WWF-India’s Small Grants Program — deadline: 30th June 2014

The next deadline for submitting grant applications: 30th June 2014 

With the aim of encouraging young Indians to respond innovatively and independently to the conservation issues which affect the country, WWF-India is offering eligible individuals a one-time grant of up to Rs. 200,000 for carrying out conservation research or undertaking a conservation project.

The primary objective of this grant is to provide financial capacity to individuals based in India, who have developed and wish to implement short-term conservation research or initiatives that can contribute to larger conservation goals.

The SGP will provide grants to individuals for activities and/or research that address issues and offer solutions or insights towards:

• Species and habitat related problems and concerns – with a focus on immediate threats and issues (e.g. vulture conservation)
• Enabling communities and other stakeholders to address local environmental concerns
• Improving local livelihoods through conservation and natural resources management or promoting livelihoods that reduce impacts on biodiversity
• Aspects of trade involving wildlife species
• Increasing understanding on the status of lesser known or lesser studied species of wildlife
• Innovative approaches to awareness raising regarding environmental concerns
• Demonstrating individual or collective action towards conservation outcomes

Applicants must demonstrate a mature breadth and depth of knowledge on the area of environmental conservation and the particular geographical area or issue that they wish to contribute to through their project. The duration of the project should be between 6 to 12 months and the scale of the project should be such that funding awarded covers the total or the majority of the requirements.

Funds will be provided to the successful individual in a phased manner – 50% on acceptance, 30% on a successful mid-term review and 20% on approval of a satisfactory final report submitted by the project leader on or near the completion of the project. The final reports should also include a full financial report on expenditures made as part of the project. Acknowledgement of support provided by WWF should be mentioned in related publications or communications.

CRITERIA

Proposals meeting some or all of the following criteria will receive priority consideration:

• Contribute to WWF’s mission of conservation. Priority will be given to initiatives located in WWF-India’s priority landscapes or geographies
• Achieve a clear outcome within the project timeframe that can be scaled up or replicated
• Encourage participatory or community-based conservation and natural resource management
• Introduce innovative approaches that can demonstrate conservation impact
• Have a clearly articulated rationale that demonstrates urgency and need for the work

Funds should be utilized primarily for field activities and not administrative expenditures or capital assets.

APPLICATION PROCESS

All grants are considered for funding on a competitive merit basis. A screening committee at WWF-India will evaluate the selection of grantees based on the above mentioned criteria along with the technical strength of the applicant to ensure a successful and sustainable project.

Applications will be reviewed internally by the Small Grant manager and a wider team of experts within WWF-India.

Applications will be reviewed and grants provided twice a year. The deadline for receiving the applications is 30 June for Phase 1 and 31st December for Phase 2 , each year. The next deadline for submitting grant applications is 30th June 2014.

Please submit your proposals through the online proposal submission system, by clicking here. 

Please note that in-progress applications cannot be saved. Prospective applicants are advised to refer to the ‘Template for Project Proposal’ document before starting the application process and to save a copy of the proposal before submission for their own records.

All applications will be acknowledged via email. In case you do not receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours of your application, please send an email with your application details.

In case of any queries regarding the application process, please write to the Small Grants Programme Coordinator at sgp@wwfindia.net

The decision of the WWF team reviewing the applications will be final. In some cases, where there are exceptional reasons for initiating work immediately, the review committee may decide to offer a grant on a discretionary basis.

The program does not support: :

• Cash payments for direct budgetary support to an organization.
• Payment for ongoing projects and for expenses of recurring nature.
• Organization of seminars, meetings and conferences, except where it can be demonstrated that the organization of such a meeting is critical to achieving the larger objectives of this grant
• Sponsorship to attend conferences, workshops, training programs in India or abroad.
• Large scale construction, and high capital costs
• Purchase of vehicles
• Proposals from Government employees and departments