Funding Opportunities

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA): IIJA was signed into law in Fall 2021 and authorizes funding for infrastructure programs over the next five years. These infrastructure improvements will help institutions, including schools, address climate action through different categories including transportation, power and grid infrastructure, drinking water and infrastructure, and broadband. Notably, for schools the largest dedicated funding allocation is for electric school bussing, EV charging, and energy upgrades. Multiple agencies will be administering this large spending package. In order to prepare for these funding opportunities LEAs can utilize these resources:

• K12 Climate Action Education and Climate Provisions in IIJA (6 pages)

• 2021 IIJA: Resources for Schools (article overview 5 minute read)

• ICMA New Infrastructure Funding Overview for Local Government (made for local government agencies, but is a great resource for background information on IIJA)

ESSA Funding: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, includes language making environmental education and environmental literacy programs explicitly eligible for federal education funds for the very first time. The key language is found in two formula grant programs described in Title IV of the bill. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) outlined ESSA funding for Environmental Literacy. 

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding: Billions of dollars have been made available for investment in climate and clean energy. Schools can receive cash reimbursement through tax credits for clean energy projects such as solar arrays, energy storage, electric schools buses, and more. Read more about what projects qualify for reimbursement on the Undaunted K12 website.

NOAA Ocean Guardian School Program:

The NOAA Ocean Guardian School program supports hands-on stewardship projects that are focused on current issues affecting the health of local watersheds and/or the ocean while promoting best environmental practices. Grants are awarded for up to $4,000 per school depending on the program region, level of the project and funding year. Example projects include wetland restoration, recycling and compost programs, and creating or improving school gardens. Applications open in the Spring each year. 

Golden State Pathways Program

The purpose of the Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP) is to provide local educational agencies (LEAs) with the resources to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including technology, health care, education, and climate-related fields that, among other things, allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and provide the workforce needed for economic growth.

Clean School Bus Rebate Program (EPA): The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 authorizes the EPA to offer rebates to replace existing school buses with clean and zero-emission models.

EV Charging Support and Incentives: Peninsula Clean Energy has an incentive project in San Mateo County to increase publicly available electric vehicle charging locations with investments potentially reaching $24 million. This funding opportunity includes: 1) free technical assistance, 2) access to negotiated, volume EV charging station pricing, and 3) significant incentives covering most or all of the installation costs. Learn more about the program and apply directly for funding.

Public EV Fleets Program: This program provides free technical assistance, project planning, and funding to public agencies for new electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure for their fleets.

PG&E EV Fleets Program: This opportunity is for school communities looking for "fast chargers" for large busses with high daily miles. PG&E will install at no cost and provide rebates for the charger and the vehicle. You can stack this with other funding.

EPA Utility Genius Rebate Finder Tool: The Utility Genius Rebate Finder lets you search for rebates on efficient commercial building equipment within categories that are not included in our ENERGY STAR Rebate Finder. Search by state, then choose your utility to see a list of all available rebates and products. These categories include: Commercial HVAC equipment (including VFDs and fans); Commercial lighting; Commercial building automation ; Electric commercial vehicles (including school buses and forklifts).

Environmental Volunteers Let's Go! Transportation Fund: 
For low-income youth (K-12) in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Environmental Education Funders Collaborative (EEFC) provides limited grants to support transportation costs for science, nature-based and environmental education field trips. Funding for this program is on a rolling basis. 

San Mateo County Parks - Youth Environmental Education Field Trips: Because a lack of transportation can be a barrier in getting to the parks, the San Mateo County Parks Foundation funds school or youth organization's transportation needs AND connects them to docents to lead hikes and explain the wonders of the park. Funding for this program is on a rolling basis.  

SMCOE has field trip transportation funding available for qualified schools for the 2023-24 school year. For more information on how to access these funds please email Rubie Macaraeg rmacaraeg@smcoe.org. 

California Department of Food and Agriculture: CDFA is the regulatory agency in California for all agriculture and food production.

• California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program: This program will award competitive grants to support projects that cultivate equity, nurture students, build climate resilience, and create scalable and sustainable change. Public Schools can choose three different tracks for funding. 

Plastic Free Restaurants: Apply for a subsidy to switch from single-use plastic food service ware to reusables. 

Chef Ann Foundation: The Chef Ann Foundation is dedicated to promoting whole-ingredient, scratch-cooking in schools.

• Salad Bars to Schools: Salad Bars to Schools (SB2S) is a granting program that provides schools and districts with salad bar equipment and support, including Cambro salad bars, camchillers, and technical assistance.

USDA: On an annual basis, USDA awards competitive Farm to School grants that support planning, developing, and implementing farm to school programs. USDA's Farm to School grants are an important way to help state, regional, and local organizations as they initiate, expand, and institutionalize farm to school efforts.

American Academy of Dermatology Shade Structure Grant: The application is open in the late fall. 
The American Academy of Dermatology's (AAD) Shade Structure Program awards funds to schools, day-cares, parks, and other non-profit organizations for installing permanent shade structures where children learn and play. Each shade structure award is a maximum of $8,000, which includes the cost for shade structure materials and installation. In addition to the grant, the AAD provides a permanent sign to be placed near the shade structure featuring sun-safety tips. The AAD receives support for this program through donations from its members, outside organizations, and individuals.

