General Objective

To support marine conservation and civil society organizations to develop and implement initiatives that address and provide solutions to sustainable resources use and management issues; while working to achieve resilience in the face of ever changing economic, social and resources management-based realities.

Specific Objectives

1. To support resource managers in responding to the most pressing of resource management needs in strengthening resilience in communities and coastal and marine protected areas.
2. To support improved management effectiveness of MPAs across the national seascape through enhanced water quality monitoring at site and systems level, and support for effective monitoring and conservation of mangrove ecosystems, seagrass beds, fish replenishment zones (FRZ) and fish spawning aggregations sites (FSAs).
3. To address the need for sustainable financing in marine resource management by working with key stakeholders to integrate financial planning into areas of conservation planning.
4. To support actions for addressing watershed impacts that threaten the integrity and sustainability of coastal and marine resources.

Applicants are invited to incorporate, if feasible, the design and/or implementation of market initiatives.

The Belize Marine Fund is delighted to extend a special invitation to marine conservation NGOs in Belize to submit proposals, within the scope of the established objectives and funding priorities. A list of examples of potential projects follows:

1. Improved management effectiveness of MPAs across the national seascape (for example, efforts that contribute towards ensuring MPAs meet critical operational, equipment and infrastructure costs; effective management practices of the network of coastal and marine protected areas; investments in initiatives that result in strengthened, engaged and functional MPA stakeholder groups; projects that promote an enabling environment for improved transparency and strengthened surveillance and enforcement; and investments in capacity building for MPA personnel).
2. Improved financial sustainability of the MPA system or co-management organizations (for example, investments in NGO financial sustainability mechanisms based on sound business plans; and investments in the provision of an enabling environment and portfolio of projects for piloting impact investment in Belize). It can include the promotion and strengthening of strategic alliances and community networks.
3. Increased climate change resilience (for example, investments in climate smart approaches to reef and mangrove restoration and resilience; efforts towards coastal communities’ risk reduction and resilience (e.g. strengthening food security, creating financial inclusion, projects to promote subsistence, education); and investment in efforts for increased environmental sustainability and climate smarting of coastal/caye development).
4. Sustainable income diversification opportunities for fishers/fishing communities (for example, strategic investments in income diversification initiatives based on sound investment strategies and successful models; and investment in adding value/follow-on funding for expansion of successful income diversification investments). Incentivize the role of the women in the community through productive activities.
5. Improved stewardship and support for enhanced and effective marketing of Belize’s reef at local and national levels (for example, revised valuation of the ecosystem services provided by Belize’s reef, mangroves and seagrass; support for initiatives/actions that result in improved prioritization of marine resource management on the national agenda; investments in effort to improve local and national awareness and stewardship of Belize’s reef and coastal ecosystems and support for improved engagement of tourism sector / private sector as active stewards of Belize’s reef and coastal ecosystems).
6. Effective implementation of managed access (for example, support for the established package of fish replenishment zones, expansion and operationalization of replenishment zones; continued engagement of fishers towards support of managed access and functional managed access committees; projects that contribute towards multi-year monitoring programmes/research to inform management and adaptive management; and support for fishers in moving towards value-added fishing and product traceability). It includes projects that focus on protection, monitoring and surveillance of FSA.
7. Reduced watershed impact (for example, support for river to reef strategies that address watershed impact, solid waste and sewage management; and support for improved water quality monitoring at the site level and across the MPA system). It can include investments related to regenerative economy (e.g. transforming solid waste into products).

The following are considered eligible applicants for the request for proposals:

• Not-for-profit organizations,
• Community-based organizations, including fisher’s groups, and
• Education/academia, or scientific organizations.

Potential grantee organizations must be:

• Legally recognized or registered in Belize;
• In compliance and good standing with all requirements for operation as a legal local entity;
• Guided by an operational Board of Directors;
• Have a sound financial management system and structure in place (accounting, annual audits, etc.);
• Have a good history as a grantee (i.e. effective grant/project implementation); and
• Have experience in the field of marine resources management.

