Grants

We support non-profit organizations committed to making an impact in addressing environmental problems, engaging in conservation and resource protections, and tackling social concerns. Through these small and mid-scale grants, we aim to support like-minded organizations with missions that align with the work of the Wright-Ingraham Institute. The Wright-Ingraham Institute has been awarding grants since 2012. In that time, we have awarded more than $500,000 to more than 70 organizations.

Our 2023 Application is Now Live. Applications are due Friday, October 13, by 5 PM EST.

Please note that for 2023, we will be focusing on organizations supporting programs in the US Southwest.

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Criteria

Our grants are designed to help address problems in three main areas.

Climate Change

Today, efforts to cope with the climate crisis are estimated to be costing the global economy approximately $3 trillion annually. We support organizations that are actively solving problems of how to bring clean air and water to global communities, how to prevent or stem natural disasters and meteorological events, and how to best promote sustainable practices and support renewable sources of energy.

Land Issues

Our grants strengthen organizations that are looking at different ways to apply concepts of sustainability, including ways to reverse the loss of fragile ecosystems that connect people and animals with land, or that work at the nexus of food, fuel and shelter. Additionally, we seek to better understand how human systems and natural systems intersect one another.

Wildlife Conservation

We support organizations that are working courageously on ways to conserve and preserve important wildlife habitats, as globalization continues to seek to develop every corner of the globe.

Eligibility

We welcome all organizations that meet our criteria and eligibility requirements to apply. In order to be eligible to receive a WII grant, the recipient organization must be a registered 501c(3) and able to receive funds in US dollars, even though the work the organization engages with may take place outside of the United States.

Reporting Requirements

Any 501c3 organization that receives a WII Grant must submit a preliminary report within 6 months of receiving the funds, and a final report describing: how the funds were used; the overall impact of the grant, including how many individuals were impacted and in what way (if applicable); and a full fiscal report. These reporting responsibilities will be a requirement of accepting any Wright-Ingraham Grant.

Available Grants

Grants are awarded annually in the fall.

Elizabeth W. Ingraham Grant

Amount: $10,000

The Elizabeth Wright Ingraham Grant is dedicated to the founder of the Wright-Ingraham Institute. This grant is awarded to an organization exploring how human systems interact with natural systems, for example, how to create living spaces that utilize land responsibly.

Richard T. Parker Grant

Amount: $10,000

The Richard T. Parker Grant is dedicated to an alumnus of the Wright-Ingraham Institute’s Running Creek Field Station program, and is supported by a generous, family-bestowed gift derived from the Thomas L. Parker Charitable Trust. This grant is awarded to an organization conducting research in the fields of science, wildlife, and/or environmental education.

Sustaining Grants

Amount: $5,000

These grants are awarded to a range of organizations working in wide variety of areas related to the overall mission of the Wright-Ingraham Institute. Special preference for these awards is given to Colorado-based institutions.

Current Grant Recipients

2022

Elizabeth W. Ingraham Grant

Amount Awarded: $10000

Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute

Richard T. Parker Grant

Amount Awarded: $10000

SociaLite Lighting Systems

Sustaining Grants

Amount Awarded: $5000 each

Spotlight

2022 Elizabeth W. Ingraham Grant

Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute

Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture is a community Indigenous-led non-profit based in the Village of Kykotsmovi, located in Northern Arizona on the Indigenous Hopi Reservation. Our mission is to create community-based solutions in order to pass knowledge to future generations and rebuild culturally sustainable and healthy communities. We initiate learning projects that engage, train, and inspire Hopi youth and community to revitalize Hopi culture, knowledge, and traditions. We support Hopi community members in developing leadership skills to strengthen local food systems and to implement sustainable ecological projects within the Hopi community. We aim to provide our community with the tools, training and practical experience needed to rebuild a vibrant community based on traditional Hopi values and worldview.

“The work we do is not for ourselves but to secure the health, the livelihood, and the longevity of those yet to come.” ~ Valerie Nuvayestewa

2022 Richard T. Parker Grant

SociaLite Lighting Systems

SociaLite Lighting Systems (SLS) Inc. was established as a Connecticut non-profit corporation on 1st August 2017 to supply solar powered micro-grids to impoverished communities in less industrialized countries: the facilities of benefit to the inhabitants providing opportunities for education, communication and home businesses and, the system itself, promoting entrepreneurship through manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance.

The 2022 Richard T. Parker grant was awarded to SociaLite Lighting Systems, to support their continuing work at scale bringing artificial light to rural communities in Ghana. As Toby Cumberbatch, President of SociaLite Lighting Systems reports:

“For subsistence farmers living in marginalized, rural communities, a tiny amount of artificial light is transformational. It has the potential to reduce rural depopulation, international migration, and intergenerational poverty. This award will enable us to install our lighting systems in some of these most isolated communities.”

2022 Sustaining Grants

Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development

“At the Andean Alliance in Peru we are working to help farmers increase incomes and lead conservation efforts in one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. We are delighted to work with the Wright-Ingraham Institute and we are grateful for their support.”

Bat Conservation International

From Dr. Kristen Lear, Agave Restoration Program Manager reports: “With our local NGO partner Especies, Sociedad y Hábitat, A.C., we’re restoring degraded lands with rural ejidos in northeast Mexico to create climate resiliency for endangered nectar bats and people alike. Through this work, we can ensure that the migratory corridor of these bats is protected for generations to come and that cultural traditions and rural economies are preserved and strengthened. We’re grateful to the Wright-Ingraham Institute for helping fund this important work.”

City as a Living Laboratory (CALL)

“Wright Ingraham Institute’s support will further CALL’s work with artists, scientists, and residents of urban communities to build sustainable solutions to urgent climate change, equity, and health issues. Founded by artist Mary Miss in 2011, CALL helps people connect environmental challenges to their personal experience and encourages individuals to act for a better future.”

Conservation Lands Foundation

“The Conservation Lands Foundation is grateful to the Wright-Ingraham Institute for their support of our ongoing and urgent work to protect, restore and expand National Conservation Lands in Colorado and throughout the West.”

Southern Plains Land Trust

Nicole J. Rosmarino, Ph.D., Executive Director of SPLT writes: “We are so grateful for the continued, generous support from the Wright-Ingraham Institute for our work to create and protect a network of shortgrass prairie preserves. This support is urgently needed, as we continue to make progress for prairie wildlife.”