The 3^rd round of the MPA Outreach and Education Small Grants Program will build on the success of distributing over $1 million in funding to organizations across California to enhance MPA compliance and stewardship.

This round of funding will be competitive. Local, state and federal public agencies, public or private universities, non-profits, for-profit entities, and California Native American Tribes or tribal organizations are eligible to apply. Additional private funds will support increased outreach, technical support, and capacity to be given to organizations located in and serving Environmental Justice Communities and to encourage these organizations to submit proposals. See below for definitions of California Native American Tribes or tribal organizations and Environmental Justice Communities.

This third round of funding will provide grants between $25,000 and $100,000 to proposals that engage or conduct outreach targeting:

• Recreational and commercial fishing communities.
• Communities of color that have been underserved in MPA management and education, i.e. Black, Latinx, and Asian users/potential users of MPA spaces and resources.
• California Native American Tribes or tribal organizations.

Smaller grants of $5,000 – $25,000 will also be available to support projects that maintain momentum for programs that were either funded in Rounds 1 or 2 of the MPA Outreach and Education Small Grants Program, or programs that are already established, especially those focused on K-12 education.

Now Welcoming Proposals for Round 3!

We are now welcoming proposals for funding for Round 3 of the MPA Outreach and Education Small Grants Program.  Please read through the Request for Proposals to learn more about the program, application requirements, scoring criteria, and how to submit a proposal.

Full Proposals of $25,000 – $100,000

• Request for Proposal and Scoring Criteria

Momentum Grants of $5,000 – $25,000

• Request for Proposal and Scoring Criteria

Templates and Guidance

• Grant Guidance
• Budget and Applicant Task List Template

Informational Webinars

Coastal Quest and the Ocean Protection Council are hosting two informational webinars about the MPA Outreach and Education funding opportunity.  Please register now to hear more about the opportunity and get your questions answered.

Informational Webinar #1

Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 3:00 – 5:00pm Pacific Time

Informational Webinar #2

Thursday, December 15^th, 2022 at 3:00 – 5:00pm Pacific Time

To Apply

Please read through the Request for Proposals and Scoring Criteria documents thoroughly before preparing your application.  The Request for Proposals document also contains an outline of the required application questions and components.  Proposals must be completed online through Coastal Quest’s application portal by January 20, 2023 at 5:00pm PT.

To submit your application, please complete the following steps:

1. Click on the link for the proposal type you’d like to submit:

2. Create an account in Oxford Abstracts (note that an account can be created with Google, LinkedIn, or an email address
3. Once your account is created, sign-in to access the application form
4. Answer all questions in the application form using the text boxes provided. It is recommended to use the “Proposal Summary” below to complete the full application in an external document, then transfer your answers to the form taking note of the character limits.
5. Upload your task list and timeline, and project budget. To create these documents, use the workplan and budget templates provided below:
   a. Budget and Applicant Task List Template
6. Submit your application
7. Incomplete applications can be edited and revised until the final deadline (January 20, 2023 at 5:00pm PT).

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) Outreach and Education Small Grants Program is a program funded by the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) through the Once-Through Cooling Mitigation Fund. Additional matching funds for Round 3 of this Program are provided by The Marisla Foundation and Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation.

The goal of this Program is to increase outreach and education efforts to improve compliance with MPA regulations statewide and increase marine life associated with MPAs in the geographic region of Once-Through Cooling facilities and statewide, with a small amount of funds provided by matching philanthropic donors for projects north of Big Sur, with a priority given to Environmental Justice Communities.

Funded projects help produce the following outcomes:

• Increased ocean stewardship, engagement, compliance, and leadership
• Increased docent and educator capacity
• Reduced illegal take of marine life in MPAs
• Increased diversity of stakeholders engaged, including both traditional and non-traditional audiences as well as underserved audiences (e.g., the recreational fishing community)

Additionally, projects funded through this grant program help meet the following objectives:

• Provide significant value for the state through replicable methods
• Increase local capacity through project implementation 
• Demonstrate a lasting impact on communities targeted through these projects.

The Small Grants Program has existed for two rounds of funding, the first round in 2017 and the second round in 2019.

We are excited to announce a third round of funding opening on December 1, 2022 with proposals due on January 20^th, 2023.

Click on the images below to learn more about past rounds of funding.