LandKeepers News Archive
Mini Grant Program from WMAN and IEN
October 03 2008 | Media Releases
Western Mining Action Network and Indigenous Environmental Network
Indigenous Communities Mini-Grant Program
The goal of the mini-grants program is to support and enhance the capacity building efforts of mining-impacted Indigenous communities in the U.S. and Canada to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect human, cultural, and the ecological health within their traditional territories.
The applicant must be an Indigenous led and operated organization or a Tribal program with limited funds and has demonstrated the capacity to successfully carry out the project. Individual grants will not exceed $4,000 U.S. and cannot be used for general programmatic or operating expenses.
Applications must be submitted by October 1, 2008 or February 1, 2009. Applicants will be notified of the funding decision by the 20th of October and February. There will be an “emergency” fund for extremely time-sensitive projects that fall between grant cycles (i.e., needs that could not have been anticipated at the time of the last cycle and cannot wait to be addressed until the next cycle). These grants will be very limited and awarded on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Mini-Grant Review Committee.
WMAN/IEN Indigenous Communities Mini-grants program criteria:
1) Applications will be taken at fixed times during the year (October 1 and February 1)
2) Indigenous-led, indigenous community-based organizations, and Tribes or Tribal programs in the U.S. and Canada with any budget level may apply. However, if there are more applicants than funds available, priority will be given to indigenous organizations with an organizational or mining-specific project budget under $75,000 U.S.; priority will also be given to Indigenous community-based grassroots groups.
3) Requests must be project-specific for an immediate need such as legal assistance, organizing and outreach, development of campaign materials, media development, reports, travel, mailings, etc. to be fulfilled within the next four months on a specific mining campaign. Funds cannot be used for an organization’s general operating funds, staff salaries, rent or telephone bills.
4) Applicants who have received funds twice during the previous two grant cycles will be given lower priority than new organizations and programs. This will not apply to “emergency” grants.
5) Each grant issued will not exceed $4,000.
6) Funding recipients must submit a brief report detailing how funds were spent before the next grant cycle begins (4 months from the grant cycle deadline). Reporting on use of grant funds is extremely important. Failure to submit a report in a timely fashion or to make arrangements for a report extension will significantly lower chances for said organization to receive grants from the Indigenous Environmental Network/Western Mining Action Network Indigenous Mining Grant funds in the future.
If an organization anticipates a project will not be completed within the 4 month time period, please note that in the application or as soon after as possible. Please also notify us as soon as possible as to when the report will be completed and submitted.
Any questions? We are happy to help. Please contact either Sarah Keeney, WMAN Network Coordinator at (503) 327-8625 ~ or Simone Senogles, Indigenous Environmental Network, (218) 751-4967 ~ .
For the full application, please go to our Resources section.
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