2025-2026 Grant Guidelines

Please note that we are very aware of the challenges facing non-profits. We encourage all inquiries to be made electronically via our email address: info@munsonfdn.org. We do not know our exact grant budget for the 2025-2026 grant years, but fully expect to meet our existing commitments before taking on any new ones.

GENERAL FOCUS (over 85 percent of the grant program)
  • Conservation of natural resources in eastern North America and the Caribbean Basin, with an emphasis on the United States
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS (in descending order of size)
  • Marine resource conservation and management with priority given to fisheries
  • South Florida Ecosystems (Treasure Coast, Lake Okeechobee, Everglades, Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, and Florida Keys)
  • Alabama environmental issues
  • D.C. Metro area environmental issues*

*limited to preselected organizations

LIMITATIONS

  • Site specific grants are limited to South Florida and Alabama. No grants to individuals or endowment funds. Grants to capital campaigns are given lowest priority.
  • Most grants are restricted and require 1:1 match (over the course of the year following receipt of the grant) and confirmation that 100% of your organization's Board of Directors are financial donors (in the most recent fiscal year).
  • No unsolicited grant proposals. Please send a 1-2 page letter of inquiry (in regular word document, not pdf format) BEFORE sending any additional materials. We do not wish to waste your time if the proposed project is not a priority for us. Generally, the letter of inquiry plus the answers to any specific questions we might have is sufficient and a full proposal is unlikely to be requested.

SIZE OF GRANT PROGRAM

  • Total funding available: approximately $1,200,000 annually
  • Grants generally range from $10,000 to $40,000: Average grant: $15,000 to $20,000

APPLICATION INFORMATION

  • Initial approach: letter of inquiry (due by the 1st Friday in April or the 2nd Friday in September) E-mail inquiries are encouraged at info@munsonfdn.org, but please do not send duplicate hard copy and do not waste money on overnight mail. Just let us know if you're going to be late.
  • Letters of inquiry should contain a brief description of your organization, including the date of its founding, as well as a brief description of the program/project; hoped-for results, and timeframe for achieving those results.
  • Copy of IRS 501(c)(3) letter and EIN number

  • Information Requested Form should be included with letters of inquiry. The needed Microsoft Word version is available for download.
  • Please send letters of inquiry and Information Requested Forms as word documents not PDFs

  • Special note: if your organization's website does not include the names of your board members, then please include a list with your letter of inquiry.
  • Grant review meetings: mid-summer and late fall (approximate dates)
  • Final notification will be received within three weeks following consideration
  • Depending on volume of requests and program priorities, some requests may be considered at the following meeting.
REPORTS (If a grant is received, a report will be due roughly 10 months later)
  • Any changes in program, staff, organization leadership, as well as victories or defeats, should be reported via e-mail as soon as is practicable.
  • As noted above, we ask that grants be matched 1:1 over the course of the grant period. Additional funding will not be considered until the match is reached.
  • Likewise, we need confirmation that all members of the Board of Directors have contributed financially to the organization (at any level)
  • Any report prepared for another funder is acceptable, as long as we receive the confirmations above.
  • If a multi-year grant is approved, the report should include an up to date information requested form and a summary paragraph of the next year’s relevant priorities. The release of the next year of funding is subject to Board approval.

STAFF

  • Angel Braestrup, Executive Director

NOTE: Every inquiry will be given every possible consideration. Please don’t be alarmed if an extended period of time goes by before learning of status of requests. If you wish to provide updates on victories or staff changes, please feel free to do so. Adequate time will be given for responses to our questions. To help us, please make sure you include a contact email address with your contact information.

Download
Guidelines