Gray Family Foundation Environmental Education Program

2021 Grant Timeline and Links

• Online Application Opens: September 15, 2020
• Application due: November 13, 2020 at midnight
• Grant award notification: By February 26, 2021
• 2021 Gray Family Foundation Environmental Education RFP
• Start your application on MyOCF.

2021 Environmental Education Grant Program Overview

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 for youth.

The impact of COVID-19 has had wide-reaching effects on communities across the state of Oregon – and organizations that provide and support environmental education have been significantly impacted. We recognize the current uncertainty and that the various scenarios organizations and educators will face when connecting with youth during the next year are complex.

This year, Gray Family Foundation seeks proposals that stimulate or promote the teaching of environmental education in formal and informal K-12 educational environments to 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. Gray Family Foundation’s Environmental Education Grant Program is focused on projects/programs that benefit 3^rd-8^th grade youth. Gray FF will fund proposals that best demonstrate alignment with our priorities and reflect our values towards equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

In 2021, we are offering three options through our Environmental Education grant program. Gray FF is interested in reviewing proposals for a range of funding levels that best serve the specific needs of your program. During this grant cycle, we are also especially interested in supporting opportunities for organizations, schools, and/or school districts to use and integrate outdoor spaces (e.g. schoolyards, playgrounds, nearby parks or natural areas) into student learning as a method for both engaging students and reducing risk for students and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gray FF will award funds to the strongest eligible projects regardless of project type and encourage organizations to apply for the type of funding that will best serve their efforts. Please note that applicants may apply for projects that include a combination of capacity-building, field experiences, and/or professional development, but may only apply for $25,000 max. Detailed guidance on the application process will be provided in the RFP.

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