About Ecology Center
To inspire and build a sustainable, healthy, and just future for the East Bay, California, and beyond by transforming the ideals of sustainability into everyday practice through education, demonstration, replication, and advocacy.
Focus Areas
sustainable livingzero waste and recyclinghealthy food access and farmers' marketsclimate action and electrificationyouth environmental educationgreywater and water conservationcommunity organizing and policy advocacydemonstration projects (EcoHouse)
Who They Fund
food-insecure individuals and householdslow-income communities
Funding Style
About Ecology Center
Ecology Center’s largest recent grants all sit inside a single food-access program: the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program. In the latest grants list, the biggest award went to Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association for $1,905,840 in 2025, followed closely by Heart of the City Farmers' Market at $1,715,135 in the same year. Those awards show a funder that works through farmers markets and related community organizations to move healthy food into everyday use, especially for low-income communities and food-insecure households. Across the recent list, the foundation repeats the FINI program year after year rather than spreading small gifts across many unrelated causes. That pattern fits its stated emphasis on healthy food access and farmers' markets, along with practical, project-based support. Recipients include Urban Village Farmers' Mkt Ass in Oakland, Alchemist Community Developmen in Sacramento, and Agricultural Institute of Marin in San Rafael, each tied to the same incentive-program model. Ecology Center also describes its broader mission as turning sustainability into everyday practice through education, demonstration, replication, and advocacy, which helps explain why the grantmaking centers on programs that are meant to be used directly by communities.
What Ecology Center Funds
The clearest thematic throughline in Ecology Center’s grants is food access through nutrition incentives. In 2025, it gave $1,057,215 to Urban Village Farmers' Mkt Ass in Oakland for the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program, and the same program supported Alchemist Community Developmen in Sacramento with $915,603 that year. Farmers' market operators are another recurring recipient type. Hunger Action Los Angeles received $1,026,063 in 2025 for FINI, while the Agricultural Institute of Marin got $833,501 in 2025 for the same purpose. The foundation’s own focus areas also point to climate and sustainability work, including climate action and electrification, greywater and water conservation, zero waste and recycling, and demonstration projects such as EcoHouse. Its grant list, however, is dominated by the food-insecurity incentive program rather than a wide mix of independent initiatives.
How Ecology Center Gives
Ecology Center’s typical grant size is mid-range, with a p25 of $12,767, a median of $44,444, and a p75 of $126,461. The recent list also shows much larger program awards, including seven-figure FINI grants. This is a regular funder rather than a DAF or pass-through vehicle, and it does not fund individuals. The pattern in the recent grants list suggests repeated support to the same organizations across multiple years, especially for the FINI program, rather than one-off grants. The structure looks program-based and direct-service oriented, with awards tied to specific project purposes.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$10.6M
Total Assets
$8.8M
Total Revenue
$18.1M
Total Expenses
$17.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $13K and $126K, with a median of $44K.
25th Percentile
$13K
Median
$44K
75th Percentile
$126K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MARTIN BOURQUE
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