Deadline: 13 August 2018

The New England Biolabs Foundation is seeking letter of inquiry (LOI) for its 2018 grant program to support grassroots organizations and other NGOs in selected countries in Central America, Andean South America, and West Africa and also provide grants for community-based conservation and cultural projects in coastal communities on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

The Foundation’s mission is to foster community-based conservation of landscapes and seascapes and the bio-cultural diversity found in these places.

Thematic Areas

The foundation support communities in the stewardship of their landscapes and seascapes and the associated bio-cultural diversity, ecosystem services, and food-ways. The foundation welcome inquiries from community-based nonprofit organizations working toward:

• Conserving biological diversity (terrestrial and marine).
• Sustaining cultural diversity (linguistic diversity, as well as traditional knowledge systems and practices).
• Maintaining ecosystem services (water, soil, and carbon sequestration).
• Supporting food sovereignty and economic vitality of local communities.
• In the marine environment, sustaining healthy reefs and fisheries.

Grant Information

Maximum international grant size is $12,000, with past grants ranging from $3,000 to $9,000. The maximum size for local grants is now $8,000, with past grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• New England Biolabs Foundation grants are limited to organizations that hold charitable status in their country.
• Eligible organizations must operate on a not-for-profit basis and stand by a mission to benefit local communities.
• Geographic Focus
  • • Central America
    • In Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras:
      • Coastal landscapes/seascapes within the Gulf of Honduras and the Bay Islands
    • In Nicaragua:
      • Southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua, including Lake Nicaragua
      • Northern Caribbean coast within Nicaragua’s North Atlantic Autonomous Region
  • Andean South America
    • Sacred Valley of the Incas, extending from Ollantaytambo to Pisac in the Southern Andes of Peru
    • In Bolivia, that portion of the Altiplano extending from Lake Titicaca to Lake Poopó, and beyond to Sucre
    • Andes-Amazon Basin of Ecuador and Peru (with specific landscapes within that region to be identified in 2019)
  • West Africa
    • In Ghana:
      • Weto Landscape/Togo Plateau in the southern part of the Togo-Atakora Mountains in Ghana
      • Black Volta Basin in the Upper West region of Ghana
    • In Cameroon:
      • Highland landscapes of Southwest Cameroon
      • Please note that they are no longer actively funding in Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, or El Salvador. They will occasionally consider, by invitation only, proposals for projects in these countries.
  • U.S. Grants
    • While the foundation’s emphasis is on working internationally, they do fund a limited number of local projects in coastal communities along the North Shore of Massachusetts.

How to Apply

Applicants must apply online via given website.

For more information, please visit New England Biolabs Foundation.