Grant deadline: August 1, 2012
Online application will be available June 2012
The Seattle Foundation believes that the environment is central to our region’s quality of life and our economy. As we strive to respond to the compelling and competing needs in the community we have worked to prioritize our Environmental funding strategies. To protect our environment and create a healthy region for the future, we support organizations that work to improve the health of Puget Sound, promote sustainable growth, and that engage everyone in our community in environmental issues – including people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Our goals are to: foster efforts to restore and preserve Puget Sound, as well as educate the public about protecting the health of the Sound; support efforts that address environmental disparities, train workers for a clean economy, and foster efforts to engage youth through environmental education; educate the public on our impact on the environment; and support sustainable growth by bringing together many parties and varied interests across elements and sectors to create a livable region for decades to come.
What We Fund
The Foundation is currently looking to fund organizations working to make significant progress towards the following three strategies:
- Ensure sustainability in our region
- Support work on regional sustainability that addresses the environmental element and at least one other element of a healthy community
- Support organizations working on research, data gathering and community education around climate change and other sustainability issues
- Support programs addressing transportation and land-use planning as a regional approach
- Improve the health of Puget Sound
- Support organizations working to restore the Sound
- Support organizations that promote broad awareness about the condition of the Sound and the ramifications of inaction, and advocate for the comprehensive environmental solutions required
- Engage everyone in the preservation of our environment
- Support efforts that address environmental disparities, particularly in low-income communities
- Support organizations that encourage diverse pathways to green economy careers
- Support culturally appropriate education to advance green practices
- Support environmental and sustainability education for K-20 youth in order to encourage the next generation of environmental stewards and leaders
Eligibility
To qualify for a grant from The Seattle Foundation’s Grantmaking Program, an organization must:
- be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization;
- serve residents of King County; and
- provide programming in the Environment that aligns with one of our three strategies.
Please note that we have eliminated our two-year eligibility period. All organizations are eligible to apply for Environment funding for our August 2012 deadline.
If you haven’t received funding from the Foundation in the past, we recommend that you contact us to discuss your funding request before submitting an application. If you have received funding in the past, please ensure that you are currently a strong fit for our refined funding strategies. Please contact grantmaking@seattlefoundation.org or call (206) 515-2109.
Other Things to Consider
- Capital campaign funding requests are considered a low priority.
- Organizations that have less than a three-year operating history after receiving its 501(c)(3) classification are considered a low priority.
- Organizations that have an annual operating budget less than $100,000 as reflected in the most recently filed IRS Form 990 are considered a low priority.
- Multi-year grants are not considered.
Grant Types
The Foundation awards grants to provide general support to organizations working to address the three prioritized strategies within the Environment element.
Deadline
The next deadline for Environment is August 2012. Grants will be awarded in March 2013.
Application Instructions
The following steps outline the application process and information we are requesting. Please use this information to help you get started so that you are ready to submit your application when our online system is available.
Step One
If you have not received funding from the Foundation in the past, the first step of the process is to contact the Foundation’s grantmaking staff to ensure that you are currently a strong fit for our refined funding strategies. Please contact grantmaking@seattlefoundation.org or call (206) 515-2109.
Step Two
The second step is to create an account login on our website. If you don't have one yet, we encourage you to create an account as soon as possible, as it can take up to two business days to validate your login.
Step Three
The third step is to edit or create a profile for your organization on our website. You will need to submit our Profile Request Form, available by going to www.seattlefoundation.org/nonprofits and clicking on the “Profile Access Request Form” link in the right-hand column. (If you are new to our website, you will be taken to a login/registration page first, where you will need to create an account -- see Step Two above.)
The information required to establish your nonprofit organization's profile includes: mission statement, organization and program description, and recent successes and challenges.
Step Four
The fourth step is to complete an online application. The components of the online application include: responding to narrative questions, providing a three-year financial snapshot, and submitting attachments.
Please refer to the Application Components for a complete list of narrative questions and required attachments.
Step Five (For current grant recipients only)
The fifth step requires completion of a Status Report within one year from the date an organization receives a grant.
Application Submission
Please do not submit any books, DVDs or videos with the application.
If you have any questions about the application process, please contact our grantmaking team at grantmaking@seattlefoundation.org or (206) 515-2109.