How to Apply
The foundation has two grantmaking programs. To learn more about each of our programs, please use the drop-down menu below.
The Environmental Education fund provides support to organizations that offer outdoor environmental education experiences for youth. We focus funding on programs serving middle and high school-age students in Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Thurston Counties in Washington State only. You can learn more about our program here.
Our 2023 funding cycle will be an invitation-only process and will not accept unsolicited proposals or letters of inquiry. If you have questions about the grantmaking process, please send an email to Fabiola Greenawalt, Program Officer. You may also find it helpful to visit the website Candid, a non-profit organization that offers tools for locating prospective funders.
The application period for Class 10 is closed. We will begin recruitment for Class 11 in June 2023. Please check back in summer 2023 for updates. Thanks!
Common Questions
Below are some common inquiries we receive about our grants. Still have questions? Please contact us.
The foundation does not fund overhead or indirect costs for colleges and universities. Administrative costs related directly to the project might be considered if itemized in the project budget.
The foundation uses an online Grant Portal. Your Letter of Inquiry must be submitted using our Grant Portal by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on the LOI due date. We no longer accept letters of inquiry via postal mail, email or fax. We acknowledge all LOIs with an email confirming receipt within two weeks of the LOI due date.
The online Grant Portal is hosted by a separate organization and system errors cannot be resolved by contacting the foundation. Typically errors are resolved within 24 hours. If this time frame would cause you to be late in submitting, please take a screen shot of the error and send it to our Grants and Operations Manager.
Ask for what you need. To gauge the appropriate size of a request, you can browse grants to see the range of projects and amounts awarded. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, you may likely have the opportunity to discuss the request amount further. We rarely fund 100 percent of a project budget. You should be able to show that you are seeking or have received other sources of funding. Other sources might include foundations, corporations, individuals, community groups, or others.
Program and project support are our highest priorities. We do consider general operating requests if the overall work of the organization is a close fit with the program you are applying to.
Pre-letter of inquiry meetings are not necessary. However, if you would like to speak with someone about your LOI in advance of submission, please feel free to contact our Grants and Operations Manager. If your LOI is advanced to the full proposal stage, our program staff will work to schedule a meeting or site visit with your organization.
TRFF will contact the person indicated on your Letter of Inquiry via email within two months of the due date, either inviting you to submit a full proposal or declining your request. If you are invited to submit a full proposal via email, you will be provided a detailed timeline about the foundation’s decision process.
Yes. Separate project ideas should be submitted via separate Letters of Inquiry. If you have questions about this please contact our Grants and Operations Manager.
TRFF does not consider unsolicited requests for emergency funding.