San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 22, 2024 – On International Planet Earth Day, Ford announced the opening of the call for its annual Ford Environmental Grants program, which aims to promote sustainability and accelerate the conservation of natural resources through empowering communities towards a more sustainable future. The call period during which nonprofit organizations can submit their projects to the program will be extended until May 31, 2024.
This year, $46,000 will be distributed among the winning community initiatives that positively impact the environment in Puerto Rico and explicitly contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. During the previous 22 editions of the program, Ford has contributed more than $2 million to hundreds of environmental projects in Central America and the Caribbean.
Proposals will be received in the following four categories: Conservation and Recovery of Biodiversity: projects linked to the protection, recovery and conservation of ecosystems, their flora and fauna and the water resources; Food Security: Ecological agriculture projects and those linked to the sustainable management of ecosystems that are strategic for the availability, access and consumption of healthy foods in vulnerable communities; Waste Management: projects that help reduce, reuse, recycle and recover waste generated in the communities and generate a civic culture of proper waste management; and Renewable Energies: projects that promote the use of energy sources based on renewable natural resources as a way to contribute to the fight against climate change.
Community environmental projects that are submitted for evaluation must already be in the execution stage in Puerto Rico and must have relevant preliminary results that can be included in the proposal.
To apply for the program and learn more about its rules and conditions, interested parties can access the official application at DonativosAmbientalesFord.com. Participants can register for a webinar that will be offered on Friday, May 10, at 11:30am to guide them through the participation process and answer any questions they may have.
The jury that will select the winners based on their contribution to sustainable development, community impact, multisector alliances and multiplier effect is composed by experts in the environmental area, including distinguished professionals who have already participated as judges in previous editions of the program.
“We are very proud that through our annual Ford Environmental Grants program we can continue to promote community initiatives that work to achieve a sustainable future for Puerto Rico and the planet, while promoting socioeconomic progress,” said Vivian T. Dávila, public affairs and communications manager for Ford in Puerto Rico, Central America, and the Caribbean, who invited organizations that are currently carrying out an environmental community project to participate.
The four winning projects of the 2022 edition of Ford Environmental Grants, Coordinadora Paz Para las Mujeres, Sociedad Ambiente Marino, Caras of the Americas (Caras Con Causa) and Cooperativa de Trabajo Cabachuelas directly and indirectly benefited 3,375 people on the Island, according to the impact report carried out by Sinergia507, a consulting firm specialized in sustainability and social responsibility.
Likewise, the funds they received from the program allowed these entities to improve food security in vulnerable communities, strengthen institutionally, create new alliances with the educational, social, academic, and private and public sectors, among others, to support their initiatives and carry out environmental education efforts for the benefit of communities.
Other positive impacts of Ford Environmental Grants on the Island through the winning projects were the empowerment of vulnerable groups for mitigation and resilience to climate change, strengthening of community participation and identity, contribution to local development and income generation through new environmental projects in communities and benefits for urban, semi-rural and rural areas.