Moore Charitable Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Moore Charitable Foundation supports environmental conservation and marine ecosystems in New Mexico, Colorado, Long Island, North Carolina, Panama and the Bahamas. It collaborates with nonprofits and public officials in each area to launch new forest management initiatives, conserve and restore threatened waterways and preserve tens of thousands of acres of undeveloped plains and canyons.
IP TAKE: The Moore Charitable Foundation makes hundreds of small grants each year for land and water conservation initiatives, as well as conservation policy and education programs. Its geographic areas of interest include Colorado, New Mexico, Long Island, North Carolina, Panama and the Bahamas, but Moore does not limit its grantmaking to these areas.
Unfortunately, this is not an accessible or approachable funder. Prospective grantseekers may reach out via social media to get on this funder’s radar, but it’s a long shot.
PROFILE: Not to be confused with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Moore Foundation gets its name from Louis Moore Bacon and his grandfather, Louis T. Moore. Moore Bacon is a hedge-fund billionaire, land baron and conservationist. Since he first purchased a 435-acre island off the coast of Long Island for $11 million in 1993, Bacon has made news by investing to protect beloved tracts of land, including tens of thousands of acres of the American Southwest, which he bought and donated to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Based in New York City, the Moore Charitable Foundation was established in 1992 and is committed to “tangible results in environmental conservation, through the protection of our precious land, water and wildlife, for the benefit of future generations.” It invests in four areas: Open Lands, Clean Water, Healthy Oceans and Future Generations.
Grants for Environmental Conservation
Moore facilitates its environmental conservation grantmaking through two programs: Open Lands and Future Generations. The Open Lands program works to protect “scenic, historic, and natural landscapes,” and “ensures wildlife and habitat survival, recreation in wild and beautiful places, and the livelihoods of surrounding communities.” It emphasizes three subprograms: Land Conservation, Forest Management and Wildfire Protection and Preventing Deforestation. Through each subprogram the foundation seeks to build “strategic partnerships that conserve open spaces and advance forest health to safeguard our natural environment and to ensure diverse species and abundant ecosystems for future generations.” Grantees include New York’s Peconic Land Trust, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the North Carolina Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.
Moore’s Future Generations program supports “local communities and integral nonprofits such as hospitals, emergency services, food banks, public libraries, cultural and historical festivals, school districts, and historic museums” to promote the health and wellbeing of local communities. Recent grantmaking prioritized environmental initiatives through three subprograms. The Youth and Community subprogram seeks to develop the next generation of conservationists and community leaders, while the Thought Leadership and Scholars subprogram works to marry local sustainable conservation practices with higher learning. A third initiative, Healthy Communities, supports “local programs, services, and events to help lift up communities, including hospitals, schools, and cultural centers.” Grants have supported Colorado’s Fort Garland Conservation Committee and New York’s Hudson River Park Friends.
Grants for Marine and Freshwater
Moore facilitates its marine conservation grantmaking through two programs, Clean Water and Healthy Oceans. The Healthy Oceans program works to advance “conservation outcomes for species, habitats, and communities, including protected and sustainable marine zoning and policy, augmented fishing protections, and effective enforcement.” The foundation believes that “coastal development, overfishing, illegal fishing practices, marine pollution, and climate change severely endanger marine wildlife, habitats and the communities that rely on these resources” and supports projects that “establish lasting protection for the world’s oceans and inspires public investment in marine conservation.” Past grantees include the Nature Conservancy Bahamas, the Everglades Foundation and the Rio Grande Headwaters Trust.
The foundation’s Clean Water program’s grantmaking maintains several of the same main goals as the Health Oceans program but focuses specifically on “advocacy, research and education.” Through this program, the foundation has made grants in support of the Southern Environmental Law Center, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Cape Fear River Watch.
Important Grant Details:
The Moore foundation has made between $5 and $12 million a year in grants over the past several years. Grants range from $2,000 to $500,000 in most cases, with only a few grants awarded in amounts of $1 million or more. The foundation’s average grant size is about $10,000, and Moore makes hundreds of grants each year. Geographic areas of priority include Colorado, New Mexico, Long Island, North Carolina, Panama and the Bahamas, but Moore does not limit its grantmaking to these areas. Grantees include a broad range of national organizations, local land trusts and river or watershed protection initiatives.
Unfortunately, the Moore Charitable Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals and does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. Information about the foundation’s social media accounts is available at its website.
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