CASA is part of an alliance of institutions throughout the world, with the common objective of supporting grass roots groups to promote socio-environmental sustainability, and strengthening local knowledge.

Greengrants Fund Alliance

Small donations, great Impact

The Greengrants Fund Alliance is a partnership between nonprofit, nongovernment organizations which raise funds to make direct donations to grass roots groups. Though small, these donations create enormous capacities in the groups that receive them, enabling people to build more sustainable communities in economic and environmental terms, preserve biodiversity, and have a say in their own future.

Greengrants Fund is made up in the following manner:

• CASA - Donations in South America

          • 
          The Samdhana Institute – Donations in Southeast Asia   
          Donations - www.samdhana.org

          Samdhana Institute supports individuals and groups that work for

          equal access and control over natural resources. Founded in       

          2001, the institute pulled together people that brought their      

          knowledge, abilities, experiences, networks, colleagues and friends,

          forming a large virtual community committed to the organization   

          vision. The institute added the allowance of donations to their

          programs in 2005 and is currently supplying small strategic

          donations in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia

          and the Philippines.

          Contact: Nonette Royo, Coordinator

          Bogor, Indonesia /  +62-251-336-973 /
          nonette@samdhana.org

• Solidarity Action Fund – Donations in the Northeast of México

Established in 2007, the Fund seeks to strengthen the socio-environmental movement that promotes sustainable development in the communities of the region. It was developed based on the experiences of the advisors of Global Greengrants Fund in Mexico, going from one single donation of US$ 500 in 2000 to about thirty (US$ 3,500-5,000) in 2006.

Contato: Artemisa Castro, Coordinator
La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
 +52-612-130-3172  / sinades@balandra.uabcs.mx
sinades@prodigy.net.mx

• 
Global Greengrants Fund – Donations in over 100 countries in África, Euroasia and the Américas, in partnership with other funds - www.greengrants.org

The Global Greengrants Fund supports grassroots groups that work for environmental justice and sustainability  around the world. The Fund facilitates the coordination of Greengrants Alliance in their formative stages through a basic permanent support to small donations, assistance for institutional development, communications infrastructure, and links with the networks of environmental justice around the world.

Contact: Chet Tchozewski, Executive Director
Boulder, Colorado, US
+1-303-939-9866 / chet@greengrants.org

The Evolution of a Partnership

Since 1993, the advisors that work with Global Greengrants Fund provided more than 3,000 donations to socio-environmental grass roots groups in 120 countries, in places where generally speaking there are no other sources of support. Many people have seen through their own experience the difference that these strategic donations can make, and are convinced of the necessity to create local funds based on this model with the advisors’orientation.

 

Greengrants Alliance came about in 2005 when two groups of advisors, in Brazil and Southeast Asia, created independent nonprofit, nongovernment organizations. These organizations work together with Global Greengrants Fund to increase the financing and donations available for grass roots groups. In 2007, a third group of advisors in Mexico launched an autonomous organization. The advisors of these three organizations belonging to Greengrants Alliance facilitated more than 200 donations between 2005 and 2006.

Greengrants Alliance works together to raise funds locally, nationally, and internationally, and to train grass roots groups for social and environmental action. For the donators, the Alliance is a channel for accountability and to get fast answers when it comes to supporting the actions of the rank-and-file groups and develop local philanthropy.

Global issues require local solutions

Greengrants Fund Alliance was founded on the basis of a simple idea: the people whose health, culture and livelihood are most affected by environmental and social problems are the very ones who can work more effectively to solve these issues.

To resolve global problems, we need to build the type of support which grass roots groups really need: local, accessible and rapid response.

Trust in local knowledge

Providing donations to grass roots groups presents challenges, among them, identifying groups in remote areas, acting with due zeal, conducting fund transfers, and monitoring the progress.

Each of Greengrants Alliance Funds overcomes these obstacles working with dedicated local advisors. These advisors – scientists, teachers, economists and activist leaders – have a deep understanding of the problems and local projects that are more urgent and promising.

With this approach, we pooled together years of social and environmental experience in order to make well-informed financing decisions.

Since these voluntary advisors know and work directly with the grass roots groups that they recommend, our donation costs are comparatively low and, in consequence, more resources find their way directly to these rank-and-file groups. The knowledge, vision and dedication of our advisors are key aspects of the efficiency of the process.

Through Greengrants Alliance, you can contribute directly to the base actions.

 

For more information on CASA’s global partners, contact: A. Scott DuPree, Greengrants Fund Alliance Coordinator, at +1-303-939-9866.

 

Global Greengrants Funds is part of Exemptions under article 50(c)(3) and donations made to this organization are tax deductible in the US. Greengrants can link the US contributions to any other organization that is part of the Alliance.