Confluence Program

• Applications are welcome from local and national nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and groups with fiscal sponsorship. Tribes do not need to be Federally or State recognized. TCA does not provide funding for individuals.
• Organization/group must self-identify as being led by Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, Latin American, Black, Brown, or additional communities who identify as People of Color. The Conservation Alliance considers “leadership” in this case as those with decision-making power on behalf of the entirety of the organization or effort, including board and executive level staff.
• Connection to TCA’s Conservation Strategy – must focus on one of the following project types:
  • Federal land and/or water designation;
  • Private land acquisition and/or easements; or
  • Large-scale restoration through dam removal or buffalo rematriation.
• Groups and projects must be located in the United States or Canada.
• Maximum annual operating budget size of $3m or less.
• Organization/group must have at least one staff person that has capacity to engage with TCA staff and oversee capacity building efforts.

• State and local level legislative or administrative campaigns
• General stewardship (e.g., trail maintenance, trash cleanup, conservation corps projects)
• Outdoor or environmental education
• Research
• Conferences, event sponsorships, or film festivals
• Production of a film, book, podcast, or other media product
• Participation grants to get people outside
• A fundraiser, one-time event, or gala
• General marketing or awareness-raising projects
• 501c4 work and lobbying

Only in special cases do we fund more than one group working on a campaign – this is typically reserved for TCA Priority Campaigns.

• Climate mitigation and biodiversity protection, including habitat connectivity
• Community-centered conservation
• Sustainability economic impacts for local communities
• Outdoor recreation opportunities and/or access to nature
• Viability of project impact and/or success

The definition of confluence is: “the junction of two rivers, especially rivers of approximately equal width.” We chose to use the word confluence to represent the merging of values-driven private businesses with the diversity of organizations doing conservation work. We believe that bringing these two sectors closer together has the potential to shape the course of the environmental movement to help people, wildlife, and wild places thrive. Additionally, the river reference is a nod to our roots in the outdoor industry, and represents a type of place these grants could help protect.

There are a couple ways in which groups with budgets above this amount may still be eligible:

• Federally recognized Tribes in the US are considered sovereign nations. As such, we would look at the relevant department’s operating budget for the Tribe rather than its overall operating budget.
• Since groups may receive one-time infusions of revenue to certain projects, this may not be an accurate reflection of their ongoing operating budget. If that is the case, we would take a look at additional budget data to understand what the group’s typical operating budget is.

Small groups are often overlooked by funders and therefore underfunded. Our hope is that funding for groups this size will help scale their work. Additionally, only a small number of groups will be selected to receive funding. The committee is using the budget cap as a tool to decrease the number of declined applicants.

Yes. Applicants can apply for funding through both programs. Click here to learn more about the funding criteria and application process in our member collective grant program.

The collective nature of our organization is our greatest strength. Connecting historically excluded conservation groups with our 200+ member companies will strengthen the environmental movement by building relationships and alignment among constituencies who are critical to the movement, and who bring different perspectives, life experiences, and priorities.

Yet, we’ve recognized that our network has historically been limited to predominantly white-led organizations. Prior to 2020, less than 1% of our funding was awarded to organizations led by Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, Latin American, Black, Brown, and additional communities who identify as People of Color. The Confluence Program helped grow this number to 24% in 2021, about 30% in 2022 and 2023, and to 35% in 2024. This program is one step in bringing our justice, equity, diversity and inclusion commitments to life in our work. Read more about our vision and commitments here.

No. This program is designed specifically to fund groups who have been historically excluded and underfunded for their work. We encourage organizations in this situation to partner with community members of color, or organizations led by those community members, and invite them to apply for funding. Remember, the organization does not need to have 501c3 status to qualify.

We welcome applications from groups where the decisions that impact the direction of the organization are made by people who self-identify as Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, Latin American, Black, Brown, or additional communities who identify as People of Color.

For the purposes of the Confluence Program grant opportunity, we typically fund projects and groups that are located in Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico. However, we welcome proposals from other North American countries, including those in the Caribbean and Central America, if they meet our eligibility criteria and are a strong fit for the priority areas.

In the early stages of this program, The Conservation Alliance board and staff worked with consultants Teresa Baker and Marcelo Bonta. Once the foundation of the program was set, seven advisory committee members defined the program details in 2021. Each year, a new group of advisory committee members is selected. This helps to expand our community and knowledge-base, while also pushing us to re-examine the program on a regular basis.

We made a commitment to develop programs and initiatives to support diversity and inclusion when we signed the Diversity Pledge in 2020, and this program is part of that commitment. We worked with advisors to help us balance our desire to support every community who loves the outdoors and also intentionally build meaningful relationships. After lengthy discussions, we decided to focus on one aspect of our equity work by centering communities of color as we began the Confluence Program.

The Confluence Program is one step in our commitment to intentionally connect The Conservation Alliance to the diversity of organizations doing conservation work. Confluence launched in 2021, and each year we work to refine and adjust the program as we believe best supports communities of color in the conservation space. While our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion is ongoing, we are also giving ourselves flexibility to adapt as we learn, so we can continue to do better.

In addition to the Confluence Program, we are actively working to connect with organizations doing work that meets the funding criteria in our member collective grant cycle and are looking to partner with and support organizations through our advocacy efforts.

We encourage people to connect one on one with a grantee they are drawn to, establish a working relationship with them, and identify ways you or your company can support them. We are happy to help make connections between member companies and grantees or grant applicants. If you would like to donate to The Conservation Alliance’s Confluence Program, please contact us at [email protected].

Our goal is to grow our grant program and give more money to everyone working to protect natural places. There is a huge need for grassroots conservation funding and we are working hard to help our current partners and future grantees achieve their objectives.

We are asking our Confluence Program advisory committee to share the grant program with their networks. We will leverage our grantee and member networks, too. We’re encouraging our member companies to share the grant opportunity with their network and social media followers, and appreciate any and all efforts to help spread the word.

The Confluence Program is funded by the annual membership dues from 200+ Conservation Alliance member companies.