2026 Grants

Zero Waste McMinnville:

ReUse Mac

Zero Waste McMinnville was awarded funding for their ReUse Mac project. The project aims to reduce single-use disposables by establishing a network that provides reusable foodware materials for public and private events in Yamhill, Marion, Polk, and Tillamook counties. The funding will support inventory, marketing, and staffing for a city-wide rollout targeting a July 2026 launch. The organization tracks waste diversion statistics and emphasizes partnerships with BIPOC communities in their work.

Longtime coalition partner Save Our Forest Association (SOFA) continues to lead the Unbottled Water campaign against Nestle / Blue Triton / Primo Brands water bottling activity in the San Bernardino National Forest. An all volunteer group of retirees and local residents, Save our Forest Associate is the lead plaintiff in the ongoing legal case SOFA VS USFS along with coalition partners the San Bernardino Mountains Group of the Sierra Club, Eko, the Tri County Conservation League and the Story of Stuff. Grant funding is for ongoing legal fees.

Water Watchers was awarded funding to launch a community-powered Mobile Drinking Water Unit Program designed to provide a practical alternative to bottled water and advocate for water as a human right. This program utilizes a specialized trailer capable of holding 4,700 litres of water to deliver clean, safe drinking water to various locations, including remote areas, festivals, justice marches, and communities facing acute water crises or long-term access gaps. By modeling a world beyond bottled water, the initiative aims to reduce single-use plastic pollution, challenge the commodification of water, and build collective power to demand greater public investment in permanent drinking water infrastructure.

The Ward 8 Woods Conservancy, Inc, acting on behalf of the Return, Refund, Recycle Coalition for DC (3RC), was awarded funding to support a strategic public awareness and mobilization campaign aimed at passing the District Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025. The project focuses on placing 900 pro-bottle bill signs—including yard, pole, and wheat-pasting signs—throughout all eight wards of the District to counter opposition lobbying and build messaging momentum. The initiative particularly emphasizes engaging BIPOC-led organizations and residents in areas most impacted by beverage container pollution, such as neighborhoods along the Anacostia River.

The Waterfall Unity Alliance was awarded funding to support the Women’s Water Walk, a 113-mile indigenous-led grassroots demonstration following the proposed route of the natural gas Constitution Pipeline through upstate New York to oppose its construction and defend regional water ecosystems. Led by a council of Indigenous Grandmothers, this walk acts as a collaborative prayer of transformation and an organizing effort to build cross-region community power against major fossil fuel infrastructure. The grant funding will directly remove financial barriers to participation by covering essential travel, flights, and accessibility accommodations for the elder Indigenous knowledge keepers whose leadership and intergenerational storytelling are central to the campaign’s mission.

Southern Tier Reduces, a program fiscally sponsored by the Friends of the Chemung River Watershed, is launching the Wisner Market Zero Waste Project to implement reusable foodware infrastructure at Elmira’s weekly farmers market. By providing reusable plates, cups, and utensils for market attendees, alongside dedicated dish return and compost collection stations, the project aims to significantly reduce single-use plastic waste and landfill reliance in the Southern Tier region. This initiative seeks to normalize sustainable dining habits, foster intergenerational community engagement through youth-staffed return stations, and establish a replicable zero-waste model for local outdoor events.

Redtail Resilience Network was awarded seed funding and general operating support to sustain and scale their member-led climate resilience, disaster preparedness, and mutual aid initiatives across southwestern Pennsylvania and the Ohio River Valley. Operating within environmental justice communities heavily impacted by industrial pollution, the network will utilize these funds to conduct bleeding control and de-escalation trainings, build out decentralized mesh network radio infrastructure for emergency communication, coordinate community storm response, and expand a shared tool library including solar generators. By focusing on flexible, responsive grassroots organizing, this project aims to equip local residents with the practical skills and tangible infrastructure required to support their neighbors during acute social and environmental crises.

we.grow.eco was awarded funding to support their Clothing the Loop program that addresses fast fashion, synthetic textile waste, and environmental toxicity by intervening directly in supply chains to prevent textile dumping in the Global South. Through monthly gift-economy clothing swaps that divert nearly one ton of donated garments annually, the program engages local community members in textile processing and education on waste and consumerism. The programming includes free clothing repair services led by seamstress Lila and offers hands-on classroom “deconstructive engineering” to teach students fiber science and garment repair. Using an industrial shredder, natural fiber waste is pulped into handcrafted journals sold online, generating a quarter of the organization’s income. The primary beneficiaries are Latinx and Indigenous students in Title 1 public schools in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and rural Rio Arriba county.