Executive Summary
The Climates’ Micro Grants Programme seeks to empower local communities to combat climate change by filling small-scale funding gaps to support the mission of community groups across the Pacific Islands.
The Programme seeks to bypass the bureaucracy and barriers to existing aid funding by distributing small disbursements (micro-grants) that can be quickly granted to community-level projects. The grants can provide support for projects or operations that face barriers to attracting large-scale funding and support. Funding terms are flexible, and are accessible to community groups without onerous application or reporting requirements.
The Climates Micro Grants Programme was launched in response to several requests for support from Climates’ Pacific Partners in need of small donations to assist with projects related to climate resilience. After extensive consultation with local organisations and community groups, Climates identified a gap in the market for providing small, unrestricted grant funding that could be provided directly to local community groups.
Climates launched a crowdfunding campaign in early 2021 and raised $9,500 to launch a pilot round for the Micro Grants Programme. Grants of up to $1,000 were open for individuals, registered charities and small community organisations for community-based projects aiming to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. The pilot round was successful, with Climates receiving over 50 applications. In consultation with the Evaluation Advisory Panel comprising two individuals from Pacific Island communities, two Climates volunteers and an Independent Chair, Climates awarded nine grants of $1,000 each.