Funding Opportunities

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund applied research to increase California’s hydropower generation through precipitation enhancement (cloud seeding). Research funded by this solicitation will foster cost-effective, robust approaches to manage anticipated needs for zero-carbon, fast-ramping resources in the context of a rapidly evolving energy system and climate change.

The Foundation embraces the protection of biodiversity as its overarching priority.

The Weeden Foundation uses an online application system for our grantmaking process. Please click to start the application or log on to your existing account. You will need to create an account to apply.

New applicants – The Foundation requires that new applicants complete a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) which is due 4 weeks before the application deadline. Please complete the “New Applicants” form to submit your LOI. You will receive a confirmation email when your form is complete. We will review your application and get back to you with a reply. If the work proposed is of interest and/or fits into one of our program areas, we will invite a full proposal.

Returning grantees – Please complete the “Returning Grantees” application. Your proposal must describe both the purpose for which the grant is solicited and a brief evaluation process in a clear and precise manner. Shorter descriptions are preferred to longer descriptions, and a brief Executive Summary of the proposal must be included. The Executive Summary is an especially important part of the proposal, as it is the best vehicle for an organization to present the nature and intent of their project directly to the Board of Directors. The summary should be concise and should include mention of both recent and future projects. In addition to the narrative, you will need the following materials to complete your application.

Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage System Program (ASAFS) will support the development of improved alfalfa forage and seed production systems. Proposals submitted to ASAFS should address one or more of the following priorities: (1) Improving alfalfa forage and seed yield through better nutrient, water and/or pest management; (2) Improving persistence of alfalfa stands by lessening biotic or abiotic stresses; (3) Improving alfalfa forage and seed harvesting and storage systems to optimize economic returns; (4) Improving estimates of alfalfa forage quality as an animal feed to increase forage usage in animal feeds; and/or (5) Breeding to address biotic and abiotic stresses that impact forage yield and persistence and the production of seed for propagation.

Thank you for your interest in applying for a grant from the Fund for Wild Nature. The Fund provides small grants for North American campaigns to save native species and wild ecosystems, with particular emphasis on actions designed to defend threatened wilderness and biological diversity. We support biocentric goals that are premised on effective and intelligible strategies. We give special attention to ecological issues not currently receiving sufficient public attention and funding. We seek proposals with visionary and yet realistic goals to create tangible change. All proposals must be highly cost effective.

Examples of activities we fund include advocacy, litigation, public policy work, and similar endeavors. We do NOT fund basic scientific research, private land acquisition, for-profit enterprises, individual action or study, conferences, or organizations which receive government funding or support. Although we commend the work of wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, botanical gardens, zoos, learning centers, and habitat restoration, these are beyond the scope of our mission and for that reason we do not fund this type of work. We will only fund media projects that have a clear, significant strategic value to biodiversity and a concrete plan for dissemination of the final product. We strongly recommend reading about our grantees’ work to find parallels, if any, with your work. View recent grantees and past annual reports for more information.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, aims to promote scientific progress towards the understanding of coastal ecosystem resilience by seeking applications proposing research to 1) characterize, quantify, and define indicators or metrics of resilience for various types of coastal ecosystems, especially those ecosystems that have climate mitigation and adaptation and/or blue (ocean-stored) carbon sequestration potential and 2) develop methods and approaches to advance economic valuation of resilience benefits provided by coastal ecosystems.

The Bureau of Land Management Arizona Rangeland Management Program administers grazing for more than 155 million acres of public land. This includes, but is not limited to, such things as inventorying, controlling, and managing noxious weeds and invasive species; improving rangelands through grazing management, vegetation restoration treatments, and grazing management structures; and soil resource management. Coordination with land managers and other stakeholders is conducted to complete priority soil surveys, ecological site descriptions, and on-the-ground projects to improve soil stability and reduce erosion. Appropriate management of rangeland and soil resources also support actions and authorizations that include, but are not limited to, such things as endangered and special status species recovery, grazing of domestic livestock, recreation, forest management, hazardous fuels reduction, and post fire rehabilitation. This program supports the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act PL 117-58, Section 40804(b) Ecosystem Restoration and Section 40803 Wildland Risk Reduction. This program supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI.

Funding Opportunity Goals:
1. Conserving and restoring lands to combat climate change: promote climate resilient landscapes by focusing on maintaining/improving land health through appropriate livestock grazing use, management of invasive species and noxious weeds, and managing soil resources.
2. Restoring legacy disturbances: Support restoration of landscapes improving rangelands through grazing management on the ground projects including vegetation restoration treatments, and grazing management structures, and soil resource management.
3. Decision support for adaptive management: To better support land management decisions regarding grazing and other range management treatments, soil management, and invasive species, the BLM will place a priority on collecting data through the use of consistent, comparable, and common indicators, consistent methods, and an unbiased sampling framework which will allow for analyses that are repeatable and comparable across a region, and decisions based on science and data that are legally defensible.

