Grant Amount

SGP grants are made directly to community-based organizations (CBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in recognition of the key role they play as a resource and constituency for environment and development concerns. The maximum grant amount per project is US$50,000, but averages around US$25,000. In this way, SGP complements the large and medium-sized GEF project funding by providing a window for the direct participation of NGOs, local communities, and other grassroots organizations.

Eligibility requirements

All project proposals submitted to SGP country teams need to demonstrate:

• How the proposed project proposal meets the GEF SGP criteria by articulating how project objectives and activities would have an impact in the SGP areas of work -GEF focal areas-. For more information on this please visit our areas of work section.
• How they respond or are aligned to the targets and objectives of the SGP Country Programme Strategy(CPS) of their country. Please visit your coutry page to download a copy of the CPS or contact the NC.
• Be proposed by national CBOs and NGOs.

How to apply

Below is a graph that explains the usual steps to apply to SGP:

The project proponent - a national CBO or NGO- contacts the SGP National Coordinator to receive project application guidelines and forms.

With assistance from the National Coordinator the proponent prepares a brief project concept paper and submits thisto the coordinator.

The national coordinator reviews and pre-screens the concept paper according to see if it meets the GEF SGP criteria and other criteria adopted by the NSC for activities in that country and explain in the Country Programme Strategy (CPS).

If the project isjudged eligible,the project proponent prepares a project proposal; in some cases,this step may be supported by a planning grant.

Completed project proposals are submitted by the National Coordinator to the NSC.

The NSC reviews the proposal and either accepts it, rejects it, or returns it to the proposer with a request that further work be done on formulating and refining the project data.

Approved proposals enter the national SGP work programme. SGP grants are usually paid in three installments: an up-front payment to initiate the project; a mid-term payment upon receipt of a satisfactory progress report; and a final payment on receipt of a satisfac­tory project completion and final report.

***SGP does not charge a fee at any stage of the selection process. Please contact National Coordinators directly to find out how to apply.