Swades Foundation CSR Grants

Ted Waitt ~ founder, board chairman & president of the Waitt Foundation Ted Waitt established the Waitt Foundation in 1993 to reflect his family’s heartfelt commitment to give back to the community by “helping good people do great things” through research and education. Since then, the foundation has donated over $125 million to non-profit and charitable organizations both at home and abroad.

Grant Guidelines

Seeking grantees and projects to create revolutionary change…

Bold Ideas—Big Impact

Funding partnerships and projects in conjunction with its grantees and two operating foundations—the Waitt Institute and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention, the foundation supports a variety of scientific and environmental programs with a sole emphasis on ocean conservation. We are looking for bold new ideas and people with the skills and determination to make a deep, lasting, and sustainable difference throughout the world and in our daily lives. The Waitt Foundation funds projects that help us understand the past, improve the present and prepare for the future.

The mission of the Waitt Foundation is to protect our oceans from the impacts of overfishing by facilitating the creation of marine protected areas, engaging stakeholders to improve management of fisheries, fostering sustainable solutions, and raising public awareness as to the problem via a network of collaborative NGO’s and foundations. Our vision is to restore the seas to full productivity for future generations.

We support and initiate programs that are project specific with tangible and measurable results. Priority is given to initiatives addressing our core focus, ocean conservation. In general, the foundation does not support programs or organizations that fall outside of our key areas of focus, nor do we accept proposals to support individuals, event fundraisers and sponsorships, endowments, or lobbying of any kind.

Please note that the foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals by mail. All grant requests must be submitted via our website.

Ocean Conservation

Healthy reef structure, PNGAs our primary focus, the foundation supports a variety of ocean conservation efforts with an emphasis on marine protected areas and sustainable fishing practices. By raising global awareness about declining marine resources through scientific research, innovative sustainability solutions, and policy reform, it’s our hope that people will be inspired to make informed decisions in support of a healthy marine environment. From understanding how healthy ocean ecosystems work, to strengthening and expanding the world’s marine protected areas to reducing the seafood footprint, we invest in ocean conservation projects with the potential for significant, measurable impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods. We are currently considering grant proposals for projects on a global scale with a primary focus on the creation of new or expanded no-take marine protected areas or sanctuaries in developing states where the government is a full and early partner. We are exploring public-private MPA partnerships and welcome projects that meet this paradigm.

Rapid Ocean Conservation (ROC) Small Grants Program

The ROC Grants Program is a new initiative recently launched to provide small grants, typically up to $10,000, with a quick turnaround time for solutions to emerging marine conservation issues.  Complementing the Waitt Foundation’s major grants program, ROC Grants will serve as an innovative solution catalyst by rapidly responding to urgent needs in ocean conservation with a focus on marine protected areas and sustainable fishing.  By funding projects at a lower financial level, we are able to support higher-risk ideas on a global scale.  With a core focus on MPA’s and sustainable fishing, ROC Grants will provide funding for projects in the areas of scientific research, policy, management, and communications.  Funding by the Waitt Foundation through the ROC Grants Program should constitute the sole or primary source of funding for the proposed project.  We are currently accepting preliminary grant applications in this field. For more information on this program