Deadline: 13-Feb-2025
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), as regional implementation team (RIT) for the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot, are inviting letters of inquiry (LOIs) from non-governmental organizations, community groups, private enterprises, universities and other civil society organizations active in the eligible geographic areas in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
This call is for large grants only and targets organizations working at the site and corridor levels and supports national, regional and multi-country capacity building.
Funding Information
- This call covers funding for large grants, which are defined as grants with a budget greater than US$50,000.
Eligible Projects
- This investment phase seeks to improve the capacity of civil society organizations to reduce threats to globally important biodiversity in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot. Projects supported under this phase should help:
- Increase the capacity of civil society organisations to reduce key threats to biodiversity;
- Increase the organizational capacity of civil society organisations;
- Increase the capacity of civil society organizations to participate in conservation-related networks;
- Reduce threats to biodiversity at Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)
Eligible Activities
- Projects should seek to:
- Ameliorate threats: A core goal of CEPF is to build local capacity to reduce threats to biodiversity at priority sites and for priority species. Applicants are, therefore, requested to make explicit linkages between how their project will build capacity and how this will, in turn, reduce key threats to KBAs and species. CEPF measures the reduction of threats to KBAs using the IBA Monitoring Tool.
- Build CSO Capacity: Applicants are encouraged to think about their technical and institutional capacity needs as they develop their projects, particularly with respect to the CEPF Civil Society Tracking Tool (CSTT) (English, Spanish), threats reduction for biodiversity conservation, promotion of gender equity and attention to vulnerable groups, and to include a specific component responding to these needs, where relevant.
Eligibility Criteria
- Non-governmental organizations, community groups, universities and private enterprises may apply for funding. Individuals must work with civil society organizations to develop applications rather than apply directly. To qualify for a CEPF grant, applicants must not be a government agency or institution. Government-owned enterprises or institutions are eligible only if they can establish that they:
- Have a legal personality independent of any government agency or actor;
- Have the authority to apply for and receive private funds;
- May not assert a claim of sovereign immunity.
- Applicants based outside of the eligible countries may submit an LOI as long as the project activities are focused on a conservation need within a priority site or conservation corridor.
- Joint projects with other organizations are eligible, with one lead organization submitting the application and project partners with clear roles stated in the application.
Evaluation Criteria
- The evaluation will be conducted according to the following technical and strategic criteria:
- Strategic importance: How well does the project contribute to achieving the priorities of the CEPF investment strategy in the ecosystem profile?
- Project approach and methodology: Are the project approach and methodology likely to achieve the project’s stated objectives and (where applicable) contribute strongly to sustainable conservation outcomes?
- Applicant capacity: Does the applicant have the capacity and experience to implement this project effectively and efficiently, given its scale and complexity?
- Potential to strengthen Caribbean civil society capacity: Will the project help to strengthen Caribbean civil society organizations?
- Sustainability: Will the project results be sustained beyond the phase of CEPF funding?
- Budget: Is the proposed funding request commensurate and reasonable given the project’s scale, objectives and likely cost of the work?
For more information, visit CEPF.