The Belize Marine Fund (BMF) also seeks eligible organizations that submit projects that meet the following criteria:

• Can demonstrate measurable results on progress of at least one of the stated RfP objectives;
• Coordinate their implementation across multiple stakeholders;
• Strengthen local management capacity of professionals and institutions;
• Contribute to strengthening of local capacities;
• Have transferable or replicable outcomes for other communities/protected areas;
• Work to address (root causes of) some of Belize’s and the region’s most pressing environmental and marine resources management challenges;
• Can be replicated locally, nationally and across broad geographical locations;
• Incorporate plans (considerations) for long-term sustainability of the work;
• Are of a collaborative nature;
• Build on broader national/regional projects and initiatives for Mesoamerican Reef management and conservation;
• Have secured other sources of matching funds from entities not affiliated with the Belize Marine Fund;
• Respond to national, regional or global conservation plans/goals;
• Have activities that are closely aligned with the applicant organization’s mission and/or are otherwise sustainable beyond the project period;
• Build on current work in the area or successful model projects in the region; and
• Promote collective and/or community resilience

.

Project proposals may last up to 18 months if they are aimed at promoting sustainable income-generating activities for local FSA communities and/or resilience initiatives. Projects on other topics will have a duration of 12 months. The maximum grant amount is US$30,000, based on project needs and capacity of the implementing institution.

For this RfP, at least 25% of the total project budget must come from other sources, as a match to the requested funds. The maximum amount allowed for administrative costs cannot exceed 15% of the total amount requested. Administration expenses refer exclusively to the fixed operating costs of the organization.

The deadline for the presentation of proposals is October 25th, 2021. All proposals must be received no later than 11:59 PM, Belize.

Proposals must be submitted through the on-line format on the MAR Fund webpage.

In addition to the proposal, a video of maximum three minutes is requested, in which the objective, the implementers, the activities, the expected results and the proposed impacts of the project are presented in a summarized way.

Attached you will find the proposal format and its annexes in Word/Excel to use as a guide. For organizations or groups that can demonstrate lack of Internet availability, proposals may be submitted to the Belize Marine Fund Project Officer, Angeline Valentine, at avalentine@marfund.org.

Proposals and proposal ideas can be discussed with the BMF Project Officer and/or the MAR Fund Executive Director by email or phone if presented at least three weeks prior to the deadline (by October 4th, 2021). The Project Officer can provide guidance in relation to the pertinence of the project idea, coherence and structure of the proposal and elements included in the document. It is important to emphasize, however, that the approval of proposals is the exclusive responsibility of the Belize Marine Fund Steering Committee

Proposals are to be submitted in English.

Project proposals will be reviewed by the Belize Marine Fund’s Grants and Evaluation Committee, which will make recommendations to the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is responsible for final determination of the proposals.

Applicants will be notified of the selection process results by the end of February 2022 through email.

For further questions on this request for proposals and the grant process, please contact:

Angeline Valentine
Project Officer
Belize Marine Fund
avalentine@marfund.org
Tel: (501) 615-9645

Download the proposal format and annexes

1. Proposal Format – 2021
2. Project Budget – 2021
3. Project Development Table – 2021
4. Example of indicators – 2021

Proposals must be submitted (except in particular cases) through the MAR Fund on-line Small Grants Program system. As a first step to follow, each organization should check if it is already registered in our on-line system in the following list:

If your organization is already registered, you can go directly to the system SGP and add a new project.

In the event that your organization is already registered and you do not know or remember the access credential, please contact Elisa Blanda (eblanda@marfund.org) and José Jaime Ruiz (webmaster@marfund.org) for technical support.

If your organization is not registered please register at the following link (https://sgp.marfund.org/forms/en/), completing the organization form. We recommend registering as soon as possible. Upon registration, you will receive a notification email with your on-line access credentials.