GEF Small Grants Program

Since 1992, the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program (GEF SGP) has embodied the very essence of sustainable development by "thinking globally and acting locally.” In the GEF partnership, SGP is serving a unique role supporting objectives of multilateral environmental agreements, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, and in achieving the GEF’s mission and mandate to deliver global environmental benefits (GEBs). 

The overriding objective of SGP 2.0 under the eighth replenishment cycle (GEF-8) is to “Catalyze and mobilize civil society actors and local actions needed to address major drivers of environmental degradation and help deliver multiple benefits across the GEF’s mandated thematic dimensions, while promoting sustainable development and improved livelihoods."

To achieve this, GEF SGP provides financial and technical support to local civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), with a special focus on Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, to develop and implement innovative local actions that address global environmental issues, while also improving livelihoods and reducing poverty.

The SGP core global program is currently implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and Conservation International (CI).

Two innovative SGP CSO Initiatives which offer complementary opportunities for financing to civil society, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, youth and women are also under implementation.

The SGP CSO Challenge Program, led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was officially launched in June 2026 at the Eighth GEF Assembly. This $10 million program supports competitive opportunities for local CSOs to access financial and technical resources to scale up innovative environmental solutions, offering grants of up to $300,000. Specific details on the application process can be found below.

The World Bank-led SGP Microfinance Initiative is a $10 million project, leveraged with $1.4 billion in co-financing, that integrates into existing World Bank national programs in seven countries - Brazil, Colombia, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Türkiye. For more information visit: https://connect4impact.worldbank.org/GlobalMicrofinanceInitiative.

CSOs around the globe are invited to apply for the GEF SGP CSO Challenge Program - a new initiative designed to support and scale high-impact environmental solutions.

The program offers grants of up to $300,000 to help organizations expand or replicate successful initiatives that deliver measurable global environmental benefits while strengthening local communities. Beyond funding, selected organizations will receive tailored technical support, capacity-building opportunities, and knowledge sharing opportunities that can help sustain and expand their work.

Projects must align with one of five priority areas:

Community-based management of threatened ecosystems and species

• Sustainable agriculture or fisheries and food security
• Low-carbon energy access
• Chemicals and waste management
• Sustainable urban solutions.

The program is global, inclusive, and designed to reduce barriers to participation, with multilingual resources and support available throughout the application process. The current call for proposals opened on August 1 and focuses on CSOs in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

If your organization is ready to scale its impact, we encourage you to apply. Applications are due September 15, 2026.

GEF SGP 2.0 programming demonstrates several significant achievements:

• Extended country choice and introduced new approaches: Improving country-driven programming by providing more choice for countries based on national needs and priorities of SGP implementing agencies beyond UNDP, with the introduction of FAO and CI as two new SGP agencies and bringing additional institutional, scope, and approaches to the GEF SGP program.
• Expanded country coverage: Increasing SGP country participation from 124 countries in GEF-7 to 135 in GEF-8, representing 135 out of 144 eligible countries and an increase of 11 countries, including Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Montenegro, Pakistan, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.
• Increased SGP core resources and improved equitable access to SGP core resources: Securing $135M for the SGP core program compared to $128M in GEF-7, ensuring equal allocation of nearly $1 million in SGP core financing for 135 countries while supporting program viability and continuity across countries regardless of size or previous participation levels.
• Augmented STAR resource allocation: Securing increased STAR allocation to SGP by more than 30% since GEF-7, from $85M in GEF-7 to $111M in GEF-8, with 15 more countries allocating System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR) resources to the SGP compared to GEF-7 ($246M in GEF resources secured for the SGP global program in GEF-8 - $135M Core + $111M STAR - compared to $213M in GEF-7).
• Delivered more financing to civil society through improved efficiency: Codifying a target to increase grant ratio of GEF SGP financing directly flowing to CSOs and CBOs, securing a 72% grant ratio for SGP core GEF-8 projects, compared to 62% in GEF-7.
• Advanced SGP monitoring and reporting framework: Introduced a new SGP results framework to better account for the full scope of SGP’s results and impacts, including establishing a standard methodology for reporting on relevant GEF-8 core indicators tracking SGP contributions to GEBs and socio-economic outcomes.
• Innovated with two pilot and complementary approaches: Enhancing direct financing and support to youth, women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities through the introduction of two SGP 2.0 CSO Initiatives, including timely introduction of two innovative SGP CSO Initiatives: the SGP CSO Challenge Program and the SGP Microfinance Initiative.
• Instigated new approach for coordination, knowledge management and learning: Recognizing the increased scope and institutional complexity of SGP 2.0 with five implementing agencies, diverse programming approaches, and operations across 135 countries, the GEF initiated the development of an SGP Global Knowledge and Learning Platform in early 2025 to serve as a central repository for SGP knowledge, facilitating cross-learning among stakeholders, and supporting capacity building efforts across the GEF SGP network. The platform is being processed as a $5M medium-sized project to be jointly implemented by UNDP, FAO, and CI, with UNDP as the lead agency was (pre)launched at the Eighth GEF Assembly.