If you have a great idea for a marine conservation, the PADI AWARE Foundation wants to hear from you. Whether you want to start a new initiative or support an existing effort, you can apply for up to USD $10,000 in funding.

Twice per year (with the funding cycle opening every April and October), PADI AWARE Community Grants are awarded to ocean protection projects that support any of the following initiatives:

Multiplying Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Protecting Endangered and Vulnerable Marine Species
Accelerating Coral Reef Recovery and Restoration
Reducing and Offsetting the Dive Industry’s Carbon Footprint

PRO TIP: If you’re looking for inspiration or unsure whether your project would be a good fit, read about previous grant recipients.

Start With the Eligibility Quiz

Any PADI® Dive Center or ocean conservation nonprofit with an annual budget of less than one million USD may apply. If your organization and project idea meet the criteria, you’ll be asked to submit a grant application.

For legal reasons, individual PADI Members are not eligible for direct funding. If you’re a PADI Pro with a great idea, partner with a PADI Dive Center, Resort or an ocean conservation-focused nonprofit.

NOTE: The Eligibility Quiz is only accessible when the foundation is accepting new applications. If the link above doesn’t work, visit this Mission Hub Community Grants page to find out when the next funding cycle begins.

Grant Writing Best Practices

If you’re wondering, who is this person giving grant writing advice? Excellent question. In addition to writing for PADI, I also assist small nonprofits with grant applications. In the past nine months, I’ve worked on four grants, all of which were funded. The total amount raised was close to USD $500,000.

But, you don’t need to hire a grant writer like me to apply for a PADI AWARE Community Grant. The process is less formal than other grant applications and designed with busy dive professionals in mind.

Tip #1

That said, I do have some helpful tips to share. My number one grant writing tip for beginners is: read the instructions closely and follow the directions. I know that seems obvious (please don’t be offended), but when I talked to experienced writers and people who serve on grant review committees and many of them said, “You’d be surprised how many grant applications get rejected right away because the project doesn’t fit the requirements.”

Here are two must-read articles for more information about the PADI AWARE Community Grant:

PADI AWARE Community Grants Funding Criteria
PADI AWARE Community Grant Program FAQs

PRO TIP: As you review the articles above, start a to-do list of information you need to gather and questions you may need to answer. 

Tip #2

Next, define the outcome you want to achieve and how you’ll measure success. Some grant applications are rejected because the goal is too murky. 

For example: “start a coral nursery” is a good idea, but too vague. Instead, have a look at what grant recipient Ocean Adventures Fiji did. Similarly, “conduct monthly underwater cleanups” doesn’t say enough about the impact of the solution. Grantee Emerald Coast Scuba did an excellent job explaining the marine debris problem in their area and the specific actions they would take to help correct it.

PADI AWARE Foundation Community Grants are intended to assist in the development and delivery of grassroots conservation projects and support outcome-driven activities. If you’re struggling to create a measurable goal, asking the questions below might help.

What bothers me about the way things are now?
What would an improvement look like?
What are the steps to get there?

Before you start writing the application, think about everything you might need to achieve your goal. This is important for two reasons:

You must submit a project budget with your application
It sets you up for success

PRO TIP: Involve anyone and everyone who might be part of the project, because you don’t want to forget anything!

Community Grant funds can be used to:

Purchase equipment – such as cameras to document marine life
Buy tools – to remove marine debris
Pay for consumables – including gloves or debris bags
Fund communications – printing educational material or posters
Cover administrative costs directly related to the project

Grant funds cannot be used for capital expenditures or go toward the purchase of fixed assets. 

Tip #3

My final tip is: respond to questions with straightforward answers. It’s better to simply restate the question in your reply than to try and sound scholarly. The people reviewing grant applications are looking for impactful projects, not the best writer.

For example, if the question says, “Describe your current conservation activities and recent accomplishments,” it’s 100% okay to write, “Our current conservation activities include ______ and we are proud to have accomplished ______.” Data and details are better than embellished prose.

Summary of Grant Writing Tips

Carefully read and follow the directions  
Create a to-do list
Read about previous grant recipients
Clearly define your project goal, its potential impact and how you’ll measure success
Seek input from people who will help execute your project
Give straightforward answers to application questions

Ready to apply? Start with the Eligibility Quiz. If the quiz isn’t active, visit the Mission Hub Community Grant Criteria page to find out when the next application cycle begins.

If you care about ocean conservation efforts but don’t have the time to put together a grant application, please consider supporting the conservation efforts of others by donating to the PADI AWARE Foundation. The chart below shows how donations are used.

Go Deeper 

Community Grant Program FAQs 
PADI AWARE Community Grants: Funding Criteria
Recent PADI AWARE Grant Recipients

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