Vamos a Pescar Grant Applications Now Available

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now accepting applications for the “Vamos a Pescar” community grant program for fishing programs, classes and activities committed to educating and engaging diverse, multi-generational, bi/multi-lingual participants new to fishing, boating and aquatic stewardship in California. The “Vamos a Pescar” grant program is part of CDFW’s ongoing angler recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) efforts to decrease barriers to participation and increase awareness and support for conservation activities across the state, like fishing.

“Vamos a Pescar” (Let’s Go Fishing) is a program associated with the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) in the U.S. RBFF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting participation in recreational boating and fishing.

“Vamos a Pescar” specifically focuses on engaging the Latino community in fishing and boating activities. The grant program provides funding to support projects and initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and participation in fishing and boating among Hispanic communities.

To apply for funding, programs must:

• Be inclusive. Events must be open to families of all races and ethnicities with Spanish-English bilingual instruction, materials, and outreach.
• Be family-focused, with participation across multiple generations and genders.
• Offer multiple opportunities, with focus placed on providing various fishing opportunities to the same participants.
• Try to promote good stewardship toward California’s aquatic resources and include information on angler-funded conservation projects, like those paid for by the Sport Fish Restoration Act.
• Have measurable goals. Programs must include ways to measure goals and outcomes and incorporate lessons learned.
• Be offered by an official 501(c)(3) organization.

“Vamos” is supported by the George H. W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Education Fund. To further the reach and facilitate partnerships at the local level, funds are provided for state agencies to match and sub-grant to local 501(c)(3) organizations. With the help of donations from companies and organizations, this fund has continued to grow and expand nationally to keep future generations educated about the joys of fishing and boating and the importance of conservation. CDFW utilizes funding from the Sport Fish Restoration Act and their angler-generated dollars to match RBFF’s contribution to California organizations chosen to carry out the mission and work of the “Vamos a Pescar” Grant Program.

Interested organizations should review the RBFF George H. W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Grant Guidelines and the CDFW grant agreement template. To apply, interested organizations meeting the eligibility criteria can submit a grant proposal application following the format and guidelines provided in the CDFW grant application document and a completed RBFF George H. W. Bush Vamos A Pescar application form. All grant proposal application documents should be emailed to R3StatewideProgram @ wildlife.ca.gov by 11:59 p.m. Dec. 8.

California proposal application documents will be ranked by CDFW and submitted to RBFF for national review by their advisory board. The advisory board will choose grant recipients by mid-January 2024, and CDFW will notify California recipients around the end of January. The program’s final decisions are subject to the availability of state matching funds.