Budding Botanist Grant
In late 2022, twenty high-need schools across the United States will be awarded $1,000 in grant funding to support their youth garden programs.
Budding Botanist Grant
The Klorane Botanical Foundation is committed to supporting programs that teach respect for the environment and protect nature through the preservation of plant species and biodiversity. Designed to further their mission, the Budding Botanist Grant will help students learn about plants, explore their world and inspire them to take care of the life they discover in their local ecosystems.
In late 2022, twenty high-need schools across the United States will be awarded $1,000 in grant funding to support their youth garden programs.
Eligibility
Any public school, charter school, or private school serving students in grades K to 12 in the United States that can demonstrate that at least 40% of their student population would qualify for free or reduced-price meals is eligible to apply. Applicants must be planning a new or expanding an existing school garden program designed to teach students about environmental sustainability and the importance of biodiversity.
Previous Budding Botanist winners are not eligible.
We prioritize the following when selecting winners…
Beyond the best fit with the Budding Botanist grant focus on environmental sustainability and biodiversity, the selection of winners is prioritized based on demonstrated need and program impact. KidsGardening considers a variety of factors when determining needs, including:
Socioeconomic & Sociodemographic Factors: Does the program exist within or engage a community that has systematically been denied resources, whether they be physical assets and money or representative leadership and community services?
Program Funding and Support: Does a program have access to consistent substantial monetary support and/or prior grant funding? Are pre-existing resources (monetary or otherwise) limited? Programs experiencing the latter are considered of higher need.
Impact: Will grant funding dramatically expand learning opportunities for program participants? Does the intended impact reflect the true needs of the community?
Award Packages
20 schools will receive $1,000 in funding to support the development of new and expansion of existing gardens that teach students about environmental sustainability and the importance of biodiversity.
One winner will be selected to host a small garden celebration with the help of KidsGardening, Klorane, and the Klorane Botanical Foundation in either May or June of 2023. The school will receive an additional $500 in funding.
How to apply
The deadline for application submission is Friday, October 14, 2022, at 11:59 pm PST.
All applications must be submitted online. You can download a copy of the questions to view ahead of time as a Word document or PDF file. We strongly advise saving the questions and then copying and pasting the answers into the application rather than composing your answers directly into the online form. Many browsers are set to timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity (or sometimes sooner) and so you may lose your work if it takes longer than your browser's setting to complete or save your entry.
Award Notification and Fulfilment
Winners will be announced and contacted by email by Thursday, November 10, 2022. A list of winners will also be posted on the KidsGardening Grant Winners page on that date. Awards will be distributed in December 2022.
Grant Recipient Requirements
Grant awardees are required to report on their garden’s progress twice through the 2022-2023 school year.
First, all funded programs must create a 30-second video update midway through the school year to be shared with KidsGardening, Klorane, and the Klorane Botanical Foundation. Schools must distribute and collect media release forms from any students featured in videos or photos.
Second, programs are required to complete a year-end report by June 15, 2023. These reports help KidsGardening determine the overall impact of the grant program. Winners will be provided with a link in May 2023 to the 10-question online form to complete.
Year-end reporting requirements include:
- 5-10 digital images of the garden
- Parental release forms to accompany images of children
- A narrative about the impact of the garden program
If you do not feel that you will be able to comply with these reporting requirements, please do not apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are my chances of winning a Budding Botanist Grant?
We typically receive between 150-300 applications each grant cycle.
My program has previously been awarded a grant from KidsGardening. Am I eligible to apply for and receive a Budding Botanist Grant?
Previous Budding Botanist winners are not eligible to receive another Budding Botanist grant. However, programs that have previously been awarded other grants from KidsGardening are welcome to apply and are eligible to be selected. That being said, given the high number of applications we receive for our various grant funding opportunities, it is unlikely you will be awarded multiple KidsGardening grants in a single calendar year or back-to-back years.
What makes a good Budding Botanist application?
The Budding Botanist Grant is designed to support programs that teach respect for the environment and protect nature through the preservation of plant species and biodiversity. As such, a competitive application will demonstrate a clear connection between program activities and goals and the grant’s overall objective. Please be as precise and descriptive as possible when outlining how your program seeks to both promote and educate youth about environmental sustainability and biodiversity.
We also encourage you to explore our Grant Application Support page for advice on how to craft a standout grant application.
How do I know if I’ve successfully submitted my application?
You will receive a confirmation email following the submission of your application on JotForm. Occasionally these emails end up flagged as Spam, so we recommend checking your Spam box.
What if I have started my application but have not finished it, will it be reviewed?
Applications that are started but not submitted will not be considered for the award.
What if I need to update my submitted application?
You can email [email protected] to make minor changes to your application. If you need larger changes, please complete a new application. We only review the last application submitted by an organization.
What if I submit more than one application for the same organization?
The last application submitted will be reviewed.
How do you select grant winners?
We have a team of grant readers that evaluates applications and supporting materials for about a month. A single application typically goes through three rounds of evaluation before being selected as a winner.
In the initial round, a single reader will review an application, using a standardized scoring rubric, judging it on assorted criteria including but not limited to demonstrated need, program sustainability and impact, and clear fit with grant objectives. High-quality applicants are then selected to undergo a second round of evaluations. In this phase of the review process, each member of the grant selection committee reads all second-round applications before meeting to engage in group deliberation and finalist selection. These finalists are then recommended to the grant program sponsor, who reviews application materials and confirms winner selections.
I didn’t receive an email on Thursday, November 10, 2022, the day of the winner announcement. Does this mean my program hasn’t been awarded a grant?
We send a notification email about winner selection to the main contact as listed on your application. Emails are sent to both winning programs and those that were not selected for this year’s grant. Because these emails are sent out en masse, this communication is frequently flagged in the main contact’s Spam box. We encourage you to check your Spam box if you do not receive a notification email on the day of the announcement or to visit our website to view a list of Grant Winners.
Grant Application Technical Support
If you have any questions that were not addressed in the above Frequently Asked Questions section, please contact KidsGardening Program Director Sarah Lane at [email protected].
About the Grant Sponsor
Founded in 1994, the Klorane Botanical Foundation is the corporate foundation of Klorane whose parent company is Pierre Fabre Laboratories. For 25 years, it has been planting the seeds of botanical passion around the world. The Klorane Botanical Foundation has acted unceasingly to share its botanical passion with future generations through three essential missions: PROTECT plant species under threat, EXPLORE the treasures of the plant world to better understand and protect them, and SHARE botanical knowledge with the largest number of people, particularly children.
Through its commitment to various initiatives, including the Great Green Wall, UNESCO GREEN CITIZENS, and Botany for Change, the Klorane Botanical Foundation gives back to plants the place they deserve in our lives and in our cities.
For over 50 years, Klorane has been committed to innovating plant-based and sustainable hair and skin care products that contribute to a more responsible world for future generations. In an effort to advance this mission, with every Klorane purchase, a portion of sales goes to support the Budding Botanist grant program.
Apply for Budding Botanist
The application for the 2023 Budding Botanist grant is closed.
Grant Application Support
Grant writing tips and how to navigate our online grant application platform
More Grant Opportunities
Additional grant opportunities from other organizations
Grant Winners
Meet our amazing grant winners, listed by award
