Environment Fund

The Environment Fund launched in 2018 as a component fund of the Permanent Fund for Northern Virginia.  

The mission of the Environment Fund is to protect, restore and improve the natural environment of Northern Virginia, thereby enhancing the health and quality of life of its citizens and the economy of the region.

Make a donation to support environmental grants in our region.
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Fund Goals

• Support and encourage collaboration among nonprofits, businesses, governments, educational institutions, and private philanthropic donors to promote actions that will have a beneficial effect on the health of the natural environment and local economy.
• Support public awareness and public education about protecting the natural environment and the impact of public and private actions on the natural environment.
• Support the efforts of citizen engagement that helps improve and protect the natural environment.

Impact

Since its inception, the Environment Fund has awarded more than $390,200 in grants to organizations across the region to invest in organizations committed to the fund's goals.  The first grant in 2018 supported Fairfax County Public Schools' Get 2 Green initiative. Subsequently, the fund has supported Coalition for Smarter Growth's ability to expand its work in Northern Virginia, Eco-Action Arlington's Energy Masters Program, and in 2022, Sustainability Matters and Prince William Environmental Excellence Foundation. In 2023, The Fairfax County Park Authority was awarded funding for their environmental stewarship program.  In 2024, the Community Foundation offered a tiered-funding model to award grants to eight different orgnizations based upon their budget size.

Watch the following video about Environment Fund Grantee, Audubon Naturalist Society, which supported watershed education and conservation programs along the Route 1 corridor about this below.

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Nonprofits: Learn More & Apply

In 2025, applications will be accepted from nonprofit organizations that offer an educational program in the area(s) of:

• Conservation
• Energy Efficiency
• Sustainability
• Watershed Management
• Workforce and Climate

Organizations with budgets above $100,000 must demonstrate that they are collaborating/will be collaborating with a government entity (local, city, county, or regional, within Northern Virginia.)

Criteria

• Organizations providing services in Northern Virginia (defined as the areas within Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties and the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park) can apply for funding.
• Applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations providing charitable or educational services. Local, state and federal government entities are not eligible to apply.
• Grant requests for program or general support purposes will be considered. Funding may be used to support, expand or enhance existing programs or to start new programs. Applications for capital improvements, endowments, or scholarship awards will not be considered.
• The Community Foundation intends to make grants according to your organization's budget size:
  • Budgets under $100,000: Up to two $5,000 grants will be available
  • Budgets under $500,000: Two $10,000 grant will be available
  • Budgets above $500,000: One $20,000 grant will be available
• Applications that are late or incomplete will not be considered.
• Organizations are limited to one application per grant cycle. Multiple applications will not be considered.

Please make sure you're subscribed to our Nonprofit News and Resources list to stay up-to-date on funding opportunities. 

Grant Application Portal

To apply, update, or submit a grant application, and to submit final reports for past grants, click below:
SUBMIT APPLICATIONS OR REVIEW PAST GRANTS HERE

You will be instructed to set up an organizational profile before applying. If your organization has applied in the past, check with other staff members to get access to the organization profile already established. It contains grant history and past applications. Please do not set up a new profile unless you are sure your organization has not applied previously.

Timeline for the grants process

January 8, 2025	Applications Open
January 8, 2025	2024 Grants Webinar
February 1, 2025	Grant Reports Due from 2023 Grantees
February 5, 2025	Applications Due
April 2025	Applicants notified of funding status
February 1, 2026	Grant Reports Due from 2024 Grantees

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