Amazon Bioeconomy Small Grant Evaluation Facility

 

The Amazon Bioeconomy Small Grant Evaluation Facility, ABSGEF,  helped accelerate forest-positive bioeconomies across the Amazon. The program started in 2023 and was terminated in 2024, after deploying nearly $1 million to a portfolio of 10 grantees. It improved capillarity between Amazonian bioeconomy stakeholders and circles of philanthropy outside the region. The project was guided by a Program Advisory Council of regionally relevant organizations. NGOs, cooperatives and startup companies were eligible to apply. No money exchanged hands directly through the program and the facility did not fundraise money. Instead, it facilitated direct connections between financiers and potential grantees, with regranting partners when needed.

Proposal submissions were invited in late 2023 and budget requests were permitted to go up to $100,000 USD, with opportunities for more. The application form was short, yet sufficient information was gathered for prospective donors to determine if they want to request additional details.

The Program

A call for grant proposals was announced through the AIC website, email, social media and a nominator network of Amazonian entrepreneurship ecosystem partners.

Participating donors commited to reviewing the top 3 funding recommendations from the facility per program cycle. If donors were interested, they had an option to either provide funding directly or to contact grantees and ask for more information. To facilitate transactions, regranters were enrolled as appropriate.

The grant recommendations selected were approved by a Program Advisory Council (PAC), with a ratio of two grants reserved for proposals coming through the PAC nominator network and one reserved for proposals coming from the general public.

Profiles of startups, cooperatives, and NGOs submitting into the system were vetted and will made visible online as a public directory of Amazonian bioeconomy stakeholders that may be of interest to future donors, investors, corporate buyers and other allies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Program Advisory Council?

The PAC was a group of organizations dedicated to advancing the bioeconomy of the Amazon region. As an advisory body of the Amazon Investor Coalition, their responsibilities included:

  1. Crafting the selection criteria of the program.
  2. Nominating up to two grantees per grant cycle.
  3. Reviewing and scoring grant proposals (optional).
  4. Sharing impact metrics.
  5. Shaping each subsequent program cycle of the grant facility.

 

 

The members of the PAC included:

1t.org / World Economic Forum
Aliados
Amaz
ANDE
Capital for Climate
CERTI
Earth Innovation Institute
Hanei Green
IDESAM
IMPAQTO
Jornada Amazonia
KIVA
Latimpacto
NESsT
Nossa Terra Firme
Partnership Platform for the Amazon
Peabiru Institute
Produzindo Certo
World Transforming Technologies

 

What was the timeline?

Applications opened on September 15, 2023, and stayed open until October 15, 2023. The first newsletter of grantee recommendations were sent to prospective donors in December, 2023. A new call for proposals will follow later in 2025.

Which kinds of donors were involved? 

Over 30 donors agreed to participate in the program, mostly from North America and Europe. They included grantmaking foundations, government agencies, giving circles, and individuals. The grant facility did not fundraise and regrant money. Instead, it sought to improve capillarity between financiers and potential grantees by connecting them directly. Regranters were enrolled as needed.

Partial list of participating donors and regranters: Avina Foundation, BHP Foundation, Brazil Foundation, Help Peru, MSH Partners, Mulago Foundation, One Small Planet, Open Society Foundations, Overbrook Foundation, Pawanka Fund, Rainforest Foundation US, Rainforest Trust, Re:wild, Swift Foundation.

What size were the grant recommendations?

Up to $100,000 USD, with an option to indicate that the request is part of a larger fundraising goal.

What were the grant selection criteria?

