By Cris Alarcon, InEDC Writer. (Aug 25, 2025)
PLACERVILLE, Calif. — The El Dorado Community Foundation (EDCF) will open its 2025 fall competitive grant cycles on Aug. 28, inviting nonprofits and school-based groups serving El Dorado County to apply for funding aimed at community needs, youth projects, agriculture education and student field experiences. Application instructions and program overviews are posted on the foundation’s grants catalog.
EDCF administers competitive, request-for-proposal grants throughout the year and regularly convenes local partners to strengthen services countywide. The fall window features four programs: the El Dorado Hills Area Foundation (EDHAF) Grant (up to $10,000), the F.E.E.T. Fund for Lake Tahoe Unified School District field trips, the Locher Agricultural Grant for 4-H/FFA programs, and the Pay It Forward Project School Grant for student-led service initiatives. Specific deadlines for each cycle appear below and in the foundation’s announcement provided to this newsroom.
What’s new and who’s eligible
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El Dorado Hills Area Foundation Grant — Open to nonprofits serving El Dorado Hills; the program encourages ideas that respond to unmet community needs. Starting in 2025, EDHAF notes that organizations funded two consecutive years must sit out one year before reapplying. “Starting in 2025, organizations that have been funded by EDHAF in the prior two consecutive years will need to sit out one year before reapplying,” the foundation states in its catalog.
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F.E.E.T. (Fulfilling Equitable Educational Trips) Fund — Supports standards-based, overnight field trips for LTUSD elementary grades. The fund’s mission is to “provide funds for overnight, standards-based field trips for Grades 5 and below,” prioritizing socioeconomically disadvantaged
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Locher Agricultural Grant — Offers small grants (historically up to about $4,500) to 4-H and FFA programs serving El Dorado County; the fund is rooted in a bequest intended to inspire youth in agriculture. Public listings of the program and recent cycles appear in regional grant directories.
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Pay It Forward Project School Grant — Provides microgrants to student clubs in El Dorado County (CA) and nearby Nevada high schools for community service and environmental projects. The program’s ethos is to grow volunteerism; it “encourag[es] everyone to volunteer a minimum of two hours per month,” according to a July 2025 program update.
Key dates and amounts (from EDCF’s Aug. 28 release)
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Applications open: Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2025 (all four cycles).
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EDHAF Grant: Up to $10,000; deadline 11:59 p.m., Sept. 25, 2025.
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F.E.E.T. Fund (LTUSD elementary overnight field trips): deadline Nov. 1, 2025.
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Locher Agricultural Grant (4-H/FFA serving El Dorado County): Up to $4,500; deadline 11:59 p.m., Sept. 25, 2025; notifications in November with funding available immediately upon award.
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Pay It Forward Project School Grant: Up to $1,000; deadline Sept. 25, 2025.
“Our fall cycles are designed to meet local needs where they live — from student service projects and overnight field trips to agriculture education and neighborhood priorities,” said Kathy Haven, EDCF’s director of grants, programs & impact, in the foundation’s announcement.
How to apply
Applicants should review eligibility and submit online via the EDCF Grants Catalog. Program descriptions for EDHAF, F.E.E.T., Locher and Pay It Forward are listed under current or “coming soon” cycles; broader details on EDCF’s competitive RFP process are available on the foundation’s website. eldoradocf.org
