Southwest Environmental Justice Initiative

The goal of the mini-grants program is to support and enhance the capacity building efforts of mining-impacted indigenous communities to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect human, cultural, and the ecological health within their traditional territories.

The applicant must be an indigenous community organization with limited funds and has demonstrated the capacity to successfully carry out the project.  Individual grants will not exceed $4,000 U.S. and cannot be used for general programmatic or operating expenses.

WMAN/IEN Indigenous Communities Mini-grants program criteria:

1. Applications will be taken at fixed times during the year (February 1, 2009)
2. Indigenous-led, indigenous community-based organizations, and Tribes or Tribal programs in the U.S. and Canada with any budget level may apply. However, if there are more applicants than funds available, priority will be given to indigenous organizations with an organizational or mining-specific project budget under $75,000 U.S.; priority will also be given to Indigenous community-based grassroots groups.
3. Requests must be project-specific for an immediate need such as legal assistance, organizing and outreach, development of campaign materials, media development, reports, travel, mailings, etc. to be fulfilled within the next four months on a specific mining campaign.  Funds cannot be used for an organization’s general operating funds, staff salaries, rent or telephone bills.
4.  Applicants who have received funds twice during the previous two grant cycles will be given lower priority than new organizations and programs.  This will not apply to “emergency” grants.
5. Each grant issued will not exceed $4,000.
6. Funding recipients must submit a brief report detailing how funds were spent before the next grant cycle begins (4 months from the grant cycle deadline).  Reporting on use of grant funds is extremely important. Failure to submit a report in a timely fashion or to make arrangements for a report extension will significantly lower chances for said organization to receive grants from the Indigenous Environmental Network/Western Mining Action Network Indigenous Mining Grant funds in the future.