(CLOSED) The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation Grant

Overview: The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation seeks to protect natural resources, improve the production and distribution of food, and promote public health in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The foundation helps build the capacity of organizations and coalitions with grants that support research or improve the learning and generation of local solutions to complex problems.

The foundation supports projects that demonstrate local leadership and promote professional development in the conservation, agricultural, and health sciences; develop the capacity of local organizations; and address a particular problem or question in the field. It prefers to support projects that address under-funded issues and geographic areas. The foundation supports special projects and programs of non-governmental organizations in three areas: conservation, food, and health.

Types of Support

The foundation does not provide general operating support. It favors research, training, and technical assistance projects that:

• employ and/or train personnel from developing countries
• are led by organizations with strong records of accomplishments in a particular field and have potential for replication
• focus on regional or cross-boundary issues and opportunities
• feature collaborative partnerships embedded in strong networks
• strengthen local leadership and scientific capacity
• influence public discourse and policy
• focus on prevention rather than remediation
• attract additional support and hold promise for continuation or impact beyond the period of foundation support

Exclusions

The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation does not provide support for:

• buildings, vehicles, land purchases or capital improvements
• direct medical care or treatment at hospitals or clinics
• medical equipment for hospitals or clinics
• wells, pumps or water systems
• emergency relief or humanitarian aid projects
• microenterprise, tourism, job training or livelihood projects
• feeding or food distribution programs
• projects to improve farming for export crops
• basic farming, beekeeping, chicken, or animal husbandry training projects
• films, videos, books or websites
• scholarships, fellowships, tuition or travel grants
• conferences
• general operating support
• individuals, businesses, churches, government, orphanages and humanitarian aid agencies

Policies

• Most grants are made on a one-time basis.
• There is no policy concerning a minimum or maximum grant size. The average grant is approximately $20,000. Grants exceeding $30,000 are rarely awarded.
• The foundation will not consider more than one proposal from an organization in any calendar year and will not fund an organization more than once in a funding year.
• The foundation will not fund overhead or indirect costs of projects.
• The foundation is very willing to cooperate with other funding sources with compatible interests to support a joint project or to provide matching funds. From time to time the foundation may also set matching requirements for grantees, particularly in cases where the foundation cannot provide full funding for the project.
• The political beliefs of the applicants or the political relations of any state with the United States shall not be taken into account in making or not making any grant, except that the foundation will comply with any requirements imposed by law.
• Grantees are expected to meet the foundation’s reporting requirements within one year of the previous proposal application. Returning applicants should submit an interim report with all copies of the proposal for renewal. A report outline will be sent with the initial grant letter. Reporting requirements are designed to maintain a reasonable balance between obtaining sufficient information for the foundation to assess expenditures, accomplishments and difficulties and avoiding burdensome work for grantees.