Mesoamerican Reef Fund announces Traditional Small Grants Program

Deadline: 06-Oct-20

The French Global Environment Facility (FFEM), the Government of Germany through KfW, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation and the Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) are pleased to announce this 13th joint request for proposals to support Coastal and Marine resources management and protection in the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR).

Objectives

To contribute to the conservation of the ecosystem functions of the Mesoamerican Reef System through resilience measures and other activities indicated below:

To support actions to strengthen the resilience of NGOs, protected areas and coastal communities.
To support and strengthen efforts for waste water and solid waste management.
To support activities related to effective conservation and monitoring of fish spawning aggregations sites in the region.

Funding Information

The maximum grant amount is $30,000, based on project needs and absorptive capacity of the implementing institution.
For this RfP, at least 25% of the total budget must come from other sources, as a match to the requested funds. The maximum amount allowed for administration expenses cannot exceed 10% of the total amount requested. Administration expenses refer exclusively to the fixed operating costs of the organization.
On this occasion, projects may last for a period of up to 24 months if they address the promotion of sustainable income-generating activities for buffer local communities of FSAs and/or resilience initiatives. Projects on all other topics must be for a 12-month period.

Eligibility Criteria

The following are considered eligible applicants for this request for proposals:

Community-based organizations, including fisher groups
Governmental institutions
Non-governmental organizations
Academia and Individuals (both must have administrative support from an NGO, who shall be responsible for the grant)

Potential grantee organizations must be:

Legally recognized or registered in their country;
In compliance and good standing with any or all requirements for operation as a legal local entity;
Guided by an operational Board of Directors;
Have a sound financial management system and structure in place (annual audits etc.);
Have a good history as a grantee (i.e. effective grant/project implementation); and
Credible in the field of marine resources management.

Criteria

The following criteria will be applied in the revision and selection of proposals. Some projects may not comply with all of the conditions; however, they will be an important element to consider in the final selection. Projects should:

Demonstrate measurable results on progress of at least one of the stated RfP objectives;
Coordinate their implementation across multiple stakeholders;
Strengthen local management capacity of professionals and institutions;
Have transferable or replicable outcomes for other communities/protected areas;
Engage the MPAs of interest, to be aligned with their management plans and with the institutional priorities of the protected area managers;
Align with national, regional and/or global strategies or policies;
Implement actions or activities included in regional plans;
Have activities that are closely aligned with the applicant organization’s mission and/or are otherwise sustainable beyond the project period;
Build on current work in the area or successful model projects in the region;
Create a new source of financing to reduce the financial gap of the MPAs;
Demonstrate community participation in the proposed activities; and
Promote collective and/or community resilience.