Young people, educators, individuals, and group leaders based in the U.S. are invited to apply for a $250 Project Grant to start, support, or celebrate their Roots & Shoots project! 

Welcome to the Fall 2024 round of funding for all you changemakers out there. R&S Project Grants support community projects that help animals, humans and the environment we all share!

GOOD TO KNOW

• This funding cycle is for R&S project activities taking place January-August 2025.
• We will announce awardees and mail the grant awards in late December 2024. 
• The grant report deadline is August 15, 2025.
• An individual/group can receive only one Roots & Shoots grant each calendar year. If you received a Spring 2024 R&S project grant, you are not eligible for this grant.
• For technical help with using Submittable (this application platform), check out this webpage.
• You can save and return to your application if you can't finish in one sitting. Be sure to click the "Save Draft" button before closing your window.
• If you need to change your application after submitting it, you can request to edit the submission, if it's prior to the November 12th deadline.
• Classroom teachers/group leaders, please highlight how your students are taking the lead in picking the project focus and deciding how to do the service project. This grant does not support classroom instruction/curriculum alone.

FOR APPLICANTS 13 YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER

Applicants under the age of 13 are welcome to apply for a Roots & Shoots Project Grant -- we celebrate youth-led projects! Your parent/guardian must be the Submittable account holder. Please work together to submit this online application. 

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN THE APPLICATION

The following reflects our priorities when awarding Project Grants. In your application, highlight how your R&S project meets the following criteria.  

Is it a youth-led project? (45%) 

Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots empowers young people to take action in their communities to make the world a better place for people, other animals, and the environment we all share. Does the project demonstrate youth initiative? Does the project purpose and impact embrace our shared mission? Roots & Shoots projects thrive when young people (individually or as a group) take the lead in choosing, planning, and implementing a project. 

Is the group, community or project leader under-resourced? (15%) 

Does the application demonstrate the group's need for these funds to implement their Roots & Shoots project? Reducing financial barriers to participation is an underlying principle of the Roots & Shoots grant program.    

Is the group or community diverse and inclusive? (15%) 

Roots & Shoots strives to fund projects that bring together young people with a range of talents, backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. Does the applicant’s group or community include members from historically underrepresented groups? 

Is the project based in the community? (15%) 

Does the application demonstrate engagement with and/or action in the group's community? Roots & Shoots encourages changemakers to "think local and act local," by picking a problem they want to tackle in their community and talking with community members as they plan and implement the project.  

Were R&S resources used? (10%) 

Does the application demonstrate the use of the Roots & Shoots 4-Step Formula and/or Community Mapping to pick the project focus and/or to plan the project? Does the application indicate use of other Roots & Shoots resources to plan the project? 

Roots & Shoots online resources help changemakers identify needs in their community and then plan and complete a service project. R&S resources include the R&S Project Planning Guide, the Compassionate Traits Self-Assessment, the R&S Family Toolkit, the R&S Toolkit for Individuals & Groups, a Project-in-a-Box, or the R&S Online Course.  

The percentages show the weight assigned to each funding priority during the application review.