Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants

Posted by on January 23, 2011

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Seeks Proposals for Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants
Deadline: February 15, 2011

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, an independent, charitable organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management, has announced its 2011 Request for Proposals for Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants.

The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is designed to foster partnerships between organizations interested in improving forest management in the United States and Canada and responsible procurement globally.

In 2011, the initiative will award up to $200,000 in new funding for projects that address current topics of importance to the SFI program, such as the role of certified forests in emerging bioenergy markets; avoidance of controversial sources such as illegal logging in the global supply chain; improved wildlife habitat management and conservation of biodiversity; and community-based projects such as those that address management of culturally important lands. Last year, SFI awarded nine grants totaling $307,500, including some multiyear projects that brought the total commitment to $675,000 over three years.

This year’s funding program also features a new category to support smaller projects such as forestry education programs for children and green building projects for low-income residents. This funding category will provide five to seven grants of up to $5,000 each.

Proposed projects must be collaborative (involve more than one project partner) and include an SFI Program Participant, SFI Implementation Committee, or other SFI-affiliated organization as a partner. The lead organization for each project must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) (or Canadian equivalent) organization. Colleges and universities are eligible to apply as lead organizations.

The 2011 RFP and the latest information about the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program are available at the SFI Web site.

http://www.sfiprogram.org/conservation-grant/about-grant.php