and built environments and systems as a context for learning.
Grant Type Overview
In 2023, the foundation is offering three options through Environmental Education grant program.
- Option 1: General operating support for mission-aligned organizations
- They will consider general operating support requests from organizations where the mission and the majority of programming or services provided by the organization is aligned with Environmental Education grant program (i.e., your organization’s core mission is providing environmental education programming to K-12 or preparing educators to use the outdoors/physical environment as an educational resource/tool for students). They recognize that many organizations serve a broader age range of youth than K-8 and general operating requests can include organizations serving a broader age range of youth and families – the request should just be proportional to the amount of programming or services aligned with this grant program.
- Option 2: Program/project support
- Similar to previous years, if you are interested in requesting support for a program within your organization or a project then we are accepting program or project requests as well. Please note that we are comfortable with funds being used to provide general support for an aligned program within your organization (including any associated overhead/administrative costs) or project-specific requests. For program or project requests, we will consider requests that include any or all of the below components.
- Equity-focused capacity building: This includes capacity-building support for multi-cultural or culturally-specific/reflective organizations seeking to integrate promising practices in environmental education into youth programming AND/OR organizations seeking to build their staff and organizational capacity to effectively engage with and support communities where they are implementing programming (i.e. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trainings, Trauma-Informed training and/or curriculum development, community engagement and partnership work, etc.). Eligible organizations should have or be planning for programming that engages K- 8th grade youth.
- Youth field experiences: We will consider programmatic grant requests to support in-person, virtual, or self-directed field experiences related to the outdoors, environment, and/or climate for K – 8th grade youth. Program grants may also support work done in collaboration with or in parallel to schools/school districts in leveraging outdoor spaces (e.g., playgrounds, gardens, nearby natural areas) to support student learning.
- Educator training and professional development: We will consider programmatic grant requests to support educator professional development that specifically prepares educators to deliver outdoor, environmental, and/or climate-based education programming to youth. This can include curriculum development, professional learning communities, trainings, networking, and other supports for educators.
- Similar to previous years, if you are interested in requesting support for a program within your organization or a project then we are accepting program or project requests as well. Please note that we are comfortable with funds being used to provide general support for an aligned program within your organization (including any associated overhead/administrative costs) or project-specific requests. For program or project requests, we will consider requests that include any or all of the below components.
- Option 3: Regional support
- To help reduce competition for the same resources among collaborating organizations in the same region, we are also offering the opportunity for multiple organizations from the same region to apply under the same application. Up to four organizations can apply under one application with the total request of up to $100,000 per year, for up to three years. These requests should reflect the following priorities:
- Organizations listed on the application can demonstrate in the narrative how they collaborate regularly on providing programming to a variety of youth in that region and offer complementary expertise, resources, and/or experiences that mutually reinforce each other (i.e., a watershed education program providing opportunities for a culturally-specific youth serving organization to engage in restoration or education projects in a particular area).
- At least one organization in the application provides youth/educators who may not have easy or safe access to environmental or outdoor learning opportunities the ability to participate in a way that is responsive and reflective of their identities and life experience.
- At least one organization offers expertise and resources in natural resources, conservation and restoration, agriculture, climate, or other topic that enhance outdoor or environmental learning opportunities for youth, youth-serving organizations, and schools in that region.
- To help reduce competition for the same resources among collaborating organizations in the same region, we are also offering the opportunity for multiple organizations from the same region to apply under the same application. Up to four organizations can apply under one application with the total request of up to $100,000 per year, for up to three years. These requests should reflect the following priorities:
Funding Information
In 2023, foundation have $189,000 available to support new grants to environmental education organizations serving Oregon youth and educators. We anticipate awarding 7-10 grants of between $10,000-$25,000 each or 3-4 smaller grants and two larger grants depending on the number and alignment of regional applications submitted
Funds can be used to support:
- Dedicated staff time (of both program staff and administrative/support staff).
- Training and professional development for educators (in person or virtual).
- Costs associated with developing and implementing in person or virtual curricula and programming (e.g., classroom materials, books, toolkits, virtual field trips, etc.).
- Costs associated with facilitating learning experiences outside the classroom either on or near school grounds or away from school grounds.
- Scholarships and/or stipends for participants, interns, and partners to support participation in learning experiences and/or professional development opportunities.
- Costs associated with providing staff leadership development opportunities, wellness support, sabbaticals, or other strategies that build staff capacity and support rest, healing, and recovery.
- Administrative costs or overhead support required to successfully support the program/project
Eligibility Criteria
Schools (public, independent/charter), districts, colleges, tribal entities, government agencies or 501(c)3 non-profit organizations serving Oregon are all eligible to apply. Fiscally sponsored programs should align with the applying organization’s mission.
For more information, visit Gray Family Foundation.
