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Request for Applications: Mesoamerican Reef Fund 2024

Deadline: 12-Nov-2024

The Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) is delighted to announce its annual request for proposals (RfP) with two available financial windows: Traditional Small Grants and Reef Rescue Initiative.

Objectives
  • Traditional Small Grants
    • General Objective
      • Contribute to the conservation of the ecosystem functions of the Mesoamerican Reef System and its resilience.
    • Specific Objectives
      • Support the design and/or implementation of sustainable ventures/businesses that can demonstrate a positive impact on the natural resources of the MAR (market innovations related to untreated wastewaters, solid waste management and women or indigenous communities led ventures/businesses will be prioritized).
      • Support actions to strengthen the resilience of protected areas, coastal communities, and NGOs.
      • Support and strengthen efforts for wastewater and solid waste management.
      • Support activities related to effective conservation of fish spawning aggregation (FSA) sites in the region.
      • Legally recognized/registered women’s and community groups are welcome to submit proposals directly.
  • Reef Rescue Initiative
    • Develop activities that target and respond to coral bleaching, for example, monitoring/mapping to determine bleaching impact and/or resilience to bleaching, mitigation measures for bleaching, design and implementation of coral restoration plans, among others.
    • Promote strategies to prevent and address the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD).
    • Promote and contribute new techniques for restoration, repopulation, and rehabilitation of coral reefs in the MAR region in areas that are simultaneously working to address threats to coral reefs.
    • Support coral restoration projects that promote productive activities or new markets.
Funding Information
  • Traditional Small Grants
    • The proposals to be presented may have a duration of up to two years. Proposals with a duration of up to 17 months may request a maximum amount of US$30,000, while proposals between 18 and 24 months may request a maximum amount of US$50,000, based on project needs and capacity of the implementing institution. For two-year projects, funding is approved for both years, but disbursement for the second year will depend on performance in the first year.
    • Two-year Projects: For proposals with a duration of 2 years (with a maximum amount of US$50,000), the applicant may allocate between US$8,000 to US$10,000 to subgrants (on-granting). For example, this amount may be used as seed funding for different women’s, indigenous people’s, and/or community projects if on-granting aligns with the objectives of the overall proposal. The methodology to be carried out for selecting and assigning the subgrants and the application of safeguards must be clearly explained in the proposal.
  • Reef Rescue Initiative
    • The proposals to be presented may have a duration of up to 24 months. The maximum grant amount is US$34,500, based on project needs and capacity of the implementing institution.
Eligible Projects
  • The following criteria will be applied in the revision and selection of proposals. Some projects may not necessarily comply with all the conditions. Projects should:
    • Demonstrate measurable results on progress of at least one of the stated RfP objectives;
    • Coordinate their implementation across multiple stakeholders;
    • Have transferable or replicable outcomes for other communities/protected areas;
    • Strengthen local management capacity of professionals and institutions;
    • Contribute to strengthening local capacities;
    • Engage the MPAs of interest, and be aligned with their management plans and with the institutional priorities of the protected area managers;
    • Create a new source of financing to reduce the financial gap of the protected area in which you will work (if applicable);
    • Align with national, regional or global strategies, plans or policies;
    • Align with ridge-to-reef strategies;
    • Have activities that are closely aligned with the applicant organization’s mission;
    • Propose activities that are sustainable beyond the project period;
    • Build on current work in the area or successful model projects in the region;
    • Demonstrate community participation and empowerment in the proposed activities (community/NGO/GO endorsement letters as backup document);
    • For collaborations with other local entities (women’s group, indigenous people’s, community, NGO and OG), please provide collaboration letters for the project;
    • Promote collective and/or community resilience; and
    • Clearly identify and assess the environmental and social risks and impacts of the proposed activities.
  • Specific criteria for the Reef Rescue Initiative window (in addition to the listed above):
    • Create a new source of funding for coral reef restoration in the region (if applicable); and
    • Generate transferable results to sites with potential for coral reef restoration. involved in the development of the project may be included. The maximum amount allowed for administration expenses cannot exceed 10% of the total amount requested. Administration expenses (overhead) refer exclusively to the fixed operating costs of the organization.
    • The costs of implementing and complying with the Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) may be included in the budget. Eligible costs are, for example, the purchase of safety equipment, first aid kits, diving insurance, among others, to be detailed in the proposal budget.
Eligibility Criteria
  • The following list includes eligible applicants for this request for proposals:
    • Community-based organizations, including women’s and indigenous people’s organizations,
    • Governmental institutions,
    • Non-governmental organizations (NGO), and
    • 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 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 (accounting, annual audits, etc.);
    • Have a good history as a grantee (i.e., effective grant/project implementation); and
    • Have experience in the field of coastal and marine resources management.
  • Organizations must have their headquarters established in any one of the four countries of the MAR region (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) to be eligible.
  • Community organizations –including women’s and indigenous people’s organizations– may be supported directly or indirectly through an NGO, as long as a signed agreement exists and is shared between the two that demonstrates that the community organization is an active participant in the project.
  • To maximize available resources, proposals involving duplication of funds/efforts funded by other MAR Fund initiatives or programs will not be considered.
  • All supported organizations must implement and monitor the compliance of MAR Fund’s Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) throughout project execution. If the organization already has its own policies or procedures, these may be applied if they fulfill the requirements of the MAR Fund ESMS.

For more information, visit MAR Fund.