The T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies is committed to increasing awareness of the extraordinary impact that food has on the health of our bodies, our communities, and our planet. Our Community Grants initiative was created to foster solutions around some of the greatest challenges currently impeding total health:

Personal health: Never before has such a large percentage of the US population suffered from obesity and chronic diseases. And never before has the financial strain of health care so overwhelmed every other sector of our society, from business to education to government to everyday families with inadequate insurance.

Communal health: Despite increased food production, there are many social and structural challenges within the food system that limit access to healthy, affordable food, particularly in low-income communities and rural communities. Many low-income families have access to only processed and packaged unhealthy foods grown and distributed with a myriad of negative environmental impacts, including climate degradation and destruction. So limits to food access contribute not only to poor health outcomes, but also climate change.

Environment health: We are losing healthy topsoil, depleting and polluting water resources, destroying our world's rainforests, and endangering plant and animal species at an alarming rate. And never before have we introduced on such a large scale genetically altered varieties of plants, requiring the use of heavy doses of pesticides that affect other vital life forms.

From the microscopic to the macroscopic, from individuals to their societies and the ecosystems that support them—the health of each depends on the health of all. Community Grants allows us to support individuals and organizations that are creating solutions and making real change in each of these areas.

1. To support individuals and organizations that are aspiring to create change. It's good to recognize and understand why our health and food systems are compromised, but we also need to do something about it. Community Grants allows you to directly support those on the ground. 100% of donations for Community Grants supports new initiatives or helps existing initiatives expand.
2. To inspire and motivate each other. We will share the stories and strategies of groups who are creating health within their communities. This allows us to harness the experiences of others to overcome challenges within our own communities.
3. To create shared educational resources and materials. We will establish benchmarks for success, develop methods for achieving success, and build strategies for overcoming challenges. These resources will be available for everyone to use, to inspire action in communities worldwide! To achieve optimal health in the body we need collaboration; this same principle can be applied to the health of our communities.
4. To build community. Our very existence is directly related to the health of our communities. By joining a community that fosters personal, communal and ecological health, you are preserving and taking care of your own health while simultaneously building healthy communities worldwide!

Grants range from $500–5,000 and will be awarded to projects that address one or more of our core content areas: 1) community education and food literacy, 2) increasing access to healthy, affordable food, 3) promoting regenerative food systems. Announcements for upcoming Requests for Proposals (RFPs) will be made via our website, newsletters, and social media channels. Applications that include all proposal requirements and that align with the CNS mission are reviewed by the CNS staff and an advisory team.

1. US applicants must have tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit status or a partnership with an organization that can provide this status. International applicants must have charity status or a partnership with an organization that can provide this status.
2. Applicants must use *whole food, plant-based nutrition to address one or more of our core content areas: 1) community education and food literacy, 2) access to healthy, affordable food, 3) regenerative food systems. *CNS advocates for whole food, plant based (WFPB) nutrition based on research conducted by Dr. T. Colin Campbell that clearly shows a correlation between the consumption of animal protein and higher rates of disease. This translates into meals that contain ONLY plant foods and NO animal products.
3. Applicants must complete the entire application. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
4. An organization may only submit one application per grant round.
5. Applicants who have previously applied for a grant but have not received a grant may reapply within the same calendar year.
6. Previous grant recipients are eligible to apply for additional funding one full calendar year after receiving their grant award, but these grants will only be awarded if funds are requested for a completely new initiative or a substantial change to the project that CNS previously funded. Additionally, priority is given to first-time applicants, and students of our Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate program are given preference.

CNS will not be offering Community Grants in 2023. Typically, we accept applications once per year during the month of June. If you wish to receive notice of upcoming application dates, please sign up for the Community Grants Newsletter.