The James E. Dutton Foundation is a private grantmaking organization primarily focused on supporting projects that benefit the environment, wildlife, animal life, and human life through nature-related education and activities. With a longstanding commitment to positive ecological and human impacts, the foundation evaluates grant requests based on their potential to deliver measurable outcomes aligned with its mission.
While there is no formal application form, organizations are invited to submit a written grant request accompanied by a cover letter. This letter must include the organization’s full contact details, including a name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. Applications without contact information may be excluded from consideration. The proposal itself should include a description of the organization, its mission, a detailed project or program overview, a timeline, budget, and an explanation of how success will be evaluated.
Grant periods may span multiple years, depending on the project scope. However, all recipients are required to submit a final report describing the outcomes of the funded activity, with emphasis on how the project impacted the environment, animals, and/or people. This evaluation helps the Foundation make future grant decisions. Grantees are expected to clearly outline both qualitative impacts and the methods used to measure success.
The Dutton Foundation typically awards grants only once every three years to any given organization. This policy was instituted in response to a growing volume of high-quality submissions. If an organization has not received funding in the past three years and is unsuccessful in its current application, it may continue submitting proposals for future review.
There are three submission deadlines annually: March 12, June 11, and October 8. These correspond to board meetings held on March 26, June 25, and October 22, respectively. Proposals may be submitted via email to silvercreek.fenske@gmail.com or mailed to the foundation’s office at 6655 Rainbow Drive, Merrill, WI 54452.
Although the foundation has no formal geographic restrictions, it has historically awarded most of its funding to organizations based in Wisconsin and the greater Midwest. Grants made outside this region are considered rare exceptions. Notably, the Foundation has supported land conservation projects, such as its grant to the Door County Land Trust for the purchase of a 332-acre parcel.
Highlight nature-based impact and clarity in success measurement. Do not apply more than once every 3 years.
