HOW WE WORK
The Casa Socio-Environmental Fund receives projects through calls for proposals and in some specific cases through outreach. The project is then analyzed by our technical staff and the network of partners. Approved by our Governing Board, funds are directly transferred to the institution that will carry out the project. We closely follow the process through reports and our large network of partners to make sure the initiative is successful.
Funding efficiency is very high as we work with a reduced, low cost, and decentralized structure. Trusting relations with our partners – experienced local leaders – avoid travel costs that otherwise would be needed to check the grantee’s integrity, thus ensuring that a maximum amount of funds raised actually reach supported groups. Hence, we minimize our operating costs, and our management and cost-benefit are highly efficient.
Priority agenda
Boards and teams at Casa Fund meet every year and maintain ongoing discussions to analyze the socio-environmental challenges in the South American scenario, defining work priorities and strategies. This is the differential of our institution: the strategic way of implementing the work and the development of capacities of organized civil society.
Most small and medium sized socio-environmental organizations in South American countries work only with volunteers and little or no funding. Most of these groups are so isolated that they do not even know they could have access to funds that would help them in moving forward.
This is where the Casa Fund network can make a real difference. The network can locate, inform, recommend, and support these groups to prepare a project to submit to Casa Fund. There would not be any other way of accessing these groups but for this network of trust, as most of them do not even know about crowdfunding, one of the most popular fundraising mechanisms in our days. Thus, the Casa Fund goes much beyond any other support mechanism.
Principles to select projects
• Support for concrete actions and initiatives to develop capacities in the socio-environmental movement.
• Actions fostering local sustainable development.
• Strengthening the capacities of organizations to take ownership of priority and strategic agendas affecting their lives.
• Expanding and qualifying civil society participation in monitoring and engaging in public policies.
• Priority to the implementation of strategic actions linking local, national and international levels of work – synergetic actions.
• Priority support for innovative projects creating environmental solutions.
• Helping small and medium sized organizations to find funding sources and preparing them for fundraising.
• Addressing emergency issues and needs in this field.
Criteria for support
• Small and medium sized active socio-environmental organizations throughout South America.
• Groups influencing and monitoring the formulation of public policies, social mobilization, and the connection of local, national and international work.
• Key organizations for socio-environmental development.
• Organizations working collectively in networks, forums, consortia, and alliances.
• Groups with the participation of young people to develop new leaderships.
• Socio-environmental groups that take into account gender balance.