FSC is pleased to announce the launch of the FSC Smallholder Fund, part of FSC’s commitment to provide access and support for small and community forests.
The fund will help community forests (community managed forests) and small forests (less than 1,000 hectares in size) with preparing for FSC certification, compliance with FSC’s Principles and Criteria, investment in new machinery, enhancing supply chain management and improving market access for FSC-certified products.
The Smallholder Fund has been resourced using a portion of the FSC Annual Accreditation Fee and will distribute €420,000 worldwide, with approximately $90,000 CDN to be distributed in Canada and the United States.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, applicants must meet criteria for ‘Small and Low Intensity Managed Forests’ or be considered ‘Community Producers’. Also, applicants must be FSC-certified or pursuing FSC-certification.
The full eligibility criteria can be found at: https://ic.fsc.org/check-eligibility-criteria.555.htm
Applications in the Canada and the United States will be judged on additional, regional criteria that examine the project’s ability to create influence, resources, and transferable models that support growth of the smallholder community.
To Apply
Applicants must complete a ‘pre-application’ questionnaire about their business, with information on how they would use the grant. https://ic.fsc.org/application.557.htm
FSC Canada will screen the pre-applications for Canadian applicants and if selected, applicants will be required to fill out a full proposal. Pre-applications are being accepted until June 30th, 2013. Selected applicants will be informed by July 31st, 2013 and full applications will be due August 31st, 2013..
To access the pre-application and for more information, visit: https://ic.fsc.org/smallholder-fund.542.htm
Pre-applications should be submitted to info@ca.fsc.org by June 30th, 2013.
Questions?
Questions can be directed to Monika Patel, Director of Programs, at m.patel@ca.fsc.org.