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Arizona Aquatic Resources Program protects and restores riparian and wetland areas, aquatic habitats, and water resources to provide functioning ecosystems for a combination of balanced and diverse uses including fish and wildlife, and for the long-term needs of future generations. Policy guidance for the Program ensures that public land management based on multiple use and sustained yield provides healthy and productive riparian, wetland, and aquatic habitat, achieves land health standards, and considers society’s long-term needs for healthy watersheds. The issues the Program addresses are diverse and include restoration, habitat fragmentation and degradation, drought resiliency, water availability, and aquatic invasive species. Program staff provide professional expertise and policy guidance to BLM managers, Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, and non-governmental partners on these issues, and implement the best management practices to minimize or avoid impacts to water resources, riparian and wetland areas, and aquatic habitats on public lands. This program supports projects funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Section 40804 (b) Ecosystem Restoration. This program also supports projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sections 50221 Resilience, 50222 Ecosystems Restoration and 50303 DOI.

Funding Opportunity Goals :
1. Ensuring water availability to sustain healthy riparian and wetland areas and aquatic habitats.
2. Restoring degraded water resources, riparian and wetland areas, and aquatic habitats, with a focus on process-based approaches and promoting riverscape health.
3. Advancing decision support models, and the inventory, assessment, and monitoring information that feeds such models, to inform the protection of remaining high quality habitats and the strategic restoration of degraded systems.

In accordance with Section 404 of The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), as amended, lands and water eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement under Section 404 of Public Law 95-87 (the Act), Stat. 445-532 as amended, are those which were mined for coal or which were affected by mining, waste banks, coal processing, or other coal mining processes prior to August 3, 1977, and left in an unclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition, for which there is no continuing reclamation responsibility under state or other Federal laws. The Watershed Cooperative Agreement Program (WCAP) is designed to be partnered with other funding sources to assist groups such as small watershed organizations to complete local Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) reclamation projects. Funding is available to assist local 501(c)(3) status organizations and groups that undertake local AMD reclamation projects to improve the water quality of streams impacted by acid mine drainage. The funding priorities and technical focus for this announcement are to restore streams affected by AMD to a level that will support a diverse biological community and provide recreational opportunities for the public. Non-Federal entities may use WCAP funds only for AMD problems related to SMCRA defined abandoned coal mining activities and processes, which include remediation of AMD, sources of AMD, and installation of passive or active water treatment systems, including repairs and renovations. Projects may also include reclamation of lands that are contributing sediment or acid forming materials to streams. For other provisions relating to lands and waters eligible for such expenditures, see Section 402(g)(4), Section 403(b)(1), and Section409 of Public Law 95- 87.

Project Grants are competitive grants supporting public programming using the humanities to provide context, depth, and perspective to the Arizona experience and explore issues of significance to Arizonans. Organizations may request up to $10,000 to support their program implementation. Project Grants are awarded twice yearly and there is no annual budget limit for applicants. For more information please see the Arizona Humanities Grant Guidelines.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provides up to $1 billion for States and units of local government with the authority to adopt building energy codes to adopt and implement the latest building energy codes, zero energy building codes, or equivalent codes or standards. An energy code is one of several types of building codes that help contribute to the overall health, safety, efficiency, and long-term resilience of buildings. Energy codes can be adopted directly as a standalone code, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which is commonly adopted by States and local governments. Moreover, energy codes are also fundamental components of certain more broadly adopted building codes, including the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC), which are referenced in the United States as “parental” codes. Energy codes are often described as a subset of these broader building codes, representing distinct chapters of the IBC and IRC alongside other commonly recognized provisions, such as those pertaining to structural, plumbing, or electrical requirements, and other basic aspects of building design and construction. Adoption and implementation of such codes supports the decarbonization of new and existing residential and commercial buildings. This opportunity assists eligible entities in further decarbonizing their buildings through the adoption of the latest national model building energy codes, zero energy codes, other codes that deliver equivalent or greater energy savings, including innovative approaches to decarbonize existing buildings through certain measurable and enforceable requirements. The IRA is unprecedented in its opportunity to support sustainable change at the State and local level with respect to advancing the energy efficiency of new, renovated, and existing buildings. DOE is particularly interested in supporting States and local governments in implementing local capacity building, multi-year investments in workforce and education, and long-term improvements in building energy codes through multi-cycle adoption and building performance standards (BPS).