Celebrate National California Day With These Grants

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series recognizing each of the 50 states by providing state-specific grants for each. These articles follow the National Day Calendar Year. The calendar began celebrating each state in the order they entered the union starting the week of Independence Day. National California Day is celebrated on Feb. 22, and California was the 28th state to join the union.

So, in honor of National California Day, GrantWatch is sharing some of its favorite grants below that are specifically for the state.

For most people, California is known for its warm weather and hollywood prescence. However, there is much more to the Golden State than celebrities and blockbuster hits. California is has many beautiful parks and historical landmarks. The state is home to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, where three national parks are located. It is also home to 280 state parks, giant redwoods, the death valley, and numerous beaches.

In addition, California is the largest state in the country by population. The state welcomes in many people of diverse cultures and backgrounds and gives them a place to enjoy life. However, along with the perks of living in this sunny state, California can be difficult to live in due to the amount of natural disasters that occur there. Specifically, earthquakes are pretty common throughout the state. California has also had many issues with severe wildfires. The most recent fire being one that started on Feb. 16 and has burned 4,136 acres so far. 

Along with these facts about the state for National California Day, here are a few other facts you might not know.

10 Fun Facts about the Golden State

  1. The state is the avocado capital of the world. Fallbrook, California even hosts an avocado festival every year to celebrate.
  2. The first ever motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles, California on April 02, 1902.
  3. Outside of the state of Alaska, California boasts the largest U.S National Park, Death Valley. Death Valley covers 3.4 million acres.
  4. For about a month, California existed as an independent country. Settlers in the territory declared independence from Mexico on June 14, 1846. This lasted exactly a month before the United States declared war on Mexico.
  5. It is the most bio-diverse state in the nation. The state is host to over 4000 different species of plant and animals.
  6. In addition, one out of every eight United States residents lives there.
  7. The state also produces more than 17 million gallons of wine per year.
  8. Additionally, it raises more turkeys than any other state.
  9. The California poppy is the official state flower.
  10. Fresno, CA. calls itself the Raisin Capital of the World.

Five California-Specific Grants

  1. Firstly, there are grants of up to $500 to California households to mitigate damages caused by wildfires to households that have sustained 50% or more property damage. Eligible applicants were affected by 2021 fires in one of the following nine (9) counties: Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity.
  2. Grants to California nonprofits and government agencies to promote outdoor recreation through the development of trails and trail-related projects. Funding is for the development and maintenance of recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both non-motorized and motorized recreational trail uses.
  3. There are also grants to California small nonprofit organizations for initiatives for environmental stewardship activities. Funding is to support a broad range of advocacy and conservation activities. 
  4. Additionally, there is funding of up to $30,000 for California public libraries for technological advances. The purpose of the funding is to bring high-speed broadband internet to students, researchers, educators, and others who work in the state’s public institutions.
  5. Finally, there are grants to California nonprofit organizations for programs and initiatives to increase women’s representation in publicly elected offices. The funding source has a preference for applicant organizations where women are the primary decision-makers. Programs should benefit Monterey Bay Peninsula; Santa Cruz; tribal lands of the Amah Mutsun, Ohlone, Chalon, Awaswas, and Esselen nations; and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

GrantNews Notes

Looking for similar grants specifically for the Golden State? GrantWatch has an entire website dedicated exclusively to California grants. Also, make sure to give your organization the gift of GrantWatch. Signing up for a paid subscription to GrantWatch will help you to gain access to resources to aid in your grant journey. Specifically, one of the tools that paid subscribers have access to is our exact keyword search function. This tool allows grant seekers to narrow down a grant search.

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