San Diego Foundation Announces $400K In Grants For Outdoor-Focused Nonprofits

By Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego

March 15, 2022

The San Diego Foundation announced Monday that it has more than $400,000 in “Opening the Outdoors” grants available for nonprofit organizations providing equitable outdoor access programs in San Diego County.

“For more than a decade, The San Diego Foundation and its partners have worked together to increase community-driven efforts to enhance accessible outdoor space, encourage youth to learn more through hands-on education and create the next generation of environmental stewards in the San Diego region,” Christiana DeBenedict, director of environment initiatives for The San Diego Foundation, said in a statement.

According to the foundation’s Parks for Everyone 2020 report, the communities facing systemic barriers to usable green space tend to be those with higher concentrations of lower-income households, greater racial and ethnic diversity, and the highest rates of COVID-19 infections.

Since the report’s release in 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic has “exacerbated systemic inequities and has impacted marginalized communities at disproportionately high rates,” a statement from the foundation reads.

The foundation established the Opening the Outdoors program to address this inequity and create safe, accessible outdoor space for all San Diegans.

This year, the grant cycle is focused on three areas of impact:

• Outdoors for All: to support equitable and inclusive access
• Outdoors for Health: to address critical health and wellness needs
• Outdoors Forever: for conservation and environmental stewardship

Nonprofits interested in applying for a grant must submit an application by 5 p.m. April 18. Grants are expected to range from $25,000 to $50,000. The San Diego Foundation will host a webinar to review the grant guidelines and application process for interested applicants from 10 to 11 a.m. March 23.

Foundation staff will also host office hours for interested nonprofits on various dates throughout the application period. For more information or to apply, visit SDFoundation.org/grantseekers.

City News Service contributed to this article.

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