Island Foundation - Grants for Environment, Alternative Education, and Community Development.

Grantmaking Priorities

The Island Foundation’s grant priorities fall within three major categories: Environment, New Bedford, and Alternative Education. The Island Foundation supports marine research, natural resource conservation, community economic development, and education projects within coastal areas of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

For the last decade, the Foundation has focused a significant portion of its financial resources on Southeastern Massachusetts, where its office is located. Here the Board seeks to understand how communities grow sustainably and equitably, how rural and urban economies are intertwined, and how to best protect working landscapes and the people who rely upon these areas for their livelihoods. In funding in a few specific areas, the Board believes it will have the most impact.

The Island Foundation accepts both general operating and project-focused grant requests and occasionally makes multi-year grant commitments to organizations it has supported for many years. The Board has funded some groups outside of New England when their programs relate to work the Island Foundation is supporting within its geographic priority areas.

Environment

In Maine, Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Island Foundation promotes the conservation of marine and coastal resources. For many years, the Foundation has given priority to North Atlantic right whale research, protection of coastal waterbird habitat, and preservation of coastal lands. The Foundation also supports ecological economics and linkages between population and environment on the global level.

Most recently, the Board has been interested in new initiatives that:

• link climate change, renewable energy, and regional planning;
• support working landscapes (sustainable agriculture and community-based fisheries) and the people who rely on them for their livelihoods;
• involve applications of marine resource economics; and
• connect community health, quality of life, and environmental conservation.

Community Development in New Bedford

The Foundation works with organizations that promote progressive social change and combat discrimination in all its forms in New Bedford. In this historic city, the Foundation supports youth organizing, green jobs, emergency food assistance, community gardening, performing and visual arts, and civic engagement projects that celebrate the many cultures and diversity in the city. The Foundation funds groups that have community-wide recognition and support and demonstrate a positive vision for the present and future of New Bedford.

Within the New Bedford program area, the Island Foundation seeks proposals addressing:

• youth educational attainment, life skills, and career preparation;
• sustainable community planning with an emphasis on green jobs;
• community gardens, nutrition, and health programs;
• assistance for immigrants and/or newly arriving Americans;
• activities that increase civic engagement and build an appreciation for the history and cultures represented in this community; and
• professional development/capacity building for local nonprofits.

Alternative Education

The Island Foundation supports a limited number of experiential education programs, after-school programs, and alternative education schools. Drawing on its tradition of seeking alternative and unconventional approaches, the Island Foundation looks for informal and school-based programs that connect young people to their natural world, foster an appreciation for community service, and respect individuals with diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Maritime trades, hands-on marine education, and programs for at-risk youth are of particular interest. The Foundation is interested in new alternative education models that are local in focus, but national in significance.