Community in Conservation

Connecting the Festival to Grants for Community Groups

The Application Process

We have created what we hope is a simple and streamlined application process; one that respects your organizations’ time and resources and reflects the fact that these are small grant awards (max. $5,000). Our expectation is that this will be an annual award program, contingent on success of the Festival each year.

WHAT WE FUND: 

With this focus on connecting our financial resources to local environmental needs we now support projects in these four WF priority areas:

1. Initiatives at the intersections of waterfowl conservation and community
2. Education programs on Delmarva focusing on current and future generations of conservationists, enthusiasts and educators
3. Research and scientific work of graduate students, volunteer groups
   and non-profits on Delmarva
4. Restoration and conservation of projects that benefit waterfowl and
   regional habitat enhancement in ways that connect with larger bay habitat
   restoration goals

WHO CAN APPLY: 

Applicants may be non-profits, community associations or other entities interested in advancing waterfowl and waterfowl habitat conservation, education or research.

MAXIMUM AWARD: 

$5,000

DEADLINE: 

2024 Deadline July 1, 2024.

TO APPLY: 

Submit your Letter of Inquiry using the form below (max. 1500 words).

TIMELINE: 

WF reviews the letters received and expects to notify the applicants for this initial phase of their status by early September. Applicants selected to advance to the next phase may be asked to provide further information related to their project or initiative by mid-September.

1.   Community Match Challenge – October-November WF works with organizations selected for funding to coordinate a media announcement. The announcement serves as the opening of the Waterfowl Community Match Challenge period, a new way to build community support and visibility for conservation. During this time,  Waterfowl Festival promotes our partnership and encourages the citizens of our region to show their support for the selected projects through contributions. This new effort is also intended to increase Waterfowl Festival visitors’ awareness of that event’s conservation mission.
2. Final press release/event after the Festival to announce total funding for projects.