Deadline: 31-Jan-23

The Van Tienhoven Foundation for International Nature Protection has announced the Small Grant Program for the protection of threatened species and key ecosystems across the globe.

The Foundation is concerned about life on earth, the well-being and maintenance of the variety of living organisms and their living environment. Human beings play a crucial role as actor and factor in biodiversity. They see people as instrumental in mitigating the pressures of global change on the living environment and biodiversity.

They make small grants available to finance direct actions on species, ecosystem, and community managed nature protection that lead to change in policy and practice.

They promote knowledge into the causes of threats and pressures on nature, in order to generate concrete actions that halt, counteract or mitigate these causes;

They strive to influence and collaborate with governmental, non-governmental organisations, communities, individuals, and other relevant stakeholders for the sake of the conservation of nature.

Funding Information

• Projects requesting a maximum budget of €10,000 euro from the Van Tienhoven Foundation and a total project budget of no more than €50,000 euro. Applicants have to indicate co-funding in the budget if applicable. If projects are to be co-sponsored by the Van Tienhoven Foundation, a financing plan has to be added which includes incontestable evidence of subsidies already applied for and awarded by other organisations.
• Of projects that have not started yet at the time of submission and with a project time span of two years maximum.

Eligibility Criteria

• They use the following eligibility criteria and only accept applications:
  • From not-for-profit organisations, that are registered as legal bodies (NGOs and scientific institutions). They don’t accept applications from government bodies, private companies or individuals.
  • Not-for-profit organisations must have a bank account in their organisations name, and able to receive international funds.
  • Only one application per organisation will be taken into consideration for each call for proposals. If an organisation has been given a grant before, a final report must have been submitted for any project previously supported by the Van Tienhoven Foundation. An organisation can be supported for a maximum of three times within eight years.
  • From organisations with a track record in species protection, ecosystem protection and/or community managed nature protection, that can be demonstrated by background documentation (e.g. websites, social media, annual and/or final project delivery reports).
  • Implemented in developing countries, predominantly following the most recent DAC list of ODA Recipients.
  • With costs based on local rates. Costs of salaries and consultancy fees based on rates outside the countries of implementation are not covered. Travel costs (from) outside the countries of implementation are not covered. The purchase of vehicles (e.g. cars, boats) is not supported. They do not support overhead costs.
  • Where actions are not part of a study leading to any academic title and/or aimed at delivering a book.
  • That are submitted before the designated submission deadline and that contain a completely filled out online application form of the Van Tienhoven Foundation.

Assessment Criteria

• Once the eligibility criteria are met, the Van Tienhoven Foundation uses the following assessment criteria and prioritizes projects that:
  • Focus on threatened species and ecosystems and/or key biodiversity areas.
  • Aim to counter the human-induced causes for these threats, in order to have maximum conservation impact.
  • Are practical, hands-on and directly applicable in order to generate change.
  • Are initiated, owned or widely supported by local stakeholders, in order to ensure sustainability.
  • Are exemplary for a wider problem, serve as a catalyst for raising awareness and engaging other stakeholders.
  • Create leverage and can demonstrate that small grants and individual efforts can make a difference.
  • They  prioritise actions that lead to direct change in policy and practice.

For more information, visit Van Tienhoven Foundation.