GRANTMAKING INFORMATION

As part of our grantmaking process, organizations are welcome to submit a preliminary grant request for funding consideration. After this review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. Please carefully review our funding guidelines below before submitting an inquiry.

Qualifications & Eligibility For All Grants

  1. Must be a public charity and have had tax-exempt 501(c)3 status for a minimum of 3 years. Start-ups are not eligible.
  2. Must be based in the USA.
  3. Only one grant application per organization will be accepted.
  4. Grant requests must not exceed 30% of the organization’s annual budget.
  5. Joint and collaborative proposals are accepted.
  6. We accept grant proposals only for charitable, education, or scientific purposes.
  7. Government agencies are not eligible to apply directly. Programs and projects that include integration, partnership, and collaboration with state and federal management agencies are acceptable.
  8. Universities and colleges are eligible to apply.
  9. If you are the supporting organization or fiscal sponsor for another entity, you must specify whether you are requesting funding for your organization or the organization you support/sponsor. Your responses must identify and reflect the organization that will be carrying out the proposed work.

Grants MAY NOT be used for the following:

  1. Benefit of specific individuals.
  2. Capital campaigns except for capital needs and/or equipment that significantly and measurably improve organizational or program effectiveness and impact.
  3. General operating expenses (overhead and other administrative costs are acceptable for the program and project for which funding is being requested).
  4. Endowment.
  5. Activities that promote religious beliefs.
  6. Lobbying – IRS-defined lobbying activities are prohibited by federal law.
  7. Partisan research and analysis and non-permissible policy-related activities.
  8. Re-granting to other organizations or individuals (unless indicated in a grant agreement).

Additional Criteria for Review / Local Grantmaking Program

Priority Locations & Funding Focus:
Southern California – South of Ventura County to San Diego County
Improving children’s health and mental well-being, supporting animal welfare and therapy, providing relief for Pacific Palisades fire-affected areas, and restoring and conserving coastal and watershed ecosystems.

Island of Hawaiʻi
Fostering sustainable agriculture, offering farming internships and education, protecting endangered species, restoring forests, conserving coastal and watershed environments, and promoting cultural outreach and education.

Grant Range:
$5,000 to $100,000

Application Requirements:
1. If invited to apply, a fully completed letter of inquiry is required. Letters of inquiry that are incomplete or missing required attachments will not be considered.

2. Funded programs and projects must outline clear, measurable, and identifiable objectives, benchmarks, and timelines that demonstrate the project’s impact.

3. Applicants must demonstrate organizational capacity, expertise, and credibility to achieve the intended outcomes.

Additional Criteria for Review / Dorrance Marine Conservation Initiative

Priority Locations & Funding Focus:
Southern California
Mission Bay and immediate area, Buena Vista Creek and immediate area, Channel Islands

Island of Hawaiʻi
North Kohala, South Kohala, North Kona, South Kona to Miloliʻi

Objective
To provide support to high-performing non-profits with demonstrated expertise in improving ocean health through the recovery, restoration, regeneration, and protection of marine habitat and biodiversity.

Target Populations and Ecosystems

Marine habitat and biodiversity – ridge-to-reef, coastal, and nearshore ecosystems and the imperiled species they harbor. Coral reefs, estuaries, bays, and the watersheds that flow and connect to them.

Review and Selection Criteria:

  1. The extent to which the project meets the program goal of The Dorrance Family Foundation.
  2. The extent to which the project supports, protects, enhances, or scales the outcomes of currently funded projects in the identified priority areas of coastal and nearshore ecosystems and impacted communities. See the Locations section for details.
  3. If invited to apply, a fully completed letter of inquiry. Letters of inquiry that are incomplete or missing required attachments will not be considered.
  4. Organizational capacity, expertise, and credibility of the applicant to achieve the intended outcomes.
  5. Clear, measurable, and identifiable objectives, benchmarks, and timelines that demonstrate the project’s impact.
  6. Access to the work through site visits and site-specific progress reports; locations and habitats where the work is being done.
  7. The extent to which the project:
    • focuses on species/suite of species
    • is place-based
    • engages with Indigenous and local communities and leadership
    • incorporates science and cultural expertise
    • is tangible
    • is measurable
    • is ready-to-proceed with direct interventions (shovel/fin ready)
    • addresses major habitat and ecosystem stressors and threats, and identifies solutions
    • can be scaled up or replicated in the future with additional resources and partners, if applicable
  8. The project for which proposed funding will be used can include watersheds, waterways, land mitigation, and advocacy, having direct impact on the coral reefs, estuaries, and bays in the identified locations and regions.
  9. Long-term research only projects are not suggested.

How to Inquire

The Dorrance Family Foundation only accepts inquiries from organizations that have received previous funding or that meet the guidelines for application described on this page. Please review the guidelines before inquiring. Full requests for proposal are by invitation only after submission of the preliminary grant request form.

When you are ready to inquire, click the Inquiry Form link below and complete the Preliminary Grant Request Form. Complete and submit your inquiry online.

Process After Inquiry

Submitted grant request forms are reviewed for consideration every 30-60 days.

You’ll receive an email if your organization or project does not fit our funding focus or mission. However, if we are interested in learning more about your organization or project, you will be asked by email to submit a full proposal online.

Full proposals are reviewed for consideration beginning in September.

Notifications of awards happen in November and December.

Proposals received after September 15th will be considered the following calendar year.