About
The Explorers Club is a multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Founded in 1904 and headquartered in New York City, the organization promotes scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space through expeditions, educational programs, and grants supporting field research worldwide.
Funding Opportunities
Adventure Canada Young Explorers
Offered in partnership between Adventure Canada and The Explorers Club since 2016, the Young Explorers is a unique and innovative outreach program that supports the personal and professional growth of young explorers. Young explorers apply with specific, place-based project proposals that demonstrate significant potential, then travel on board one of Adventure Canada's selected expeditions to conduct their research or complete a creative or cultural project. The purpose of the Young Explorers Program is to encourage and facilitate the spirit of exploration through the pursuit of science, art, and conservation. The program aims to encourage personal growth for young people who will benefit from direct experience, academic study, cultural exchange, and connecting with The Explorers Club and Adventure Canada communities. The Young Explorers Program Alumni will lead the next generation to thoughtful policy, action, and communication.
PONANT Science Expedition Grants
In collaboration with PONANT EXPLORATIONS, The Explorers Club offers periodic opportunities for scientists and explorers to conduct research aboard Le Commandant Charcot during multi-week expedition voyages. Recipients come from a diverse community of changemakers from around the world working to support the mission of illuminating and preserving the world's landscapes, cultures and wildlife through science and education. The purpose of these expeditions is to advance scientific research while encouraging conversations of conservation as travelers explore new frontiers in search of discovery and a more sustainable future. The role of the science grantee is to conduct a research project and engage with PONANT EXPLORATIONS travelers via lectures, workshops and, where possible, inviting guests to partake in sample collections. The award provides onboard meals, access to the ship's lab facilities, and a double-occupancy scientist cabin.
Exodus Exploration without Boundaries Grant
The Explorers Club's Exodus Exploration without Boundaries Grant Program is generously supported by Exodus Adventure Travels. This program funds expeditions that further our understanding of the world through scientific, cultural and conservation fieldwork, led by explorers who may have taken alternative routes to acquire the skills necessary to conduct their research. The Explorers Club believes that explorers are extraordinary individuals who set themselves apart in the pursuit of knowledge, and that explorers come from all backgrounds and walks of life. This grant opportunity supports explorers and advances the spirit of exploration around the globe. The program is open to researchers of all skill levels who are 18 or older, with particular interest taken in projects led by indigenous explorers, or that benefit and amplify the work of indigenous explorers.
The Stephenson Exploration Advancement Program
The Stephenson Exploration Advancement (SEA) Program supports exploration and field research for marine exploration and conservation projects. Established through The Philip Stephenson Foundation, this grant category promotes marine exploration, protection, and conservation projects focused on adding value to people's lives and the health of the environment. The program is specifically designed for college undergraduates, graduate students, or independent explorers conducting fieldwork focused on marine research. The application cycle occurs annually, with applications opening in August for the following year's field season. Past recipients have conducted diverse marine research projects including coral bleaching resilience studies, manatee population monitoring through eDNA, whale shark prey identification, dolphin conservation initiatives, and deep-sea shark behavior research in locations spanning from the Arctic to Madagascar.
Pathfinder Grant
Previously known as 'The Exploration Fund Grant,' The Pathfinder Grant is designed to support graduate and post-graduate students, as well as early-career scientists, in pursuing transformative field research. From remote wilderness to ocean depths to the edges of cultural discovery, the Pathfinder Grant helps explorers turn vision into action. The grant provides financial support to projects that expand knowledge, advance scientific discovery, and inspire curiosity about the world around us. Funding can be used for travel, field equipment, research expenses, and other costs essential to conducting meaningful fieldwork. The Pathfinder Grant is more than funding—it's an opportunity to advance scientific discovery in the field. Recipients are welcome to become members of The Explorers Club and thereby join a community of peers and mentors dedicated to supporting impactful research and fostering collaboration across disciplines.
Fjällräven Field Grant
The Explorers Club and Swedish-based outdoor gear and clothing company, Fjällräven, have partnered to create a grant program aimed to promote excellence in field exploration through scientific research. This grant award supports exploration and research to better understand our environment, a changing climate, and the interconnectivity of wildlife and civilizations around the planet. The program's guiding principles include conservation, education, community and preserving the instinct to explore. The grant is designed for graduate or post-graduate students, or early career scientists conducting fieldwork in the natural sciences.
Rolex Explorers Club Grant
The Rolex Explorers Club Grants sends extraordinary young explorers into the field and promotes the significant role that exploration plays in addressing cutting-edge scientific questions, understanding our environment and the world we live in, and learning more about our history to protect our future. This program is open to all field science disciplines. In addition to demonstrating a spirit of exploration, candidates must put forward a project or research proposal that has a clear scientific rationale, represents original work, and has the potential for significant impact or new understanding. The grant is open to explorers conducting fieldwork to address a novel scientific, environmental, or historic question. Historically, awards have been given in the amount of $10,000.
Rising Explorer Grant
The Rising Explorer Grant provides funding to help high school students and college undergraduates turn their scientific ideas into real-world field research. With awards averaging $2,000, the program aims to support bold, curious thinkers who are excited about making a contribution to human knowledge and the well-being of our planet. This grant is more than funding—it's an invitation to step into the world of field research, helping to launch careers in science by giving young explorers the resources and confidence to pursue their questions, test their ideas, and make meaningful contributions to our understanding of the world. Those who become Rising Explorers are automatically considered for Explorers Club membership, which unlocks endless opportunities for networking with other students and professionals in their field. The program supports projects in field sciences across all disciplines including biology and ecology, wildlife conservation, environmental science, archaeology and anthropology, and marine and freshwater studies. The key requirement is that projects must be true science—designed to generate new knowledge—not just an adventure, travel experience, or school field trip.
Explorers Club Impact Grants
The Explorers Club Impact Grants Program awards significant grants to explorers conducting fieldwork in biological sciences, archaeology, anthropology, paleontology, earth sciences, ecology, and astronomy, as well as exploratory projects that reveal new knowledge about the planet and its inhabitants. The program was launched in early 2024 and has supported projects including shark conservation, glacier studies in Antarctica, shipwreck searches, wildlife rewilding, and documentation of climate-induced migration. Awards are typically between $10,000 and $25,000 and are intended to fund projects that have a greater impact on work in fields of science and exploration globally. The program emphasizes field-based expeditions with strong storytelling potential and applications are reviewed in spring and fall each year. Projects must be largely based upon a field expedition, can include lab components, and should combine adventure with genuine conservation or scientific objectives.
At a Glance
- Total Funding Opportunities
- 11
- Active Now
- 9
- Source Domain
- explorers.org
Catalog Data
This funder profile was automatically extracted from grant listings. Information may be incomplete.
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