Xerces Society California Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kits: Applications are open from late winter to early spring.
The Xerces Society is offering habitat kits that contain climate-smart native plants to project partners who are willing to provide the time, labor, and land to develop habitats that support monarchs and other pollinators. Xerces’ California Habitat kits has provided over 100,000 plants to partners across California, resulting in more habitat for monarch butterflies and pollinators. We are excited to continue this work.  All kits are comprised of native plants that have been identified as having high value to monarchs and other pollinators and are grown without the use of systemic pesticides that may be harmful to pollinators. 

CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Grant for Green Schoolyard Projects: 

There are two types of eligible green schoolyard projects: Planning and Implementation. Special consideration will be given to schools and districts in disadvantaged communities. The funding can be used for planting trees, converting pavement to green space, installment of gardens or natural playgrounds, and more. 

Flows to Bay: San Mateo Countywide Pollution Prevention Program: 

Flows to Bay provides technical assistance and incentive programs to prevent stormwater pollution in San Mateo County. Schools doing green infrastructure projects are encouraged to contact this agency to receive support on construction best practices. 

SMC Community Garden Partnership Program: The San Mateo County Office of Sustainability is offering funding assistance to public agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, and individuals representing those organizations through for projects and programs that focus on building community garden projects. This opportunity has no set funding cycle. Interested applicants are encouraged to fill out this Google Form for more information. 

Teaching Garden Network Grant: 
The American Heart Association is seeking schools and educational facilities that are working to connect children to the garden, supporting health, nutrition, and environmental stewardship. Participating schools get access to free gardening resources, a national garden network, and name recognition on the Teaching Gardens® Network website and a certificate of participation.

Whole Kids School Garden Grant: Applications are open from late winter to early spring. 

This annual funding program is available for any K-12 school. Funding awards are $3,000 and can be applied to any gardens growing edible plants.

KidsGardening: KidsGardening offers a variety of grants to new and existing youth garden programs across the nation. Each funding opportunity has its own timeline, defining features, eligibility requirements, and reporting expectations. 

Project Green Schools: The Outdoor Classroom Challenge invites schools across the country to develop and implement a meaningful outdoor classroom and learning space that awards one Grand Prize of $10,000 to further enhance an existing space or build a new space.

Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Program: Applications are open from late summer through fall.

The funds are designated for acquiring native plants and seeds for outdoor learning areas that engage youth (preschool to high school) directly in planning, planting and caring for native plant gardens.

Five Star & Urban Restoration Grant Program: Approximately $1 million in funding is available from the People’s Garden Initiative through USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, in partnership with The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) 2025 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program. The program will fund projects that support community-based gardens promoting sustainable agriculture practices that benefit people and wildlife. Applications will be accepted until January 30, 2025. Learn more and apply here.

Captain Planet Foundation Grants:
Captain Planet Foundation™ invests in high-quality, solution-based programs that embrace STEM learning and empower youth to become local & global environmental change-makers. Carefully research the grants and resource opportunities to determine which program best fits your needs and timeline.

Philanthropic Ventures Foundation - Environmental Science Grants: 
Grants of up to $1,000 are available for the school year and summer learning sessions to enhance environmental science curriculum through projects, supplies, and professional development for teachers. Any TK-12 grade teacher working at a low-income (as determined by Title 1 status or percentage of students eligible for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch) public school in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Francisco or San Mateo County is eligible to apply. 

• Limit of five grants per school and one grant per teacher.

Toshiba America Foundation:

Toshiba America Foundation (TAF) grants fund the projects ideas and materials teachers need to innovate in their Science, technology, engineering and math classrooms. TAF is interested in funding innovative projects designed by teachers or small teams of teachers for use in their own schools and classroom. Application deadlines for grade 6-12 for up to $5,000 are 6/1, 9/1, 12/1, 3/1. Grant requests of more than $5,000 are reviewed twice a year. Applications for grants of more than $5,000 are due November 1st and May 1st each year.

An application form is required. TAF uses two application forms:

• An elementary school application (Grades K-5)
• A middle and high school application (Grades 6-12)

Gravely and Paige Grants for STEM Teachers: 

The AFCEA Educational Foundation is dedicated to providing support to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students and teachers. The Gravely and Paige Grants provide funding to elementary and middle schools in the United States to promote STEM innovation in the classrooms with an emphasis on academic programs. Grants of up to $2,000 are awarded.

Ciena Teacher Grants:

The Ciena Grants are established to support classroom teachers with the implementation of innovative and engaging science technology engineering and math (STEM) programs, activities, and technology (software and hardware) to promote learning and digital equality. The grants will be applied toward materials and resources to support STEM programs and activities. Schools with high economic need (over 50 percent of the students qualifying for free or reduced lunch assistance) will be given priority consideration to support digital equality. Innovative distance and virtual learning projects and programs will be considered. 

Eco Audit Grant: Students who complete one or more Eco-Audits from the EcoRise Sustainable Intelligence curriculum are eligible to apply for up to $700 per project to support green student innovations and initiatives that tackle sustainability challenges identified during the Eco-Audit. If you’re interested in connecting your students to Eco-Audit Grant opportunities, email EcoRise at support@ecorise.org!

CalRecycle Reuse Grant Program: CalRecycle, the state-wide agency responsible for tracking solid waste management, has ongoing grant opportunities that schools can apply for. Previous grant programs have been on Food Waste Prevention, Reuse, and Community Composting. Most often these grants are designed to be implemented by a district (not an individual school site). 

• Sign up for email updates or check regularly for new opportunities

World Wildlife Fund Food Waste Warriors: 

• World Wildlife Fund has an annual grant program for schools and districts to tackle reducing food waste. This grant programs deliverables vary annually.

• Sign up for email updates or check regularly for new opportunities