San Diego Foundation Grants $740K To Nonprofits For Climate Projects

SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego Foundation Thursday announced it has awarded $740,000 in grants to U.S.- and Mexico-based nonprofits to support climate resilience projects in the Cali-Baja region.

The grants are part of the Binational Resilience Initiative, a climate resilience program that places geographic focus on the Cali-Baja coastline from Oceanside in North San Diego County to Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico, a statement from the foundation read.

"Environmental justice and climate resilience don't recognize the border," said Mark Stuart, president and CEO of SDF. "Together, we are identifying binational solutions that will strengthen our Cali-Baja region for future generations."

San Diego Foundation manages the Binational Resilience Initiative in partnership with the International Community Foundation, which works directly with Mexico-based grantees to administer funding and coordinate projects.

"The Binational Resilience Initiative supports a diverse set of incredible leaders who are working together to make our shared Cali-Baja region stronger and more resilient to the impacts of climate change," said Marisa Aurora Quiroz, president and CEO of International Community Foundation.

The projects selected include those in under-funded communities that could be vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Each project includes a U.S.- and a Mexico-based nonprofit partner.

The 2024 Binational Resilience Initiative grantees include:

-- $57,535 to the Ocean Discovery Institute and Investigacion Aplicada a Ecosistemas AC to support research by secondary students in San Diego and Ensenada on the biodiversity of coastal dunes in Ensenada and San Quintín in Baja California;
-- $100,000 to the Reef Check Foundation and ECOCIMATI to train more volunteers and expand its binational kelp restoration project surrounding the Coronado Islands off the coast of Rosarito;
-- $100,000 to San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego State University and Proyecto Fronterizo de Educacion Ambiental to support the second phase of the "One Coast, One Community" project, which prioritizes environmental issues "affecting the safety and health of those living in or using the coast, reduces environmental vulnerability in binational coastal communities and promotes public-private partnerships,";
-- $94,906 to Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association and Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles de Playas de Rosarito AC to create a green infrastructure manual that includes nature-based solutions for Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito coastal communities to resist and recover from extreme climate events;
-- $100,000 to Un Mar de Colores and Kilometro Uno to create Generación SEA: Youth Climate Resilience Academy, a 12-week binational academy for 20 high school students from Baja California and San Diego to train climate resilience leaders in the Cali- Baja region;
-- $95,000 to Uniting Natives Culturally and Intertribally and Instituto de Planeacion Ambiental y Calidad de Vida AC to reconstruct the ancestral vision of the use of the coastal zone by the Kumeyaay people, based on participatory planning techniques with the San Antonio Nécua indigenous community located near the Valle de Guadalupe;
-- $95,000 to University of San Diego and Promotora de las Bellas Artes for the Border Ecologies project that will pair USD student mentors with Mexican school children and provide education in environmental justice; and
-- $100,000 to 4 Walls International, Green Infrastructure Consortium and Universidad Autonoma de Baja California to support the Binational Watershed Resilience Expansion Project, which includes monitoring efforts and prioritizing fundable projects in trans-border watersheds such as the Tijuana River.

Since 2022, the Binational Resilience Initiative has granted more than $2 million to 24 projects encompassing 49 partners in U.S. and Mexico.

— City News Service