Deadline: 13-Feb-25
The Embassy of Canada in Paraguay is pleased to announce its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) to support small-scale, high-impact projects in developing countries, which align with Global Affairs Canada’s thematic priority areas for engagement.
The program is directed at projects conceived and designed predominantly by local partners. Projects are selected and approved by the relevant Canadian embassy or high commission. The CFLI also serves to support positive bilateral relations between Canada and recipient countries and their civil societies, by deepening contacts and supporting local endeavours.
Funding Information
- The average CFLI contribution is $25,000 to $35,000 Canadian Dollars (CAD$100,000 is the maximum allocation amount for a project eligible under CFLI).
Priorities
- All projects must align with at least 1 of the following CFLI thematic priorities:
- Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
- Growth that works for everyone, including women’s economic rights, decent jobs and entrepreneurship, investing in the poorest and most vulnerable, and safeguarding economic gains.
- Inclusive governance, including diversity and 2SLGBTQI+, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
- Environment and climate action focusing on adaptation and mitigation.
Eligible Costs
- The following project costs are eligible for CFLI funding:
- Accounting costs
- Administrative and overhead costs related to the project (overhead should not exceed 15% of total CFLI contribution)
- Advocacy and lobbying related costs
- Capital and/or operating expenditures related to the lease and/or purchase and/or building of infrastructure
- Civic education costs
- Conference and event expenditures
- Costs of services received by recipients
- Domestic travel expenses, using lowest fares possible but not exceeding full fare economy class
- Environmental assessment costs
- Facilities charges,
- Equipment rental, and/or purchase (only when the purchase is required to meet project objectives, reflects good value for money, and the recipient has a strong care-and-maintenance plan in place for equipment sustainability),
- Hospitality costs, excluding alcoholic beverages
- Installation, maintenance, shipping and/or transportation costs, including fuel,
- Computers and communication devices
- Lease or rental of vehicles
- Legal costs
- Medical costs
- Miscellaneous expenses integral to the project
- Outreach, communication and information dissemination costs
- Publishing costs
- Radio and television broadcast fees
- Research-related costs
- Salary costs, including stipends, relating to the project,
- Security costs
- Training and capacity building expenditures
- Translation and interpretation fees
- Vehicle and equipment operation, installation and/or maintenance
- Website development and related costs
Ineligible Costs
- The following costs are not eligible for CFLI funding:
- Nuclear technologies and facilities,
- Assistance to military or paramilitary organizations,
- Gifts,
- Luxury goods,
- Direct fiscal support to a government,
- Seed funding and/or microfinance,
- Core funding or recurrent costs of an organization
- Expenses incurred prior to the signing of the contribution agreement, or after it expires
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible recipients include:
- Local non-governmental, community and not-for-profit organizations,
- Local academic institutions working on local projects,
- International non-governmental organizations working on local development activities,
- Canadian non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that are working on local development activities.
Application Requirements
- All projects must be completed between the date of signature of the Contribution Agreement and March 31, 2026, for one-year projects and March 31, 2027, for two-year projects.
- Only those proposals using the designated application form and including the required budget document will be considered.
- Organizations must have all legal documentation (bylaws, balance sheets, bank account, other legal documents) readily available to confirm their official status.
- Proposals must be completed in English, French, or Spanish.
- Project proposals must explicitly answer all questions in the CFLI project application form, including the required gender-based analysis. The proposed project budget should summarize the proposed activities and associated costs.
- Applications will be assessed for approval on their merits by a selection committee.
- Due to the large number of applicants, only the successful candidates will be contacted.
- Project applications are kept on file at missions in accordance with Global Affairs Canada’s information management policies.
- The Embassy of Canada will be collaborating closely with the Embassy of New Zealand and the Embassy of Australia in the joint selection and funding of projects for this cycle.
- Two-year programming:
- Projects spanning 2 fiscal years (June 2025 to March 2027 may be permitted depending on the project objectives and the complexity of activities.
For more information, visit Embassy of Canada in Paraguay.