Free funder guide · Maryland · Last checked 27 September 2026
Which Maryland environmental funders actually accept applications
Most private foundations in Maryland have already told the IRS they won't read your proposal. This page explains how to spot them, and lists 11 secular funders of environmental and conservation work in Maryland that do take applications, with what they fund, what they have given, and when they next open.
From my own read of IRS filings, September 2026
In Maryland, 559 of the 739 private foundations with $1 million or more in assets that I could check tick the box on their tax return saying they don't accept unsolicited requests. That is 76%.
That leaves 180 larger Maryland foundations that say they will read an application. It is a higher share of closed doors than in Virginia (71%, 586 of 820) and Ohio (63%, 921 of 1,468), counted the same way.
How I counted: every private non-operating foundation with a Maryland address on the IRS Exempt Organizations Master File (September 2026 release) reporting assets of $1 million or more, checked against its most recent e-filed Form 990-PF (tax years 2022 to 2026, almost all 2024 or 2025). There are 741; 2 had no e-filed return I could find, so they are left out of the count. Operating foundations, which mostly run their own programs, are left out, as they were for Virginia and Ohio. Counting them too gives 76% (595 of 783).
What the checkbox means
One small box on the tax return tells you whether to bother.
Every private foundation files Form 990-PF with the IRS each year. Part XIV, line 2 of that return has a checkbox. A foundation that ticks it is telling the IRS, in writing, that it chooses its grantees itself. A proposal sent to it is usually wasted work.
"Check here if the foundation only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds."Form 990-PF, Part XIV, line 2
A foundation that leaves the box empty has to fill in lines 2a to 2d instead: who receives applications, what form they should take, any deadlines, and any limits on who or what it funds. For many small family foundations, those four lines are the only published guidelines they have.
The box does not tell you whether a foundation funds your kind of work. For that, read line 3a, the list of grants it actually paid. Check both before you write a letter of inquiry. Any foundation's return can be read free on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
11 funders
Open to applications, and funding environmental work in Maryland.
Every funder below is secular, says it accepts applications (on its website or its tax return), and has paid grants to environmental or conservation groups in its most recent filing. Government programs are the exception: they file no tax return. Community foundations are listed by the program that fits environmental groups. Grant examples come from each funder's latest IRS filing unless the funder's own site is named.
Verified date on the funder's own site on 27 Sept 2026Expected based on last cycle; next not yet postedRolling applications any timeFiling only no website; from the tax return, confirm firstCheck site next date not posted; open their page
Statewide and regional public grantmakers
01
Chesapeake Bay Trust
Annapolis · statewide
Restoration, stewardship and environmental education across Maryland through many separate programs. Four are open now and all accept nonprofits: Keep Maryland Beautiful (community stewardship, land trust capacity, tree planting on farms), Watershed Assistance (design of stream, wetland and living-shoreline projects, and watershed planning), Environmental Education (school-district environmental literacy) and Clean Water Montgomery (Montgomery County outside Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park).
Typical grant
Keep Maryland Beautiful up to $5,000 (community stewardship) or $10,000 (land trust assistance); Watershed Assistance generally up to $100,000 or $150,000 for design, depending on the practice, and $75,000 for planning; Environmental Education up to $40,000; Clean Water Montgomery up to $40,000 to $100,000 by track (its site). Maryland grants in its filing for the year to June 2025 include Baltimore Tree Trust $2,274,240, ShoreRivers $599,082, Howard County Conservancy $89,125 and Harford Land Trust $87,788.
Next deadline
Clean Water Montgomery November 13, 2026; Keep Maryland Beautiful December 1, 2026; Watershed Assistance December 9, 2026; Environmental Education December 10, 2026; all at 4 p.m. ET Verified.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Grants Gateway
Annapolis · statewide
One application portal for six state programs, including the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund (pollution reduction), Resilience through Restoration (habitat and erosion projects) and Environmental Education and Stewardship. Nonprofits can apply if they are registered and in good standing with the Maryland Secretary of State.
Typical grant
Not published on the Gateway page; see each program's section of the solicitation. No match required.
Next deadline
December 11, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET, for fiscal year 2028 funding Verified. Awards are announced June to July 2027.
How to apply
Online portal in three phases (common application, project details, budget), with a transmittal letter on letterhead signed by an authorized executive.
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants
Washington, DC · Bay watershed, most of Maryland
Community-based restoration, planning and technical assistance anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which covers most of Maryland.
Typical grant
Up to $150,000 for planning and technical assistance; $150,000 to $750,000 for on-the-ground projects (2026 request for proposals). Maryland grants in its latest filing, which does not name the program: ShoreRivers $584,371 (wetlands and streams on Delmarva farms), Lower Shore Land Trust $376,886 (wetlands and buffers), Gunpowder Valley Conservancy $192,362.
Next deadline
About April 2027 Expected. The 2026 round closed April 2, 2026; the 2027 request for proposals is not posted yet.
Easton · Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot counties
One open grant cycle a year for Mid-Shore nonprofits. Many of its other grants come from funds that do not take requests.
