Deadline of Submission of Concept Notes:
January 9, 2026 (Monday)
I. Background and Objectives
Under the Forest Foundation Philippines’ Results Framework 2023-2027, its grant-making activities will continue employing a sustainable forest landscape approach to protect and sustainably manage the forests for water, land productivity, and biodiversity — with the overarching goal of sustaining ecosystem services and forest-related climate action. For two decades, the Foundation has been providing grants to support forest conservation within the focal landscapes of Sierra Madre, Palawan, Samar/Leyte, and Bukidnon/Misamis Oriental/Lanao del Sur.
At the core of the Foundation’s grants program are the forest-dependent communities, hence the various socio-economic approaches as aligned with biophysical/environmental actions. The Foundation’s grants have ensured synergy with the cross-cutting schemes of fostering partnerships and capacity development to reduce and address institutional challenges. The Foundation likewise recognizes that sustainable forest management must be coupled with strengthening community livelihoods. By integrating approaches such as community enterprises, agroforestry, and value-adding for non-timber forest products, grants can translate forest protection into tangible socio-economic benefits, fostering stronger ownership and reducing pressures on forest resources. With this, grant support in the four focal landscapes are centered towards building, strengthening, and updating the communities’ capacities.
For the remaining years of the Results Framework 2023-2027 implementation, the Foundation is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to support capacity strengthening of Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) or Peoples Organizations (POs) who are working on forest protection, conservation and management within the focal landscapes. A “no-regrets” approach, this grant program will equip forest-dependent communities and I/POs with skills and knowledge needed in community-based forest protection and management. With this, the Foundation envisions that such a grant will enable meaningful participation of communities in local planning and project development, implementation, monitoring, as well as build their track record for accessing funding support from other development partners and the government. The built capacities, the frameworks/plans developed, and the local policies improved will create an enabling environment for meaningful participation and partnerships across sectors beyond the Results Framework 2023-2027.
II. Geographic Scope
This Request for Proposals (RFP) will prioritize the capacity development of Peoples Organizations (POs) and Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations (IPOs) geographically located and working within the forested landscapes below:
- Northern Philippines
Sierra Madre. Dubbed the “backbone of Luzon,” the Sierra Madre Mountain Range is home to multiple critical watersheds for water sufficiency and flood mitigation. Despite its ecological and economic significance, Sierra Madre is faced with anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Anthropogenic disturbances include commercial logging operations in the past, the conversion of forests to farms, forest fires, utilization of forest and mineral resources therein, development projects such as roads and dams and the increasing population (both local and migrants). These disturbances contribute to continued decline of forest cover, resulting in flooding, landslides, and forest fires – leading to degradation of water sources, destruction of livelihoods, worsening food security, and loss of biodiversity.
Priority will be given to communities, IPOs, or POs that are located or working in the forested landscapes of Sierra Madre, covering the following provinces:
| Northern Sierra Madre | Southern Sierra Madre |
| Aurora (Casiguran, Dilasag, Dinalungan, Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, San Luis) Cagayan (Baggao, Penablanca) Isabela Nueva Vizcaya (Alfonso Castañeda) Quirino (Nagtipunan, Maddela, Diffun) | Bulacan (Norzagaray; Doña Remedios Trinidad) Laguna (Sta. Maria) Nueva Ecija (General Tinio; Gabaldon, Bongabong) Rizal (Rodriguez) |
- Central Philippines
Palawan. Known as the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier,” Palawan is rich in biological diversity, watersheds and micro-watersheds, and cultural diversity. Even with the several layers of protection and various recognition of Palawan’s rich ecosystems, there are still several threats and issues that persist in the province. Threats to forests and watersheds include conversion into agricultural and residential areas, encroachment to protected and key biodiversity areas (due to migration, mining, and other infrastructure projects), as well as the illegal, uncontrolled, and unregulated utilization of forest products.
Priority will be given to communities, IPOs, or POs that are located or working in the following forested landscapes:
- KBA #60 (San Vicente, Roxas, Taytay)
- El Nido – Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (El Nido, Taytay)
- Dumaran (KBA #74)
Samar/Leyte. The landscapes of Samar and Leyte islands feature a number of macro- and micro-watersheds that support agricultural and domestic water use. The Samar Island Natural Park (SINP) provides diverse ecosystem services in the surrounding provinces. Meanwhile, the mountain ranges and unique ecosystems in Leyte provide services that are important for water regulation and biodiversity conservation. Anthropogenic activities such as illegal logging, unsustainable resource extraction, and conversion of forest lands to other land uses, continue as a threat to its forests and watersheds resulting in destruction of lives and properties. While both natural and anthropogenic factors threaten the region’s forest and marine life support system, these challenges are difficult to curtail as these are tied to the high incidence of poverty.
