Sun streaming through tall redwood trees

Grantmaking Program

Purisima Creek Redwoods (Karl Gohl)

Grantmaking Program Mission

From 2007 to 2017, Midpen supported academic research on Midpen lands through its Resource Management Grant Program, which awarded small grants to local researchers. In 2018, the Midpen Board of Directors approved the replacement of the prior grant program with the current Grantmaking Program to update the focus areas and increase beneficial impact by enhancing the investment made in the program. Midpen Grants Program staff are responsible for administering the Grantmaking Program in addition to seeking external grants that support Midpen projects.

Midpen’s Grantmaking Program supports organizations and projects that further the understanding and protection of our natural world, build capacity in the environmental field and facilitate access to the outdoors or augment interpretation and education opportunities for the public.  

The grantmaking process is guided by an emphasis on investments that reflect a regional focus and provide avenues for partnership with Midpen or other stakeholders. 

Grants are awarded for the following funding priorities: 

  • Applied science - advancing scientific understanding of natural processes and/or promoting environmental stewardship.  

  • Partnership and network support - cultivating, sustaining, and growing conservation networks.  

  • Access, interpretation, and education - educating and promoting open space protection. 

In the previous grant rounds, applicants were invited to submit proposals for projects up to $50,000. For information on the 2023 grant round, refer to the 2023 Grantmaking Program request for proposals

Grants Program staff are committed to soliciting proposals from a diverse range of community-based and other nonprofit organizations, K-12 schools, academic institutions, and public agencies, and encourage first-time applicants or organizations that represent underserved communities to apply.

Stay informed!

Sign up to receive notifications about the Grantmaking Program.

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SJSU students in an outdoor restoration project at Sierra Azul
(SJSU)

Hands-On Learning: Midpen grant introduces students to science outdoors

Despite the early hour and chill in the air, a group of San José State University (SJSU) students ventured bright-eyed into an area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve dominated by nonnative, invasive eucalyptus trees. Dubbed the “bird group,” this crew kept a keen eye and ear out for flapping wings and high-pitched chirps. What birds live in this eucalyptus forest? How are their populations different from those of nearby native habitats? The bird group sought answers to these questions to fulfill the field research component of their environmental restoration course.

See how a Midpen grant got them outdoors

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Saved by Nature

Follow along as a group of middle school students from San Jose experience nature and ocean views in a Midpen preserve, some for the first time. Grant partnerships like this one between Midpen and the local nonprofit organization Saved by Nature, are helping connect Bay Area youth with the physical, emotional and mental benefits of time spent in nature.

The grant application period is now closed. Please sign up for the Grantmaking Program interest list above to receive notifications about future grant rounds.


Questions? Send an email to grants@openspace.org. Para preguntas por favor contáctenos en Español a: grants@openspace.org o por teléfono: (650) 691-1200.