The Pisces Foundation believes in the power of partnership and collaboration. The greatest opportunity to accelerate progress toward a healthy planet lies in purposeful connection, shared priorities, and scaled, collective action.
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Learn more about the Pisces Foundation’s previous Request for Proposals below.
In January 2018, Pisces issued a public Request for Proposals inviting locally-based organizations advancing One Water approaches in mid- to large-size cities across the country to apply for funding. The objective of this set of urban water place-based grants is to advance a range of approaches to support institutionalization of One Water management in urban watersheds. With a strong equity lens, collectively the grants advance One Water by pulling policy and regulatory levers, breaking down inter-agency silos and local regulatory barriers, integrating water into land-use planning tools, developing programs to create skilled-worker jobs and more effectively functioning green stormwater infrastructure installations, and expanding tools for community engagement in the design of One Water management. The JPB Foundation provided a 1:1 match, enabling investments of close to $1 million per year over three years in total.
The 2018 Pisces Urban Water RFP, the first RFP of the Foundation, yielded 135 applications from the field. Grants were awarded to eight grantees with a broad range of strategies for implementing One Water in their watersheds so as to collectively secure both environmental and community benefits. During the RFP, the Water Program team sought to be open and transparent in our process with participants, to find new grantees in new geographies beyond our usual networks, and to support new strategies and approaches where possible.
In 2019, the Environmental Education Program’s first-ever open call for projects sought solutions that strengthened and built the field of environmental education. These grants provided backbone support and leadership to the field across the United States, focusing on geographic areas Pisces did not have investments in. The initiatives worked to support and facilitate collective impact activities such as establishing shared measurement practices; building public support; and strengthening diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural relevancy. And, importantly, each of these efforts embodied the notion that access to the benefits of time spent in nature is a human right, with the ultimate impact of building stronger, healthier communities and a more diverse, equitable society.
Launched in July 2019, Pisces received a tremendous response to this RFP, with over 220 submissions from 48 states and territories. During September 2019, Pisces reviewed the submissions for eligibility and alignment. Then, an external review panel provided recommendations on the top projects to invite for full proposals in fall 2019. Projects were awarded in December 2019.
In September 2021, the Environmental Education Program announced its second open request for projects. This RFP was designed to build movement infrastructure for environmental and outdoor learning across states and regions, that is the relationships and shared tools that empower people and organizations to work together. These grants help answer a call from educators, practitioners, researchers, funders, and more for additional support to connect, strengthen, and amplify environmental and outdoor learning across the United States. Pisces awarded grants to non-profit organizations and their collaborators building a movement for equitable and culturally relevant environmental and outdoor learning. These backbone organizations are building shared tools and relationships for effective advocacy, equity & culturally relevancy, funding, the knowledge base, the Rethink Outside shared narrative, and standards of practice.
Pisces accepted concept notes during September and October 2021. Pisces staff and the external Advisory Council reviewed 178 submissions from 59 states and territories for eligibility, alignment, and fit with the RFP goals. The top projects were invited for full proposals in February 2022. Pisces awarded grants in May, to begin in June 2022.
Overview
The Pisces Foundation prioritizes a “One Water” future because we believe that integrated and equitable water management is essential to delivering clean water, sufficient supply, flood protection, and greener shared spaces for urban communities. To support this vision, in September 2022, Pisces issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) open to any interested organization to catalyze a transformation to One Water in U.S. cities.
Process
Between September and October 2022, Pisces received 91 concept notes from 33 states and Washington, D.C. and reviewed them for eligibility, alignment, and fit with the RFP goals. In addition to internal review, the Water team consulted with an external advisory council of diverse leaders from the field to gain input from the movement, reduce bias, and check assumptions. The top projects were invited for full proposals in December 2022 and selected projects were awarded grants in March 2023.
We are pleased to announce the grantees selected through the 2022 Urban Water RFP:
*Grants supported collaboratively with the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
For more information – including the inclusive grantmaking process behind the decision and why Pisces Foundation advocates for a holistic systems approach to water management – please see the blog post by Water Program Lead Sarah Diringer!