Typical grant
Not published. Environmental grants in its filing for the year to June 2025 include Pickering Creek Audubon Center $57,750, ShoreRivers $17,654, Adkins Arboretum $12,425 and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy $7,000 (the filing does not separate open-cycle grants from donor-advised gifts).
Next deadline
Once a year, July 1 to October 1 (its standing schedule) Verified. 2026 round: July 1 to October 1, 2026. Next round opens about July 1, 2027 Expected.
Salisbury · Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties
The annual Community Needs cycle, which names environmental stewardship among the issues it funds on the Lower Shore.
Typical grant
Up to $10,000 (its site). Environmental grants in its filing for the year to June 2025 include Lower Shore Land Trust $19,759, Wicomico Environmental Trust $16,004 and Assateague Coastal Trust $12,225. Its April 2026 round funded Lower Shore Land Trust (community garden and pollinator habitat) and Wicomico Environmental Trust.
Next deadline
The next Community Needs cycle opens January 1, 2027 Verified; the closing date is not posted yet.
How to apply
CFES e-Grants portal. If you are unsure which fund fits, it takes a general letter of inquiry through the same portal.
Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County: Environment Anne Arundel Fund
Annapolis · Anne Arundel County
Grants to nonprofits working "to protect and improve the environment in Anne Arundel County and the Chesapeake Bay".
Typical grant
$3,000 to $10,000 (its site). Environmental grants in its 2025 filing include Severn River Association $47,012, Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy $37,750, Scenic Rivers Land Trust $32,890 and Arundel Rivers Federation $29,000 (the filing does not say which fund paid them).
Next deadline
About February to March 2027 Expected. The 2026 cycle ran February 2 to March 10; the page says it typically opens in early winter.
How to apply
Online application through the foundation's grants page.
Baltimore Community Foundation: Stronger Neighborhoods
Baltimore · Baltimore City and Baltimore County
Resident-led projects for "safe, clean, green, and vibrant" neighborhoods; "green" covers plant life, sustainability and urban agriculture. Proposals must have the support of residents in the community; it will not consider ideas from an outside group without it.
Typical grant
A typical award is $20,000; smaller projects are often $1,000 to $5,000 (its site). Environmental grants in its 2024 filing include Parks & People Foundation $110,150, Baltimore Tree Trust $41,133, Baltimore Green Space $28,047 and Charm City Land Trust $20,620 (the filing does not separate these from donor-advised gifts).
Next deadline
The September 23, 2026 round has closed and the next date is not posted yet Check site.
How to apply
Draft on its application template, then submit through the online portal.
The annual Impact Grants cycle, which includes the Rotary Service Partnership Grants (focus areas include "Environmental Support and Improvement"), an Environmental Preservation fund and a Parks fund.
Typical grant
Rotary Service Partnership Grants $2,000 to $10,000; the environmental and parks funds hold under $1,000 each this year (its fund list). Its filing for the year to June 2025 shows few environmental grants, for example Get Kids Outside $9,111.
Next deadline
Impact Grants take applications once a year, in September; the 2026 round runs September 1 to 30, 2026. Next round about September 2027 Expected; check its page.
How to apply
Foundant online application, one application per fund. The foundation suggests talking to its grants team first.
Small Grants for ecological research, assessment and environmental education, in support of its mission "to preserve and protect ecologically sensitive sites in Southern Maryland". Its board is drawn from Sierra Club Maryland, the American Chestnut Land Trust and Cove Point LNG.
Typical grant
$1,000 to $2,500 (2026 program, $35,000 in total). Grants in its 2025 filing: The American Chestnut Trust $9,347, St. Mary's River Watershed Association $4,225, Calvert Nature Society $2,500, Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust $2,500.
Next deadline
About March 15, 2027 Expected. The 2026 deadline was March 15.
How to apply
Request for proposals and application form on its "What We Fund" page.
No website; everything here comes from its 2025 tax filing. Small operating grants, about half to Maryland groups and much of the rest in North Carolina.
Typical grant
Median $2,062 across its 27 grants in 2025. Examples: Chesapeake Bay Foundation $7,000, Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center $5,000, Severn River Association $2,000.
Next deadline
August 1 each year, per the filing Filing only.
How to apply
A letter to Amie Brooks, 710 Oyster Cove Dr, Grasonville, MD 21638.
It is not exhaustive and it is not a ranking. Deadlines and guidelines change, so open each funder's own page before you start. Grants are competitive, and past grant sizes describe what a funder gave, not what it will give you. I list secular funders only.
The full version
Want this done for your own organization?
A Funding Roadmap ($1,200, flat fee) gives you ten to fifteen funders matched to your mission, place and size, the grants each one paid to groups like yours, how to apply, and a 12-month grant calendar. Every deadline is labeled the same way as on this page.
Email me your organization's name, rough budget and what you'd like funded. You'll get a written reply within two business days.
You fill in a short intake questionnaire, then answer one round of written follow-up questions.
About three weeks later you get the roadmap, a two-page note on how to use it, and 14 days of email questions.
Everything happens in writing. There are no calls or meetings.