Belize Marine Fund

Enhancing marine conservation in Belize with the participation of local stakeholders, for wider regional benefit The BMF promotes the sustainable use and effective management of priority marine ecosystems in Belize—particularly those natural assets that make up (and interfaces with) the Belize Barrier Reef Complex. It supports civil society conservation organizations in activities geared at enhancing resource management, acquiring additional financing for resource management, and strengthening legislative reforms, through strategic interventions and actions. While the $10M gift is contingent on the MAR Fundraising an additional $15M, Oak will make $500K available for marine conservation annually for five years as the MAR Fund raises the matching funds. Central to the BMFs’ programmatic efforts is its Small Grants and Targeted Grants Programmes. These grant programmes provide the channels through which the Fund dispenses the support needed by its local partners to address some of Belize, and the region’s, most pressing environmental challenges. The Small Grants Programme maintains an annual request for proposals (RfP), that is launched on the MAR Fund website. The RfP is shared via electronic mail and print media (nationally), with specific information, which includes the threshold for support and the deadline for the submission of grant applications. The Targeted Grants Programme has no structured RfP. Instead, it allows organizations, based on their areas of expertise and the particular needs of the BMF, to submit concept notes for potential projects/initiatives. The submitted projects/initiatives are considered on a rolling basis. There is also provision for the BMF to determine the landscape for initiatives of interest, that are strategic in thinking, for achieving more national broad-based environmental actions that would require larger investments than small grants.