Island Foundation: Environment Grants

The Island Foundation offers Environment Grants to support projects in coastal regions of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, focusing on marine and coastal resource conservation. Priority is given to initiatives addressing climate change, promoting sustainable landscapes, and enhancing community health through environmental conservation. The Foundation encourages 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, with a preference for those engaged locally, to apply for funding that strengthens both ecological and community resilience.

Note:  First, to determine if your request could be considered for funding by the Foundation, you may either call or write to the Foundation. If a Letter of Inquiry or Full Proposal is invited, it will be due by the deadlines listed above. If the deadline date falls on a weekend, the deadline is the first following workday.
The Foundation supports projects in coastal areas of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and selected international locations.
For the last two decades, the Foundation has focused a significant portion of its financial resources on Southeastern Massachusetts, where its office is located. Here the Board seeks to understand how communities grow sustainably and equitably, how to increase educational opportunities, how rural and urban economies are intertwined, and how to best protect working landscapes and the people who rely upon these areas for their livelihoods. In funding in a few specific areas, the Board believes it will have the most impact.
In Southeastern Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island, the Island Foundation promotes the conservation of marine and coastal resources. For many years, the Foundation has given priority to North Atlantic right whale research, protection of coastal waterbird habitat, and preservation of coastal lands.
More recently, the Board has been interested in new initiatives that:
link climate change, renewable energy, and regional planning and support those most impacted by climate change;support working landscapes (sustainable agriculture and community-based fisheries) and the people who rely on them for their livelihoods;help local conservation organizations strengthen their own capacity;connect community health, quality of life, and environmental conservation; andpromote environmental justice and seek to include the voices of those most affected by environmental harms.

Eligibility

The Island Foundation supports 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The Board funds some groups outside of these areas when their programs relate to work the Foundation is supporting within its programmatic and geographic priority areas. On a case-by-case basis, the Foundation provides funding to groups without nonprofit status that use a fiscal sponsor.The Island Foundation accepts both general operating and project-focused grant requests and occasionally makes multi- year grant commitments to organizations it has supported for many years.

Ineligibility

The Foundation does not support proposals outside its priority areas (issue and/or geographic) or requests from individuals, for-profit businesses, or religious groups.