Priority will be given to communities or POs that are located or working in the following forested landscapes:
| Samar and Eastern Samar | Leyte |
| Pan-As-Hayiban Watershed Forest Reserve (Part of the Calbayog Pan-as-Hayiban Protected Landscape) Taft, Paranas, Maslog, Basey, Balangkayan, Llorente (part of SINP for Philippine Eagle Habitat Protection) | KBA # 89 – Anonang-Lobi Mountain Range (watersheds of Palo, Daguitan-Marabong and Binahaan). |
- Southern Philippines
The forested landscape of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental are known for their lush forests, rich soils, and booming agricultural industry. Aside from being home to the Cagayan de Oro River Basin, the mountain ranges within these provinces host several watersheds that are vital to the ecological and economic balance of Mindanao. In the east of Bukidnon, the EMBC is a long stretch of lowland and mid- to high elevation forests that hosts unique floral and faunal species, and home to a number of Indigenous Peoples. On another hand, Lanao del Sur’s forests are critical for the reliability of hydropower plants as renewable energy sources in Mindanao. Given the continuing population increase, forests within these landscapes are threatened by farming activities, destroying wide swathes of forestlands, displacing wildlife, and disrupting natural waterways. Worsening floods have also severely affected upland and urban communities, as well as the landscape’s biodiversity.
Priority will be given to communities, IPOs, or POs that are located or working in the following forested landscapes:
| Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental | Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor (EMBC) | |
| Mt. Balatukan Range Natural Park Mt.Malindawag/Talabaan Watershed Mt. Tago-Pantaron Range | Mt Hilong-Hilong Range within Agusan del Norte and Sur and Surigao del Sur | |
Other community groups outside of the priority landscapes above or capacity building activities that will target a national-level outcome may be considered for funding subject to availability of funds.
III. Eligible Activities
The grant will support eligible activities that can be implemented until July 31, 2027. Projects should be at levels commensurate with achieving measurable impacts while maintaining accountability and efficacy.
Depending on the grant category (see Section V below), the activities to be implemented should directly contribute to the following Forest Foundation’s target outcomes as defined in the Results Framework for 2023-2027. Activities eligible for fund support may include, but not limited to, the following:
| Foundation’s Target Outcomes | Eligible Activities for Support |
|---|---|
| Grow Opportunities: Improved multi-stakeholder engagement through sustainable livelihoods and incentives | Following the Sustainable Livelihood Approach and consistent with the manner of protecting the forests, activities that will strengthen POs/IPOs’ skills related to sustainable livelihoods and community enterprises: Business planning; Development or strengthening of market-linkaging skills including e-commerce literacy, as applicable and gaining access to other government agencies and private sector’s livelihoods and community-based enterprise programs; Support for seed capital, tools, and equipment Organization development and capacity building which includes governance and resource management, skills training; training on budgeting, planning, financial management, including bookkeeping needed to operationalize the enterprise; Training on customer relations and product storytelling; Training on product costing and inventory; Developing benefit sharing mechanisms |
| Grow Partners: Strengthened cross-sectoral partnerships for sustainable forest management | Activities that will strengthen organizational capacities of POs/IPOs: Developing capacity building framework specific to the target community group; Facilitating recognition, registration and/or accreditation of POs/IPOs in appropriate organizations (e.g. SEC, CDA, DOLE, LGU), and the corresponding reportorial requirements; Developing or updating community resource management plans (e.g. CRMF, ADSDPP, among others); Training and mentoring on proposal development, project management, and monitoring and learning; Training and mentoring on community organizing and organizational development (e.g. leadership and values formation, systems, procedures and policy development, etc.), and linkaging to appropriate organizations and agencies; Conduct of dialogues with relevant stakeholders on issues related to forest governance to improve institutional arrangements Updating or localization of community-development and capacity building modules relevant to the target community groups. |
IV. Eligible Recipients
- Non-governmental and civil society organizations or network of NGOs/CSOs working with multiple I/POs and forest-dependent communities;
- Academe, social entrepreneurs, and professional organizations assisting forest-dependent communities and I/POs; and
- Organized and recognized I/POs who may need further capacity development.
