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SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
Environmental + Social + Economic + Climate Change + Youth
SELECTION PROCESS
Evaluation of Eligible Proposals
The project selection process contains two stages:
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Presentation and review of the Letter of Intent, and
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Invitation of full proposals.
Final projects will be selected via a competitive process organized by MCF staff and an Evaluation Committee.
The Evaluation Committee will be made up of five (5) people—2 representatives of the MCF, 1 local leader, 1 representative of the academic sector and 1 expert in subjects related to community development—and will be responsible for:
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determining the general eligibility of proposals;
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evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the project, the budget and the proposing entity; and
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presenting the results of their evaluation to the MCF Board of Directors.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
*Download complete guidelines below.
TYPE OF FINANCING
The MCF offers grants to local projects that meet the required profile.
AMOUNTS AND FREQUENCY
The maximum grant for each project will be defined each year according to the available budget. The amounts assigned to projects will be in US dollars. If the donee prefers to execute the project in colones, the exchange rate on the date of disbursal of funds will be used. No project may receive more than three (3) grants in a five-year period or may receive more than one grant at a time.
PERMITTED USES
MCF resources may be destined for the acquisition of equipment, machinery, training sessions, consulting, materials, supplies, activities and remuneration of human resources as long as they do not represent the principal goal of the project.
COUNTERPARTS
The applicants must supply an equivalent amount or more to the contribution of the MCF, whether in cash or in goods or services valued at market prices. The maximum amount to be supplied by MCF will be defined each year. (Example: ‘Organization A’ has a project that costs $5,000 and the maximum available from MCF is $2,000. Therefore, MCF would only contribute $2,000 and the applying organization would contribute $3,000 resources (in cash or in kind) or from other sources).
GEOGRAPHIC AREA
Projects financed by MCF through this fund must be located in the communities of Cañitas, Cebadilla, Cerro Plano, Guacimal, La Cruz, La Lindora, La Guaria, Las Nubes, Los Llanos, Los Olivos, Los Tornos, Cabeceras, Monteverde, San Luis, Santa Elena and San Gerardo. Priority will be given to projects located communities within the Municipal District of Monteverde.
DISBURSEMENTS
DURATION OF PROJECTS
The MCF will finance projects for a maximum period of 18 months which may be extended for justified reasons.
Funds will be disbursed in installments according to what has been negotiated previously between MCF and the donee. The donee must have presented a progress report and a financial report in order to receive disbursements of remaining funds. Once the progress reports have been presented, the Follow-Up Committee will analyze the achievement and scope of the objectives.
THEMES AND GOALS
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
SMART ECONOMY
CLIMATE CHANGE
YOUTH
GRANT RESTRICTIONS
MCF will NOT award SGP grants to:
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proposals presented or directed by governmental entities;
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proposals presented by individuals or by for-profit companies;
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proposals presented by groups that do not contribute financial or in-kind resources to the proposed activities;
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the proposals related to political parties or partisan movements;
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purely religious or sectarian activities;
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pure research;
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social assistance projects of any kind;
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projects that are the direct responsibility of the local or national government;
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requests for donations in excess of the maximum amount defined for this fund; or
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projects whose objectives do not work toward a shared self-help capacity.