Bonsucro Impact Fund
Investing in innovative projects at sugarcane origins
The Bonsucro Impact Fund supports projects that address critical sustainability challenges in the sugarcane sector.
Using income from the Bonsucro Credit Trading Platform, our Fund offers our members the chance to apply for thematic grants for projects that catalyse sustainable sugarcane production.
New calls for proposals have now been published. Find out more below.
What we’re looking for
Projects that are collaborative and innovative
All proposed projects put forward must involve at least three organisations – the lead applicant must be a Bonsucro member, and the consortium must include multiple actors across the supply chain.
Projects that demonstrate the potential for scale
While projects receiving an innovation grant (up to £50,000) may not impact a huge number of farmers or area of land, we’re looking for ideas that can be scaled up or replicated in other places. Impact projects (up to £150,000) should seek to effect a significant positive impact on those working directly in the sugarcane sector.
Projects that take place in one of our priority countries.
We are looking to create focused impact in origins that will help us achieve our strategic aims. The priority countries can be found in the “Calls for Proposals”
Cross-cutting themes
For 2023, we want to reflect the importance and cross-applicability of addressing gender inequality and supporting smallholder farmers. Therefore we will be prioritising projects that meaningfully address these chosen cross-cutting themes.
How it works
We will publish “Calls for Proposals” on specific themes and invite our members to apply for grants through a competitive selection process. These themes have been carefully selected to ensure alignment with our strategy alongside the current challenges that our membership are dealing with.
Because applying for grants can be time-consuming, we have a two-stage application process.
Stage 1 – the concept note
The first stage involves preparing a short concept note outlining the project idea. The template can be found in English, Spanish and Portuguese. These concept notes are evaluated by the Project Selection Committee.
Stage 2 – the full proposal
The Project Selection Committee will invite the most promising ideas to submit a full project proposal. The full proposal should address any concerns or issues the Committee raised when reviewing the concept note.
The full proposal includes: a narrative proposal; a log frame; a workplan; and a proposed budget.
Once the successful projects have been chosen by the Project Selection Committee, we may ask the applicant to make some final adjustments to their proposal and budget. The final negotiated proposal and budget will be used to form a grant agreement.
After the grants have been awarded
Bonsucro will also request the selected applicant to complete our grantee’s due diligence questionnaire and provide the supporting documentation. All grant recipients are required to have completed all membership obligations and are expected to respect Bonsucro’s Code of Conduct. Once the project is underway, we will ask for regular updates. Grantees will have quarterly check-in calls with the Impact Funding Manager and must submit progress reports every six months, culminating in a final project report after the end of the grant.
Where the money comes from
The Bonsucro Impact Fund creates grants using income from the sale of Bonsucro Credits through our Credit Trading Platform. All trades are charged a transaction fee, around 50% of which is invested into the Bonsucro Impact Fund.
Bonsucro certified producers can sell credits for their sugarcane, raw sugar, ethanol, or molasses. Bonsucro members can purchase credits, whether they are certified against the Chain of Custody Standard or not. This allows buyers to achieve their sustainable sourcing goals while investing in sustainability projects at sugarcane origins.
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
We have appointed SOAS as our monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) partner for the fund. Academics from SOAS is working with academics from the Brazilian Centre for Analysis and Planning and has developed a MEL framework, strategy and support package for grantees. Our MEL partner is available to support grantees on all aspects of monitoring the progress of their project. They will be on hand to ensure a robust MEL plan and baselines are put in place at the beginning of the project.
The MEL partner will also support grantees in sharing their experiences, best practice in terms of what has worked for them. We hope this initiative will also add value for the Bonsucro members that are grantees.
Grants available
New “Calls for Proposals” have been released, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. We are looking for projects on the following themes:
- Building innovative approaches to climate change adaptation in sugarcane farming and milling (closing date 26 May 2023)
- Building innovative approaches to water stewardship in sugarcane farming and milling (closing date 26 May 2023)
- Collective action to strengthen human rights and promote decent work in the sugarcane sector (closing date 3 July 2023)
For each theme two innovation grants (up to £50,000) and one impact grant (up to £150,000) will be awarded. For more details, see the Calls for Proposals below.
See what projects have previously been awarded grants.
If you have any questions about the Bonsucro Impact Fund, please email us at fund@bonsucro.com.
Limited funding is also available for projects that the Bonsucro leadership consider to be strategically important initiatives, which Bonsucro could not otherwise support through the Calls for Proposals. The Project Selection Committee has the opportunity to comment on and validate the proposals before the approval of a grant.
Downloads
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| Call for Climate Change Adaptation projects | Concept note template | Full proposal template | Project Selection Committee Terms of Reference |
| English download | English download | Download - only available in English | Only available in English |
| Descargue en español | Descargue en español | ||
| Baixe em portugues | Baixe em portugues | ||
| Call for Water Stewardship Projects | |||
| English download | |||
| Descargue en español | |||
| Baixe em portugues | |||
| Call for Projects on Human Rights and Decent Work | |||
| English download | |||
| Descargue en español | |||
| Baixe em portugues |
Projects supported by the Fund
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