Environmental Education Program

Grants of up to $25,000 to Oregon nonprofit organizations, schools, colleges, government agencies, and tribal entities for activities that promote K-12 environmental education. Funding may be used for capacity building projects, professional development and training, or field experiences. Gray FF’s Environmental Education program seeks to promote the inclusion of quality environmental education in formal and informal K-12 environments to increase opportunities for youth to connect with and learn in the outdoors.

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 3rd-8th grade youth. 

Gray FF seeks to support:

• Active youth stewardship of the natural and built environments;
  
• Systematic integration of environmental education in formal and informal K-12 education systems
• High-quality environmental education programming by schools, districts, and non-profits with and for their communities
• Environmental education opportunities that include and reflect the experiences, perspectives, and knowledge of diverse populations across Oregon

Gray FF’s Environmental Education program priorities seek to increase:

• Diversity of youth and communities engaged in outdoor and environmental education learning experiences.
• Educators’ (K-12 teachers, administrators and informal educators) preparedness to integrate environmental education across subjects.
• Environmental educators’ preparedness to support K-12 needs utilizing best practices and rigor.
• K-12 professionals’ preparedness to use the natural and built environments and systems as a context for learning.
• K-12 youth’s ability to collaborate, problem-solve and apply critical thinking to local and global environmental issues.
• K-12 youth’s preparedness for success in careers inside and outside of the environmental field through increased participation in environmental education.

Funds are typically used to support:

• Dedicated staff time
• Training and professional development for educators (in person and virtual)
• Costs associated with developing and implementing in person or virtual curricula and programming (e.g. classroom materials, books, toolkits, virtual field trips, etc.)
• Costs associated with facilitating learning experiences outside the classroom either on or near school ground or if possible away from school grounds
• Administrative support

In 2021, there are three options through the 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. 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:

• Option 1: Equity-Focused Capacity-Building
  
• Option 2: Youth Field Experiences
• Option 3: Educator Training and Professional Development

For more information, see: https://grayff.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2021-Environmental-Education-RFP-FINAL-Updated-090220.pdf#page=3