Call for Applications: 2026 Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund (Grants of $10,000–$40,000 USD awarded)

Ednah Carrick 4 weeks ago

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Closing Date: 6 February 2026

Call for Applications: 2026 Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund (Grants of $10,000–$40,000 USD awarded)

Global Forest Watch (GFW) is looking for projects that translate data into action, using Global Forest Watch tools to monitor forests, prevent deforestation, and drive real-world impact. Grants of $10,000–$40,000 USD will support 12-month projects that harness GFW to strengthen forest monitoring efforts on the ground.

This year’s grantees will also help test Global Nature Watch, GFW new experimental AI-powered land monitoring system.

Small Grants Fund

The Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund seeks to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to reduce illegal or unplanned deforestation and sustainably manage forests by incorporating GFW into forest monitoring strategies. Successful projects translate data into action, applying GFW to overcome challenges in protecting the world’s forests.

The GFW Small Grants Fund seeks to build the capacity of civil society organizations to effectively use GFW and Global Nature Watch tools and data to reduce illegal or unplanned deforestation and sustainably manage forests.

Eligibility

Organizational Eligibility

In order to meet WRI’s requirements for subgrant eligibility, organizations must:

Be legally constituted as non-profit and non-governmental;
Have a total annual budget greater than $50,000 USD;
Possess a computerized financial system for tracking and recording expenses (preferably a professional accounting software);
Receive a rating of medium to low risk on WRI’s organizational assessment (containing questions regarding organization governance, financial and compliance structure), which will be carried out once finalists are provisionally selected.
Be able to provide your organization’s most recent annual audit, or ALL three of the following documents:
- Balance sheet for the previous two years;
- an Income Statement for the previous two years;
- a Cash Flow Statement for the previous two years
At least one project point person with professional working proficiency in English (oral and written), in order to be able to submit the organizational assessment and financial reporting in English.

Applications will be accepted in English, French and Spanish, but WRI’s financial reporting systems and Organizational Assessment processes operate exclusively in English. Please ensure that you meet the last requirement above for this reason

Project Eligibility

The Small Grants Fund seeks applications for projects that clearly demonstrate how they will use the GFW/Global Nature Watch tools and data as a key component of their strategy to reduce deforestation and sustainably manage forests.

Applications should clearly articulate who the project aims to influence and how project activities will lead to improved forest outcomes. Projects may employ one or more of the following approaches:

Stakeholder engagement and capacity building
Advocacy
Forest monitoring and enforcement
Storytelling/journalism
Informing decisions related to land use management or policy

Successful projects will be those that have a demonstrated commitment to forest monitoring and sustainable forest management and can articulate how the tools and data on GFW/Global Nature Watch will provide a value add to their existing work. They will also be able to convey which stakeholders are critical for their projects’ success and either describe the nature of existing relationships with those stakeholders, or outline a clear plan for and assess the feasibility of establishing any new relationships with project stakeholders. It will also be important to demonstrate how impact will be measured, evaluated and communicated on a larger scale

Geographic Eligibility:

For the 2026 Small Grants Fund cycle, GFW is looking for projects that will be carried out in one or more of the countries below.

Latin America		Africa	Asia
Bolivia	Mexico	Cameroon	Cambodia
Brazil	Nicaragua	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Indonesia
Colombia	Panama	Gabon	Laos

Costa Rica	Paraguay	Ghana	Malaysia
Ecuador	Peru	Republic of the Congo	Myanmar
Guatemala	Suriname		Philippines
Honduras			Vietnam

Your organization may be registered in a country outside of those on this list if your project focuses on geographic areas within one or more of these countries. The application will also ask you to indicate the specific area(s) within these countries where you will be implementing your project. This help center article provides step-by-step instructions on how to save an area of interest.