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Request for Proposals: SFI Community Grant Program

Deadline: 17-Mar-23

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Community Grant Program is now open for applications to support collaborative projects between local communities and the SFI network to increase understanding of the values and benefits provided by sustainably managed forests.

Priorities

Proposed SFI Community Grant Projects must specify how they will address and lead to positive outcomes in at least one of the following SFI priorities:

  • SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) coordination related to Climate Smart Forestry, Fire Resilience and Awareness, Conservation of Biological Diversity, and Recognize and Respect Indigenous Rights, with focus on training and best practices that can be replicated.
  • Community uptake of the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard, to further equitable access to human health and climate benefits, through support to municipalities, universities, and other entities that are preparing for certification audits or seeking progress on select objectives in the standard, such as Climate Smart Management or Human Health and Wellbeing.
  • Indigenous community uptake of the SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples and Families through tool kits, administration support, training, and other methods.
  • SIC coordination with PLT partners on implementation and distribution of PLT resources and tools (e.g., the Forest Literacy Framework, Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers, and PLT Activity Collections, such as Nature of Fire) and SFI standards.
  • Outreach to the architecture, engineering, and construction community about the environmental and social benefits associated with building with SFI-certified forest products.
Funding Information
  • Requested funds should be in the range of $5,000 to $20,000 dollars, depending on the scale of the project and the associated impacts. SFI reserves the right to award a grant in an amount less than requested.
  • Projects must be completed within 2 years of project agreement signing.
Eligible Projects
  • Proposed Projects should be collaborative in nature and involve at least one Project Partner, in addition to the Lead Organization. Additional non-profit conservation or community partners may strengthen the Proposal.
  • While not mandatory, SFI will give preference to Projects in which the Lead Organization has secured matching or in-kind funds for the Project from its Partners and/or other outside funding sources. Applications without secured matching or in-kind funds may still be considered, however those demonstrating matching or in-kind funds of 1:1 or greater will be given stronger consideration.
  • SFI’s goal is to further their positive impact in local communities. SFI Community Grant Projects will ideally include an evaluation aspect, outlining how the Lead Organization will measure the positive impacts (qualitative or quantitative) for communities through the project.
  • For all SFI grant opportunities, a proposal is strengthened by directly benefitting an underserved community in the United States or Canada, including projects created for and by Indigenous, Black, Francophone, Latino/a, and urban communities. Project proposals are not required to serve these communities, but those that do are preferred and greatly encouraged.
Funding Information
  • Requested funds should be in the range of $5,000 to $20,000 dollars, depending on the scale of the project and the associated impacts. SFI reserves the right to award a grant in an amount less than requested.
  • Projects must be completed within 2 years of project agreement signing.
Eligible Projects
  • Proposed Projects should be collaborative in nature and involve at least one Project Partner, in addition to the Lead Organization. Additional non-profit conservation or community partners may strengthen the Proposal.
  • While not mandatory, SFI will give preference to Projects in which the Lead Organization has secured matching or in-kind funds for the Project from its Partners and/or other outside funding sources. Applications without secured matching or in-kind funds may still be considered, however those demonstrating matching or in-kind funds of 1:1 or greater will be given stronger consideration.
  • SFI’s goal is to further their positive impact in local communities. SFI Community Grant Projects will ideally include an evaluation aspect, outlining how the Lead Organization will measure the positive impacts (qualitative or quantitative) for communities through the project.
  • For all SFI grant opportunities, a proposal is strengthened by directly benefitting an underserved community in the United States or Canada, including projects created for and by Indigenous, Black, Francophone, Latino/a, and urban communities. Project proposals are not required to serve these communities, but those that do are preferred and greatly encouraged.
Requirements for Proposals

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements to receive an SFI Community Grant:

  • The Lead Organization in the Project must be one of the following:
    • SFI Implementation Committee (SIC)
    • Registered, tax-exempt non-profit, and/or charitable organization (for example, a 501(c) (3) in the US or registered with the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency in Canada). Applicants must submit a tax identification number as proof of tax-exempt status within the Online Application Form.
    • Indigenous Organization/Community
    • College/University
  • If an SIC is not the lead organization, Projects must include an SIC or SFI-certified organization as a Project Partner. Letters of support from an SIC or SFI-certified organization should be included with the application. You are encouraged to reach out to the SIC or SFIcertified organization with whom you intend to partner AT LEAST two weeks prior to the proposal deadline to ensure sufficient time to collaborate on the proposal.
  • The Project proposal must contain a communications component that clearly outlines opportunities for communicating key milestones, project results, and overall impact. Organizations are strongly encouraged to speak about the Project in public venues, including potentially SFI events and/or webinars, or other venues identified by SFI and the project partners. SFI is eager to support the Lead Organization and Project Partners on any publicity associated with the project.
  • The applicant must agree to authorize SFI to publicize the Project and to use their name, images, logos and information about the Project in such publicity.
  • Projects must be located within Canada or the United States.
  • SFI Community Grant support may not be used for land acquisition, conservation easements, capital equipment purchases, or office/administration overhead costs.

For more information, visit SFI.