Grant-making - Oak Foundation

Enriched family-office · Found: 2026-03-11 08:10

Oak Foundation provides multi-year grants to not-for-profits that aim to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live.

Source: https://oakfnd.org/grant-making/

Funding Details

Funder

Oak Foundation

Funding Goal

Multi-year grants to not-for-profit organisations working on environment (marine food systems and livelihoods, nature and people, regenerative landscapes), housing and homelessness, issues affecting women, international human rights, learning differences, child sexual abuse prevention, and special interest areas. Environment programme specifically supports sustainable marine fisheries, coastal community resilience, biodiversity conservation, and regenerative agriculture.

Funding Amount

USD 25,000 to USD 10 million per grant; average award USD 900,000. Core support (general operating) and project grants, multi-year in duration. Generally funds no more than 50% of project budget or 20% of organisational budgets. (25.000 € – 10.000.000 €)

Deadline

Rolling basis (Rolling)

How to Apply

Three pathways: (1) Direct invitation by programme officers who investigate organisations in their areas; (2) Unsolicited letter of enquiry via online form at oakfnd.org/submit-enquiry; (3) Requests for Proposals posted occasionally on careers page. Full application timeline: idea exchange/initial screen (1 month), concept note/summary (1 month), application development (2 months), review (2-4 months), recommendation and decision (1-2 months), notification and payment (1-2 months). Total approximate timeline: 9-12 months from concept to grant.

Target Region

Global. Environment programme focuses on Africa, Asia, Latin America (marine food systems); Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe (nature and people); Southern Africa (regenerative landscapes).

Contact

oakfnd.org/submit-enquiry (letter of enquiry form); oakfnd.org/contact

Last Checked

2026-05-07 04:27

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Must be a registered not-for-profit organisation (no individuals, political parties, or religious orgs for religious purposes)
• Most grants initiated by invitation — unsolicited applicants must submit letter of enquiry first
• Demonstrate robust internal processes, clear strategy, and organisational capacity

Project Scope

• Must align with one of Oak Foundation's programme areas (Environment, Housing, Women's Issues, Human Rights, etc.)
• Environment sub-programme: must work on marine food systems/livelihoods, nature and people, or regenerative landscapes
• Plans for long-term sustainability, including co-funding, must be included

Required Documents

• Letter of enquiry or concept note required as first step
• Financial review and site visit may be required during due diligence

Constraints

• Grant covers maximum 50% of project budget or 20% of organisational budget (co-funding required)
• Minimum grant size USD 25,000 (generally; exceptions rare)

Summary

Oak Foundation is a global private foundation that makes multi-year grants to not-for-profit organisations across its programme areas, with the aim of making the world safer, fairer, and more sustainable. The foundation provides both core support (general operating grants) and project grants ranging from USD 25,000 to USD 10 million, with an average award of USD 900,000. Grants are multi-year in duration, reflecting the foundation's belief in long-term partnerships. The Environment Programme is one of Oak Foundation's primary grant-making areas and focuses on three sub-themes: Marine food systems and livelihoods (protecting coastal and Indigenous community food security, governance of small-scale fisheries, climate resilience, habitat conservation, primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America); Nature and people (biodiversity coexistence, illegal wildlife trade prevention, living landscapes approach, in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe); and Regenerative landscapes (regenerative agriculture, rewilding, communal land management in Southern Africa). Eligible activities include fisheries governance and reform, coastal community empowerment, marine ecosystem conservation, biodiversity protection, regenerative agriculture, and rewilding initiatives. Research, advocacy, and systems-change approaches are supported where they address root causes of environmental challenges. The programme takes a people-centred approach, placing communities at the heart of conservation interventions. Geographic scope is global, with the environment programme targeting Africa, Asia, Latin America, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe depending on sub-theme. Geographic restrictions apply per sub-programme; Nordic/Danish regional focus is not explicitly listed. Eligible applicants are registered not-for-profit organisations. Individuals, scholarship recipients, political parties, and religious organisations for religious purposes are excluded. Grants generally cover no more than 50% of project budgets or 20% of organisational budgets; exceptions require prior discussion with programme officers. Application is primarily invitation-only via programme officers who investigate potential grantees. Unsolicited letters of enquiry may be submitted online and are reviewed for alignment with programme priorities. Occasional Requests for Proposals are posted on the foundation's website. The process from concept to grant notification takes approximately 9-12 months.

Historical Context

Oak Foundation makes 300+ grants per year. The Environment Programme has three sub-programmes: Marine food systems and livelihoods, Nature and people, and Regenerative landscapes. The foundation has supported ocean conservation organisations such as Oceana since 2001.

Sources

• https://oakfnd.org/grant-making/
• https://oakfnd.org/programmes/environment/

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