CFPs: Disaster Recovery and Resilience in Central America and Southern Mexico

Deadline: 15-May-22

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) has announced a call for proposals to respond to the medium and long-term priorities of communities affected by hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

These will be strategic investments that strengthen the capacity for action of local grassroots organizations in Central America and southern Mexico.

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF), C.S. Mott Foundation, International Community Foundation, Tinker Foundation, and The Philanthropic Initiative have joined forces to promote long-term resilience in communities in Central America and southern Mexico.

Areas of Interest

IAF understands “resilience” as the constant effort to identify weaknesses, build capacities, and adjust to changing circumstances. Among other things, proposal activities may:

enhance local civil society organizations’ capacity to anticipate and respond to climate shocks, including natural disasters, by rapidly assessing damage to infrastructure and crops, defining mitigation and adaptation strategies, and coordinating with local authorities;
empower and invest in community members as leaders and active participants in disaster preparedness, as well as in local recovery and resilience-building efforts;
build the capacity for local institutions to provide psychosocial support to address trauma associated with natural disasters;
create opportunities for community enterprises and grassroots groups to improve food security and spur local economies; and
foster cross-sector and peer-to-peer learning.

Funding Information

IAF accepts proposals for initiatives with budgets between US $75,000 – US $250,000. The final amount awarded will depend on the scope of the proposed activities and the experience and capacity of the organization(s) to implement them.
Grant activities may last up to 36 months with the possibility of extension.

Characteristics

Successful proposals will have the following characteristics:

The activities clearly express objectives and results that improve, scale, and/or adapt the work that the local civil society organization is currently undertaking.
The budget includes counterpart resources from the private sector, government, and community.
Project participants and community members are key protagonists in:
- identifying the problem that the project aims to solve
- choosing the strategy and approach to solve it
- carrying out project activities
- monitoring, evaluating, and learning
The initiative builds in social inclusion, including that of historically marginalized populations such as Indigenous people, women, young people, LGBTIQ people, communities of African descent, persons with disabilities, in addressing resilience, climate adaptation, and disaster prevention.