Grants Programs Overview

Project & Technical Grants       Special Opportunity (Emergency)Grants

The mission of Freshwater Future is to foster and support a vital, effective grassroots sector working locally to protect aquatic habitats throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Freshwater Future provides financial resources, shares information, and fosters communication between citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats. The Freshwater Future grants program is designed to increase the ability of grassroots groups and individuals to succeed in advocacy projects to protect rivers, lakes, and wetlands in their areas. Advocacy work, as defined here, involves local community members actively promoting aquatic habitat protection by influencing community and/or individual behavior or opinion, corporate conduct, and/or public policy.


Family on Lake Superior,
Great Lakes National Program Office,
MI Sea Grant, Carole Swinehart

Freshwater Future has four grants programs designed to further this goal. Each addresses a different need of grassroots activists.

  • Project Grants Program-provides funding to grassroots organizations engaging in advocacy activities to protect local lakes, rivers and wetlands
  • Technical Assistance Grants Program-supports grassroots organizations in hiring qualified experts to provide strategy assistance or aid in organizational development
  • Special Opportunity Grants Program-offers emergency funding for grassroots projects
  • Freshwater Future is not currently offering Theme Grants, pending evaluation of the program.


Freshwater Future builds effective community-based citizen action to protect and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes basin. We work toward this goal by providing financial assistance, communications and networking assistance and technical assistance to citizens and grassroots watershed groups throughout the Great Lakes basin. Through these efforts we work with over 1,800 grassroots watershed groups and citizens to protect and restore the rivers, lakes and wetlands in their communities. Freshwater Future, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

For more information, please contact:

info@freshwaterfuture.org
P.O. Box 2479, Petoskey, MI 49770
PH (231) 348-8200