The Office of Foundation Relations is pleased to share this open call for funding from the Rose Foundation.
UCSC Contact: Almut Wolf | awolf2@ucsc.edu
Funder: Rose Foundation
Opportunity: California Watershed Protection Fund
Funding Level: up to $40,000
Overview
The fund supports water quality projects around stewardship, advocacy, outreach and education, restoration, and watershed protection. We especially encourage projects that involve impacted communities, benefit vulnerable populations, and are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice. The 2025 Spring funding cycle will accept projects within the following geographic focus:
- San Francisco Bay Delta Watershed
- Tomales Bay and adjacent watersheds, including Walker Creek
- The Santa Ynez River Watershed, including San Miguelito Creek
- Los Angeles Watersheds, including the LA River, Dominguez Channel, and San Pedro Bay
- Orange County Watersheds, including the San Gabriel River, Newport Bay, and the Santa Ana River Watershed
- Southern CA Bight (coastal LA County)
Allowable Projects and Activity Focus
- Projects must benefit the surface water quality of the watershed in question. Eligible activities include water stewardship, conservation, outreach and education, restoration, and watershed protection.
- Projects focusing exclusively on groundwater quality are only eligible if there is known interconnectivity to surface waters.
- We especially encourage projects that involve impacted communities, benefit vulnerable populations, and are centered around principles of equity and environmental justice.
- Please note: Any projects with an education component must have a palpable water quality benefit. Applicants should consider the inclusion of hands-on activities such as planting, restoration, or trash cleanups as part of their projects or other activities that will have a more immediate impact and should be a substantive part of the project proposal.
- The applicant must demonstrate the capacity to complete the proposed project, including experience in successfully conducting similar or otherwise related work in the past.
Eligibility
- The Rose Foundation welcomes proposals from small grassroots conservation and environmental justice groups
- The applicant must be a 501(c)3 organization
- The applicant must demonstrate the capacity to complete the proposed project as well as a strong track record of community-based water quality stewardship.
- Organizations that have been funded may only re-apply AFTER their final grant report has been submitted.
Key Award Terms
- Up to $40,000
- Project length about 1 year
- University overhead is limited to 5%
Please see a list of past grantees.
Timeline
- March 25, 2025, 5:00pm Applications due in portal
- Early June 2025 Notification
Special Instructions
Please notify the Office of Foundation Relations if you are interested in applying to this opportunity (fr@ucsc.edu). Please submit a proposal intake form prior to UCSC’s internal Institutional Deadlines. For support developing your proposal, please contact the Research Development Specialist assigned to your unit or send a request to resdev@ucsc.edu. Within the Division of Social Sciences, please contact Ashlee Tews (ashleeac@ucsc.edu) to initiate notification and proposal support.
Call sent: January 30, 2025
The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Advancement. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations and corporations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits. For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website: FR Calls for Funding.