Priority will be given to entities that have previous or existing operations and work with the local communities or I/POs within the focal landscapes. Partner IPOs/POs that will be strengthened should provide verification, proof, or documentation of their past or existing forest conservation work.
Government agencies and state universities are not eligible for fund support.
V. Funding Allocation and Grant Categories
For this Grant Program, the Foundation will be allocating a maximum of PhP 20,000,000 of total available funding across all the focal landscapes.
Depending on the number of activities to be proposed, the grant categories that can be accessed are as follows:
- Small Grants: Up to Php 500,000 of total costs to be requested from the Foundation, to be implemented in a minimum of six months. Projects under this category shall deliver immediate results.
- Medium Grants: Up to PhP 4,000,000 of total costs to be requested from the Foundation, to be implemented in a minimum of one year. Projects under this category should support capacity building projects of at least five (5) community groups or I/POs that may have similar or various levels of capacities. Identified IPOs/POs may include the following, but not limited to:
- Existing organization but not yet legally and duly registered;
- Existing I/POs that need further capacity building.
Counterpart funding from the proponent, partners, and other donor institutions and projects/programs is highly encouraged.
As applicable, proposals should include budget allocation for the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process and the issuance of the Certificate of Precondition (CP).
VI. Proposal Evaluation
The selection of projects for funding is a competitive process. The proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
| Criteria | Guide Questions |
| 1. Design | Are the objectives, methods and outcomes coherent? |
| 2. Capacity | Can the proponents successfully implement the project? |
| 3. Impact | To what extent will the project contribute to capacity strengthening of forest-dependent communities? |
| 4. Relevance | How relevant is the project to the target group and the community? |
| 5. Efficiency | Will the project be implemented in a timely and cost-effective manner? |
| 6. Sustainability | Can the project be replicated or institutionalized after its implementation? |
Forest Foundation encourages community and stakeholders’ participation in project proposal development. During the proposal review process, Forest Foundation may conduct site validation, communities’/stakeholders’ consultation, and request documents/information as needed.
VII. Timeline and Application Procedure
| Activities | Tentative Dates |
| Release of Request for Proposals | October 20, 2025 |
| Information Sessions and mentoring (face to face or online) for Proponents who would like to seek technical assistance on proposal development(see additional notes below) | November to December 2025 Please send inquiries or requests on or before December 1, 2025 by emailing proposals@forestfoundation.ph. |
| Deadline of Submission of Full Proposal (see additional notes below) | January 9, 2026 |
| Evaluation of Proposals | January to March 2026 |
| Announcement of Results and Start of Project Implementation(depending on the completeness of the proposal) | As early as January 2026 (for small grants) and latest June 2026 (for medium grants) |
Information Sessions and Mentoring will serve as venues for the Forest Foundation to discuss its grant programs in detail, as well as provide technical assistance to eligible organizations and/or individuals who would like to enhance and strengthen their concept and/or ideas of a project for possible funding. Interested proponents may contact the Foundation to arrange/schedule the activity. Depending on the nature and number of inquiries, Information Sessions may be organized in the focal landscapes. Please check the Foundation’s website and social media pages for regular updates.
Full Proposal Submission
Proponents that will be eligible for submission of full proposals must include detailed activity and budget plan for the first year; and indicative activity and budget plan for the succeeding years. Proposals must have a clear phase-out/sustainability plan.
- Full proposal templates can be downloaded through https://grants.forestfoundation.ph and/or requested by sending email to proposals@forestfoundation.ph.
- Eligible entities must submit their full proposals through the grant portal: https://grants.forestfoundation.ph/
For Proponents who will be targeting to assist multiple communities or I/POs, please provide the overview profile and acceptance/endorsement of the proposal by the I/PO partners as attachments to the full proposal. Additional community/organizational resolutions or letters endorsing the proposal and Project Proponent is also encouraged.
VIII. Contact
Should you have additional questions or concerns, please contact:
Forest Foundation Philippines
2F Valderrama Bldg., 107 Esteban St., Legaspi Village 1229 Makati City, Philippines
Phone: (+63 2) 8891 0595; (+63 2) 8864 0287
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Email: proposals@forestfoundation.ph
Office Hours: Mondays to Fridays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.