The San Diego Foundation announced Thursday it has awarded $629,000 in grants to 20 local nonprofits expanding equitable access to the outdoors for children, families and residents of San Diego County.
“Access to the outdoors is critical for personal well-being. But not everyone has easy access to safe outdoor spaces,” said Pamela Gray Payton, the foundation’s chief impact and partnerships officer, in announcing the grants.
The funding is awarded through the foundation’s Opening the Outdoors Program, which since 2010 has partnered with more than 90 nonprofits to serve more than 75,000 local youth and families, especially those in underserved and park-deficient communities.
The 2024 grantees include:
- BIPOC Support Foundation — $45,000 for the Explore Next Door Program
- Horn of Africa — $45,000 for the Park Adventures for Refugee Children Project
- La Maestra Foundation Inc.— $45,000 for the La Maestra’s Center for Youth Advancement Program
- Outdoor Outreach — $45,000 for the Outdoor Voices Youth Leadership Program
- San Diego Natural History Museum — $43,000 for the “Outdoors for All” program to broaden participation in community science
- Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center — $38,000 for the school-based Children’s Garden Science & Nutrition Program
- The EcoLogik Institute — $38,000 for The EcoLogik Project: Connecting the Next Generation to Nature and Technology
- SAY San Diego — $37,000 for the Real Connections to the Outdoors Program
- San Diego Canyonlands Inc. — $36,000 for the Environmental Career Opportunities Initiative
- Botanical Community Development Initiatives — $32,000 for the Community Access to Safe, Green Space in Eastern Oceanside Program
- Groundwork San Diego – Chollas Creek — $32,000 for the Advancing Outdoor Equity and Advocacy in the Chollas Creek Watershed Program
- City Heights Community Development Corporation — $27,000 for the Silver Strand for All: Meaningful Experiences & Equitable Access Program
- Earth Discovery Institute — $27,000 for EDI Explorers: Education through Recreation Program
- Living Coast Discovery Center — $24,000 for the Trail to Bay Program
- Groundswell Community Project — $24,000 for the Welcome to Your Waves Program
- Coastal Roots Farm — $23,000 for the Equitable Outdoor Environmental Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Program for Escondido Union School District
- Urban Surf 4 Kids — $20,000 for the Unlocking the Ocean Surf Therapy Camps
- San Diego Parks Foundation — $18,000 for the Come Play Outside Nature Camp
- Ocean Discovery Institute — $15,000 for the Promoting Equitable Access to the Outdoors for Students in an Urban & Diverse Community Program
- Un Mar De Colores — $15,000 for the Surf Therapy Program
This year’s grants continue support for nonprofit organizations that have previously partnered with foundation in a growing commitment to multi-year funding.
Over the past 49 years, the foundation and its donors have granted $1.8 billion to support nonprofit organizations.