Vision and Values

The fund advisors of the Gray Family Fund seek to fulfill John and Betty Gray’s faith in the human spirit. The family acknowledges their responsibility to give back to the systems that nurture all of us: our culture, our natural environments, and our communities.

Environmental Education Program Description

Statement of Purpose

The Environmental Education Program seeks to encourage a strong local land ethic, sustainable communities, and stewardship of the natural environment by citizens throughout Oregon.

The Fund is committed long term to institutionalizing a series of age appropriate experiences that build a sense of place and responsibility towards Oregon and the region.

Funding Goals for the Environmental Education Program

The program will support four general goals:

• Strengthening and developing programs that provide outdoor experiences for youth from early childhood through grade 12.
• Creating, expanding, and improving programs that connect schools with their communities and provide students with practical hands-on experience in addressing environmental issues both locally and globally.
• Supporting programs committed to creating comprehensive, significant, lasting change in educational systems, fostering improved understanding of and interaction with our natural systems.
• Encouraging programs that explore and integrate boundaries between art and science, and connect creativity with the natural environment.

 OCF makes grants to schools, government agencies, and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. Up to $700,000 will be available for grants in the 2010 calendar year. The fund will award grants in each of the three categories listed below, with a priority given to overnight, residential outdoor school programs.

Three Project Categories

The Gray Family Fund Environmental Education Program invites proposals that support:

• Overnight, Residential Outdoor School Programs for fifth and sixth grade students
• Outdoor Exploration and Community Field Trips for fifth through eighth grades
• Environmental Professional Development for Teachers and Volunteer Mentors
• For the July 30, 2010 deadline OCF invites only applications for Overnight, Residential Outdoor School Programs for fifth and sixth grade students, with award notification by December.

Discrimination Policy

OCF does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, physical circumstances or national origin. Grant applicants must hold similar standards. OCF does not consider grant applications from organizations known to have discriminatory policies.

Application Information

Applications for the three listed categories are due on January 29th, 2010, with award notification by June. For the July 30, 2010 deadline, OCF invites only applications for Overnight, Residential Outdoor School Programs for fifth and sixth grade students, with award notification by December.

Successful multi-year applicants are encouraged to reapply by the appropriate deadline, based on the date of their 2009 grant award.

Applicants must submit a project Evaluation Plan with the original application, and submit an Evaluation Report Form eight months after receiving the grant. Please apply electronically, if possible. Please contact Lara Utman at The Oregon Community Foundation 503.227.6846 with further questions.

Category Descriptions

Overnight, Residential Outdoor School Programs: For fifth and sixth grade students

Every fifth and sixth grader in Oregon will attend a residential, experiential, interdisciplinary, outdoor-oriented educational experience that engages the senses and employs recognized best practices.

The fund will prioritize:

• Programs 3-5 days in length; expansions or renewals of programs.
• Programs that request no more than 35% of overall budget, unless establishing a new program.
• Programs that show extensive community support and developed partnerships.
• Programs that give scholarships to students in need or to the programs of schools in need.
• Programs that engage college or high school students as mentors.
• Programs that incorporate pre-trip orientation and post-trip follow up sessions for students and teachers.
• Programs that assess both short- and long-term changes in participants’ understanding of natural systems.

Outdoor Exploration and Community Field Trips: For fifth through eighth grades

By 8th grade, all students should visit a wastewater treatment plant, a water source, and a landfill.

The fund will prioritize:

• Organizations and schools that provide field trips to learn about community infrastructure designed to protect our communities and ecosystems.
• Creation and maintenance of community natural places within public transportation, bikeable, or walkable range from schools.
• Projects that help students, families, and their communities understand, interact with and support school and community gardens, and local farms and food systems.
• Projects that allow students to engage with the environment through local stewardship experiences and encourage youth involvement in stewardship projects.
• Initiatives to improve curricula about land use planning, Oregon history, and Oregon geography.

Environmental Professional Development for Teachers and Volunteer Mentors

Teachers and volunteer mentors should have access to education about sustainability in ways that strengthen their communities and encourage them to experience the natural world.

The fund will prioritize:

• Projects that introduce teachers and volunteer mentors to and further educate them about the field of sustainability.
• Training teachers and volunteer mentors so that they can effectively employ experiential, outdoor focused, place-based, and inquiry-based learning.
• Programs that encourage teachers and volunteer mentors to lead and mentor projects promoting sustainability in their schools and communities.
• Programs that strengthen civic responsibility in communities, especially around issues of community sustainability and restoration.

For more information please go to:

2010 Request for Proposals
Evaluation Framework
Environmental Education Resources

2010 Application (Word document)
2009 Application (PDF form)
Evaluation Report Form (Word document)

Environmental Education Program – Fall 2009 Grants
Environmental Education Program – Spring 2009 Grants

Environmental Education Program – Fall 2008 Grants
Environmental Education Program – Spring 2008 Grants

Please email inquiries to enviroed@oregoncf.org or call Lara Utman at The Oregon Community Foundation, (503) 227-6846.