Small Grants For Environmentally Based Community Development
The National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica Limited (NCTFJ) is a grant-making entity established to fund activities that are related to the conservation and management of protected areas.
Photo credit: Joey Markx and the International Iguana Foundation
Application Ends: May 29, 2023 @ 11:59 PM
Call for Proposals
The National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica (NCTFJ) is a grant-making entity established to fund
activities that are related to the conservation and management of a protected area or areas of
environmental significance. The NCTFJ funds activities that contribute to the long-term sustainability of
Jamaica’s National Protected Areas System.
The NCTFJ launched its inaugural Call for Proposals in 2020 to provide grant funding to support eligible
applicants working in Jamaica to conserve, protect and manage protected areas. The NCTFJ has recently
mobilised additional resources from the Inter-American Foundation and will be expanding its Grant-
making portfolio to scale the impacts of grants in protected areas. The NCTFJ, through its Call for
Proposals, is seeking to fund environmentally based, community development projects that will
strengthen and promote community development in Jamaica.
Thematic focus of this Call for Proposal
Conservation and/or restoration of wetlands
Community-based restoration of wetlands through nursery and out-planting operations; reduction of land-based stressors that have contributed to degradation of wetlands; eradication of invasive species; restoration of wetlands through reforestation, sustainable forest management; and actions that contribute to habitat rehabilitation.
Sustainable farming
Improve community-led farming practices and approaches. This may include reduction/alternatives of the use of chemicals in agriculture; increase efficiency and effectiveness of food production, value chain and reduction of food waste/spoilage; increase diversification and livelihood improvement to support adaptation of local people to adverse effects of climate change while contributing to effective management of a protected area; and expanded restoration of degraded lands.
Institutional strengthening
Activities that enhance participants’ collective capacity to operate, implement and promote environmental conservation activities. These may include but are not limited to the development of core institutional documents, business plans, and trainings.
The NCTFJ will support programmes and projects ranging from JMD 500,000 to JMD 2,000,000. The period for completion of programmes and projects should not exceed 12 months. Co-financing from applicants is required. Each applicant must contribute counterpart funding in cash and/or in-kind equal to 30% of the funds being requested from NCTFJ.
Who can apply?
Must be a local Community-Based Organization (CBO) such as a community association or community body that is consistent with the purposes of the grant.
Must have a designated office or designated address for operations, and a responsible and qualified person within the organization.
Must be established and registered in Jamaica for at least one (1) year prior to the application date for the Call for Proposal.
The project should have at least one person with operational responsibility for the implementation of the project and administration of funds.
The site for the project or programme must be within a community located within a protected area or area of environmental significance.
Must be eligible to open a new bank account or use an existing bank account that is established in the name of the CBO to receive NCTFJ funds, and track revenue and expenses.
*Successful applicants will be required to submit quarterly reports (narrative and financial) and a final report (narrative and financial) at the end of the project.
Processing of Concept Notes
Applicants will be informed on the status of proposals at the end of this process.
1
Receipt
2
Screening
3
Review
4
Approval
1
Receipt
1
Receipt
Applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of proposals.
2
Screening
2
Screening
Screening to determine if the proposal is within the theme of the call and if the application is eligible for funding.
3
Review
3
Review
Review by the Grant Selection Committee to assess suitability and recommend proposals to be funded.
4
Approval
4
Approval
Approval by the NCTFJ Board.
Concept Notes will only be accepted during the period May 1, 2023 – May 29, 2023. Forms must be submitted to the NCTFJ Manager, Suite#5 70 Half Way Tree Road, Kingston 10, no later than 11:59pm (local time) on May 29, 2023, by registered mail, hand delivered or emailed to info@conservejamaica.org and copied to k.curtis@conservejamaica.org.
E-applications are strongly encouraged. Concept Notes that exceed the page and annex limit will be rejected.
E-applications are strongly encouraged due to the stay at home orders during the pandemic. Incomplete application forms or Concept Notes that exceed the page limit will not be considered.
Concept Notes received outside of this designated period or outside of the Thematic Focus above will not be considered.
Enquires may be directed to:
National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica Suite #5, 70 Half Way Tree Road Kingston 10
Tel: 876-620-5374
Email: info@conservejamaica.org or
k.curtis@conservejamaica.org
Interested organizations can benefit from our proposal writing & project development workshops. Click here to register
FAQs
“No, please see the list of protected areas in our resources.”
No, please see the list of protected areas in our resources.
Response: This is asking for the information/current data you have on the indicator that you have identified to be used to judge your results.
Eg. An indicator for a mangrove restoration project could be Area of Mangrove restored/protected through the project and the current value of this indicator – 0.25 hectares of mangroves at the project site based on an assessment carried out in 2013 (this is the information of the current status/state of the indicator. The date of this information should be included- based on reports, etc ).
In some cases, the current value of indicators may not exist and the project presented may seek to collect a baseline of the indicator.
Yes, you could copy and paste the same goal in the framework.
Each row should be filled out and not just the row for expected results. Most likely there will be some repetition.
You can include some information in the template and refer to the greater details as an annex. You can have up to 10 additional pages for annex.
Resources
Grant-Making Manual
Consists of the grant making guidelines and procedures
to assist eligible organisations in identifying and formulating good quality programmes and
projects for implementation.
Concept Note Template
The Concept Note is part of a 2-step application process. If the Concept Note is approved, the applicant will be requested to submit a full proposal.
Evaluation Scoring Sheet
The evaluation scoring sheet for Concept Notes (CN) should be completed for all CN received. All CN received will be given a control number by the NCTFJ Manager.
