New England Grassroots Environment Fund

What New England Grassroots Environment Fund does

New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Inc. (dba "Grassroots Fund") is a participatory grantmaking nonprofit founded in 1996 and headquartered in Newmarket, New Hampshire. The organization distributes grants to grassroots environmental justice groups across the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), with a stated emphasis on BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving organizations. Its product portfolio comprises three core programs: Seed Grants for new environmental projects, Grow Grants ($1,000-$4,000) for established groups, and Shared Gifting Cohorts—multi-year participatory grantmaking experiences including the Food Systems Resilience Fund Cohort and the Community-Led Climate Resilience in Boston Cohort. A distinguishing operational feature is the acceptance of ad-hoc applicant groups without 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status; 63% of applicant groups fall into this category, with a median applicant budget of $17,000.

The organization's revenue model is philanthropic inbound: it receives contributions from institutional funders (the Barr Foundation is the disclosed partner, anchoring the 2020 cohort programs) and disburses them as grants. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-applicant via an online portal where prospective grantees create profiles and submit applications. Beyond grantmaking, Grassroots Fund operates engagement infrastructure including a Grassroots Fund Network Listserv, Community of Practice calls, and both virtual and in-person convenings, with 879 participants in convenings. The Guiding Practices framework and Amplifying Voices program operationalize equity and racial justice principles, and the Shared Gifting Circle model eliminates competition among grantees by having cohort participants collectively distribute funding. The organization explicitly declines to fund national or international work.

Cumulatively, the organization has granted $6,270,919 to community-based environmental groups. It is structured as an independent nonprofit corporation with no parent company, 1-10 employees, and active grantmaking programs. There are no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, subsidiaries, or AI/technology components; the platform is a standard web-based application portal serving a participatory, human-centered funding model.

Name

New England Grassroots Environment Fund

Legal name

New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Inc.

Website

https://grassrootsfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

New England Grassroots Environment Fund is a participatory grantmaking nonprofit, founded in 1996, that distributes grants to BIPOC-led grassroots environmental justice organizations across the six New England states through Seed Grants, Grow Grants, and multi-year Shared Gifting Cohorts, without requiring 501(c)(3) status.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Environmental grantmaking
• Participatory philanthropy
• Community foundations
• Environmental justice funding
• Grassroots organizing grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Newmarket

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Making: The organization receives funding from institutional philanthropies and distributes grants to community-based grassroots environmental justice organizations in New England through various grant programs including Seed Grants, Grow Grants, and Shared Gifting Cohorts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

New England Grassroots Environment Fund is a nonprofit participatory grantmaking foundation that funds grassroots environmental justice organizations across New England. It distributes grants through three main programs—Seed Grants ($1,000–$4,000) for new projects, Grow Grants ($1,000–$4,000) for established groups, and multi-year Shared Gifting Cohorts that use peer-led collective decision-making to allocate funds among participants. The organization accepts applications from ad-hoc community groups without requiring formal 501(c)(3) tax status.

Product overview

New England Grassroots Environment Fund operates as a participatory grant-making foundation focused on environmental justice in New England. The organization offers a portfolio of grant programs including Seed Grants and Grow Grants for direct funding, and Shared Gifting Cohorts (comprising the Community-Led Climate Resilience in Boston Cohort and Food Systems Resilience Fund Cohort) for multi-year equity-driven participatory grantmaking. Alongside funding, the organization provides engagement programs like Amplifying Voices and Convening Changemakers, along with the Guiding Practices framework, creating an integrated approach to shifting power at the community level and across environmental justice philanthropy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seed Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• 63% of applicant groups are ad-hoc organizations without formal tax status
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: Regional community foundation serving New Hampshire with similar grantmaking and capacity-building programs for community-based nonprofits. Directly comparable in geographic scope and mission to Grassroots Fund, though broader in funding areas beyond environmental work.
• Foundation for Just Society: Grantmaking foundation focused on advancing gender justice and social movements globally. Comparable in funding BIPOC-led grassroots organizations and supporting movement-building infrastructure similar to Grassroots Fund's grantees.
• Connecticut Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Connecticut with grant programs for local nonprofits and community initiatives. Comparable in geography, scale, and target beneficiary profile to Grassroots Fund.
• New England Biolabs Foundation: Regional foundation supporting environmental stewardship and science education across New England. Directly comparable as a geographically-focused environmental grantmaker serving community-based organizations in the same region.
• North Star Fund: New York-based foundation that supports grassroots community organizing through participatory grantmaking. Directly comparable in prioritizing BIPOC-led and ad-hoc groups, multi-year funding, and community-led decision-making.
• Vermont Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation in Vermont making grants across multiple focus areas including environmental and community resilience. Comparable in scale, regional scope, and participatory approach to community-led philanthropy.
• Threshold Foundation: Participatory grantmaking foundation using a giving circle model to support progressive social change. Closely comparable to Grassroots Fund's Shared Gifting Cohorts in both structure and equity-driven mission.
• Maine Community Foundation: Maine-based community foundation with grant programs supporting local nonprofits and community initiatives. Directly comparable as a regional grantmaker serving grassroots organizations in a New England state.

Broad incumbents

• Barr Foundation: Major Boston-area foundation with a Climate focus that partnered with Grassroots Fund to launch the Community-Led Climate Resilience cohort. A larger, established funder whose strategy directly intersects with Grassroots Fund's niche and validates its participatory model.

Emerging players

• Resistance Community Foundation: Smaller progressive grantmaking foundation serving grassroots organizers through community-led funding. Comparable in mission and model but with smaller geographic scope than Grassroots Fund's New England footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/GrassrootsFund_
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheGrassrootsFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grassrootsfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New England Grassroots Environment Fund