The RAFT Funding Sources
The first year of research for The RAFT was conducted in the 2015-2016 academic year by the Institute for Engagement & Negotiation at the University of Virginia (UVA) in collaboration with the Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC) at William & Mary Law School. The RAFT was officially launched by a 2016 Restoration and Community Stewardship grant by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). This grant enabled completion of the Scorecard and testing The RAFT process with three pilot communities in three different coastal planning districts. Since then, the project has received a variety of grants, including from the Virginia Environmental Endowment, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coastal Management, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and an anonymous donor. Other institutions that have supported various aspects of The RAFT include the Virginia Sea Grant Adaptation and Resilience Program, the Environmental Resilience Institute at UVA, and the School of Architecture at UVA.