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.
Our grants are designed to help address problems in three main areas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Grants are awarded annually in the fall.
Amount: $10,000
Amount: $10,000
Amount: $5,000
Amount Awarded: $10000
Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute
Amount Awarded: $10000
Amount Awarded: $5000 each
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
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.”