The California Watershed Protection Fund supports projects designed to improve water quality and protect watersheds across California.
Donor Name: Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/09/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Priority Areas
- Priority will be given to community-oriented grassroots groups as well as to organizations with a strong track record of community-based water quality work.
- They especially encourage projects that involve impacted communities, benefit vulnerable populations, and that are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice.
- Project proposals must protect or benefit the surface water quality of an eligible watershed.
Funding Information
The maximum grant amount is $40,000 with most grants expected to range between $10,000 and $30,000.
Allowable Projects and Activity Focus
- Projects must benefit the surface water quality of the watershed in question. Eligible activities include water stewardship, conservation, outreach and education, restoration, and watershed protection.
- Projects focusing exclusively on groundwater quality are only eligible if there is known interconnectivity to surface waters.
- They especially encourage projects that involve impacted communities, benefit vulnerable populations, and are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice.
- Please note: Any projects with an education component must have a palpable water quality benefit. Applicants should consider the inclusion of hands-on activities such as planting, restoration, or trash cleanups as part of their projects or other activities that will have a more immediate impact and should be a substantive part of the project proposal.
- The applicant must demonstrate the capacity to complete the proposed project, including experience in successfully conducting similar or otherwise related work in the past.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Rose Foundation welcomes proposals from small grassroots conservation and environmental justice groups, but if your organization is new and very small, the urge you to consider applying to the California Environmental Grassroots Fund instead.
- The applicant must be a 501(c)3 organization, fiscally-sponsored by a 501(c)3, or a governmental or tribal entity. If you work with a small organization that lacks non-profit status but has a compelling project, the Rose Foundation may be willing to act as your fiscal sponsor for this grant proposal. Nonprofit colleges, universities, university clinics and graduate programs are eligible to apply, but university overhead is limited to 5% of grant award.
- The applicant must demonstrate the capacity to complete the proposed project as well as a strong track record of community-based water quality stewardship.
- Organizations that have been funded recently may only re-apply in the next cycle AFTER their final grant report has been submitted. Organizations with an active grant from this fund are not eligible to reapply. Organization with an active grant from a different Rose grant fund may be eligible.
Ineligibility Criteria
Organizations that have been funded may only re-apply in the next cycle after their grant report has been submitted and approved. Organizations with an active grant from this Fund are not eligible to reapply.
For more information, visit Rose Foundation.
