2023 Institutional Grant Cycles

Deadline: July 26, 2023 (pre-proposal, letter of enquiry) 

Aim: Tinker Foundation funds research and advocacy, experimentation, scaling up of promising interventions, and exchange of knowledge and models – with the overarching goal of contributing to large-scale change in policy and practice. We award grants through three program areas that we have prioritized during the last decade because of their importance to the region. Sustainable Resource Management is one of the key priority areas with funding available for projects concerned with a) Promoting Sustainable Management Practices b) Water scarcity and quality issues. Funded activities may include, but are not restricted to, community engagement and capacitybuilding, applied research, measurement and evaluation activities, and workshops and conferences related to the Foundation’s areas of interest. We welcome collaboration among organizations in Latin America and prefer to fund institutions that are actively engaged with a broad array of stakeholders impacted by the identified challenge.

Eligibility:

• The Tinker Foundation provides grants only to organizations that are charitable in nature, i.e., with a United States 501(c)(3) tax status or its equivalent if the organization is located outside the U.S. Organizations from Latin America do not need to have United States 501(c)(3) status.

• Our funds may not be used for: Individuals, including individual research, Direct or grassroots lobbying, annual or other fund-raising appeals, school tuition or scholarships, or child sponsorships, support for building construction or major equipment purchases, production costs for film, television, and radio projects, art museum collections, films, and exhibits endowments

Fund: $50,000 to $150,000 per year, for up to three years

Description of Priority Areas:

1. Promoting Sustainable Management Practices

Projects should address the crucial links between effective resource management and communities that use them and seek to ensure that economic returns resulting from improved management policies benefit local populations. Potential strategies include assessing and establishing best practices; developing the human talent required to manage and conserve resources (i.e., technical training); and identifying mechanisms, practices and/or policies that avoid or mitigate overexploitation. Issues of interest include sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, and non-timber forest products. Projects may also consider the conservation and livelihood aspects of sustainable tourism, fisheries management, and payment for environmental service programs.

2. Water

Water scarcity and quality issues have emerged as critical concerns worldwide. In Latin America, as elsewhere, the shortage of water and the resulting social, economic, and health costs disproportionately impact the poor. For that reason, the Foundation has a particular interest in projects that promote equitable access to a clean and secure water supply. Ideally, proposals should offer innovative ideas and policies that improve locally determined mechanisms for watershed management with an emphasis on governance; develop water policies and management methodologies based on local hydrological assessments; or identify, implement, and replicate workable models of freshwater management and protection.

For more information please visit: Institutional Grants Apply Page - (tinker.org)