Everglades Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder exclusively supports protection and conservation efforts for the Florida Everglades. It awards grants yearly, and it accepts unsolicited applications.
IP TAKE: The Everglades Foundation is a major environmental funder in Florida that is laser-focused on saving the Everglades ecosystem in Florida. Grant seekers can pitch a project that will take one year or less and raise public awareness about key Everglades issues. In addition to working on leading research related to the Everglades, this funder also works with anglers, conservationists, business leaders, environmental activists and concerned citizens to achieve it’s mission.
This funder has become less transparent about its financials in recent years. However, this is an engaged funder that is deeply passionate about its mission, so don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
PROFILE: As the name suggests, the Everglades Foundation seeks to lead “efforts to restore and protect the greater Everglades ecosystem.” If these waterways are restored to their natural, clean state, they can provide safe and reliable drinking water for the people of Florida.
The foundation was established in the 1990s by George Barley and Paul Tudor Jones II. Barley was a seventh-generation Floridian from Jacksonville who was president of a real estate firm and served on many environmental boards. He passed away in a plane crash in 1995. Jones is the chairman and CEO of the Tudor Group of companies, and also a founder and director of the Robin Hood Foundation in New York City. He is committed to national resource conservation efforts in Florida as well and has a home in Islamorada.
Not only is this a local grantmaker, but it also works to advocate for and educate about protecting and restoring this unique and threatened American resource. This funder has several renowned scientists, policy experts and educators on its staff, in addition to its nonprofit administrators.
Grants for the Environment, Climate Change, Education and Research
The Everglades Foundation marries science research with policy expertise in order to preserve and restore one of the world’s most unique wetlands. Much of the Everglades Foundation’s giving focuses on the relationship between science education and advocacy.
In addition to its other funding opportunities, the Everglades Foundation also deeply invests in advocacy, Everglades literacy and Science Research related to the Everglades, so if your work focuses on the Everglades in some significant way, then there is a good chance this funder will have a variety of ways to support your work.
Grant seekers may locate grants for K-12 education and higher education through this funder’s Everglades literacy program, which goes beyond providing free workshops and lesson plans for educators, such as support for field trips, science nights, schools, and STEM-based professional development, as well as the K-12 Everglades Champion Schools (sub)program, which is “designed to showcase and recognize exceptional Everglades literacy efforts in a school.”
In addition, this funder provides grants for higher education and science research through its Science Research program, which provides “fellowships to graduate research students pursuing the development of innovative scientific methods to advance the understanding of Everglades physical, chemical or biological processes, or research in the economic impacts of environmental changes.” There is also some related research funding opportunities here for work that overlaps with climate change research and the dangers facing the Everglades in coming years.
Other education and research-related opportunities include Foreverglades Scholars and Fellows and the John Marshall Everglades Internship.
Important Grant Details:
It has a yearly grant cycle and supports collaborative efforts to advance restoration of the Everglades. The funder typically makes grants that raise awareness about restoration efforts through communication, community mobilization, and grassroots organizations at the local, state, and national levels. It also supports advocacy campaigns to influence policymakers and the media about specific projects and desired outcomes. Another goal of this foundation is to broaden the base of support for Everglades restoration among businesses, landowners, hunters, and other environmental stakeholders and organizations.
Grant seekers’ first step is to contact the foundation for a pre-proposal discussion before submitting anything in writing.
To keep up with this funder's interests and current pursuits, check out its blog and press releases.
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