Impact Assessments:

  • Forest and Biodiversity Protection: Did the project effectively prevent deforestation and/or protect biodiversity?  Did it focus on ecologically sensitive areas at risk of deforestation? Did it foster the creation of nature reserves, legal recognition of indigenous territories, or land tenure for forest guardians?
  • Rule of Law/Good Governance: Did the project improve legal compliance? Did it improve transparency, law enforcement, investigative reporting, or awareness of corruption? Did it help journalists, government employees or lawmakers to make informed decisions? 
  • Market Infrastructure and Access: Did the project help to improve bioeconomy or carbon markets? Did it help to connect buyers and sellers?  Did it improve access to data on markets or source communities? Did it reduce transaction costs?  
  • Financial Viability: Did the project have a viable path to financial sustainability? Did it mature enough to succeed? Did it make an efficient use of funds?
  • Ecosystem Restoration: Did the project restore degraded land and/or increase biodiversity? Did it remediate soils or remove carbon from the atmosphere through plant growth? 
  • Community Wellness: Did the project have a positive impact on the health, educational, or economic needs of marginalized communities? 
  • Technology & Innovation: Did the project demonstrate a possible new way of solving problems through new technologies or some other form of innovation? 

Demographic Assessments:

  • Team and Experience: Was the team likely to succeed at executing the project? Did they have relevant experience and high integrity?
  • Gender: Were women well represented in the project leadership? Did the program support women in particular?
  • Traditional Amazonians: Were traditional Amazonians represented in the project leadership? Did the program support traditional Amazonian populations?

What language did the program operate in?

For the first iteration, the ABSGEF program operated only in English because many of the donors involved did not have Portuguese or Spanish speaking capabilities.

What kinds of support for bioeconomy entrepreneurship were suggested?  

A few of the ideas proposed to before the launch of the program included: 1) Helping to professionalize leadership teams with training and entrepreneurial mentors/advisors, 2) Crafting of impact messaging, niche, and metrics, 3) Guiding market development strategy and innovation, 3) Aiding product design and market fit, 4) Helping financial records management, 5) Assessing business models and viability, 6) Accessing opportunities for scale, 7) Enhancing creditworthiness, 8) Planning for investor exits, and more.

Why was this program valuable for new prospective Amazon forest-friendly donors and the AIC?

Some institutional partners of the AIC have strict non-solicitation policies that prohibited fundraising from their members, a common practice among philanthropic donor affinity groups that want their proceedings to be relational, not transactional. The ABSGEF program created an opportunity for donors to opt-in to fundraising solicitations through a structured program that permited donors to pick and choose from potential partners anonymously, or otherwise. The program also enrolled locals in processes that endorsed new projects and fostered collaboration among leading Amazonian bioeconomy entrepreneurs and allies.

How can I learn more?

Funders and potential grantees who are interested in learning more about the program, and possibly participating in the next iteration of it, should write to secretary@amazoninvestor.org

Which regranters can donors possibly work with?

A wiki of Amazon-focused regranters is offered here.

How did you measure impact?

Each applicant was required to indicate how impact would be measured. The selection criteria of the program helped guide grantees and their plans for impact measurement.

What about issues beyond bioeconomies?

Sustainable bioeconomic development was the focus of the program. Issues that are peripheral to economic activity, such as health and education, were considered but their relation to bioeconomic performance needed to be argued convincingly in the proposal.

What were the relevant geographies?

The program prioritized support of activities in the Amazon biome and basin. Candidates from all countries in the region were eligible including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

How can new donors participate?

Donors who are interested in possibly participating in the next iteration of the program, should send an email to secretary@amazoninvestor.org and introduce yourself.

Who was on the Program Advisory Council and nominator network?

Select staff from the organizations represented in the Program Advisory Council, informed the program selection criteria, reviewed the proposals submitted, and nominated projects for funding.

What about investments?

Some of the qualifying proposals came from for-profit companies, and donors sought to provide support in the form of investments from Donor Advised Funds. Help was available. Realize Impact had agreed to serve as a conduit for DAF investments by providing an investment committee that could conduct due diligence and mitigate risks. More details about Realize Impact are available here.

How could candidates apply?

Applicants were able to apply here. The current call for proposals has closed.

Who were the finalists?

We deployed grants to the following 10 organizations:

ACOSPER
Agrosolidaria Florencia
AMWAE – Waorani Womens Association of the Ecuadorian Amazon
ASPROC
COOPAVAM
Imaflora
Instituto Socioambiental
MazoMana
Metareilá Association of the Surui People
Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute

Who were the applicants of the 2023 Program?

There were over 150 applicants. Review the list of those who agreed to have their names listed here.