CARE seeking Partners for advancing Small-scale Producers’ Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change

Deadline: 19-May-23

CARE seeks to partner with and globally scale best-in-class social enterprises with proven solutions for advancing small-scale producers’ adaptation and resilience to climate change.

CARE is scaling a new generation of innovative solutions for small-scale producers’ adaptation and resilience to climate change, via their global network and ‘last mile’ reach.

CARE’s Scaling Network seeks best-in-class social enterprises with:

• An innovative solution for advancing small-scale producers’ (including farmers, fishers, and pastoralists) adaptation and resilience to climate change.
• Robust evidence of impact in multiple country contexts, and readiness to scale.
• A compelling business plan for achieving sustainable levels of scale, including when successfully linked with CARE’s global network of small-scale producers in at least one of the following target countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Niger, the Philippines, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Funding Information

• Selected partners will have access to CARE’s global network of small-scale producer groups, as well as receive tailored technical assistance and grant funding (50,000 – 75,000 USD) for pilot activities. Selected partners will commit to matching at least 50% of these funds (this can be in-kind).

Eligible Use of funding

• Awarded funds will be used for the following:
  • Work with CARE-USA programmatic teams and Country Office teams to co-design a partnership model that enables social enterprises to sustainably scale to ‘last mile’ communities via CARE’s global network.
  • Implement a feasibility study to inform pilot design (including a lean climate and gender risk assessment2).
  • Implement pilot activities (e.g., trainings with or marketing to CARE program participants).
  • Collect evidence around the partnership model’s impact (e.g., how the solution advanced food security and climate justice; and how partnering with CARE reduced costs of scaling).
  • Present key findings at a virtual innovation fair.
  • The funding is NOT to be used for covering regular operational and capital expenses for the business.
  • Note that while the purpose of the pilot is to establish a proof-of-concept, CARE is keen on working with successful partners to scale beyond the pilot.

Eligibility Criteria

• Preference will be given to applicants that have an illustrated ability and plan to scale in 1-3 new countries beyond applicants’ current locations of operation. This should include scaling to at least one of the following target countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Niger, the Philippines, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zambia.
• To be eligible, interested organizations must meet the following requirements:
  • The organization must be operational in a country where CARE offices are located.
  • The organization’s registration must be current.
  • The organization must be in a sound financial condition or, in the case of early-stage enterprises, must be able to demonstrate how the proposed solution is financially viable.
  • The organization must have accounting systems acceptable to CARE and corporate integrity/ethics.
  • The organization must not be excluded from the eligibility to CARE donor-provided funds.
  • The organization must have a successful track record of starting and implementing innovative solutions with validated impact and demonstrated scaling potential.
  • The organization must have an illustrated ability and plan to scale in 1-3 new country contexts via CARE’s global network of small-scale producers and women’s collectives.
  • The organization must have sufficient existing capability and capacity to deploy the proposed solution.
  • Application responses must include clear details on the proposed implementation of the scalable innovation.
  • The organization must have a demonstrated commitment to gender and climate justice, and operational social and environmental safeguards (including, at minimum, safeguards for the prevention of sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse).
• If an organization meets the eligibility criteria, CARE will request additional documentation to be submitted as part of the pre-award process. Organizations are advised that any funds made available are subject to CARE’s accountability and audit test. No promise, explicit or implicit, is made to an organization submitting a concept note to CARE on making any funds available (including reimbursement of document preparation costs).

For more information, visit CARE.