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.

What we’re looking for 

We want to invest in projects that are collaborative and innovative. All proposed projects put forward must involve at least two organisations – the lead applicant, who must be a Bonsucro member, and a co-applicant who does not have to be a member.

Projects also need to have 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.

The projects must also 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.

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. The first stage involves preparing a short concept note outlining the project idea. These concept notes are evaluated by the Project Selection Committee, and the most promising ideas are invited to proceed to the second stage – submitting a full proposal, that considers any feedback supplied by Bonsucro. Full proposals include 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.

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.

• Download Bonsucro Impact Fund MEL framework
• Download Bonsucro Impact Fund MEL guidance

Grants available 

There are currently no grants available. Sign up to our newsletter (at the bottom of this page) to receive our next calls for proposals.

See what projects have been awarded grants.

If you have any questions about the Bonsucro Impact Fund, please email us at fund@bonsucro.com.

Downloads

No grants are available at the moment	Concept note template	Full proposal template	Project Selection Committee Terms of Reference
	English download	Download - only available in English	Only available in English
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Projects supported by the Fund