Environment Fund: Tropical Rainforests 2026 Grant

About this grant

The Waterloo Foundation's Environment Fund supports conservation and environmental work, with the Tropical Rainforests programme focusing on projects that address rainforest conservation and related environmental priorities. The fund receives more applications annually than it can support and therefore prioritizes the strongest applications that clearly meet its funding criteria. The foundation supports both one-off and multi-annual grants (usually up to five years), with the majority of grants in the programme ranging from £100,000 to £150,000 spread over multiple years. The foundation looks favourably on applications with match funding already secured from other grant-giving organisations. Applicants must demonstrate how their projects meet the programme's priorities, outline anticipated outcomes and how these will be measured, provide evidence of previous successful outcomes and sustained impact, and include post-implementation studies where applicable. The foundation prioritizes UK-based charities, though international organizations may apply if they provide a reference from an approved source.

Eligibility

The foundation prioritizes providing funding support to UK-based charities, many of whom work in partnership with smaller local NGOs in the countries where they operate. Organizations based outside the UK must provide contact details for a named referee who works for an international NGO with UK offices, an organization that the Foundation has previously funded, an organization with UK offices that has been a current or former donor, or a UK-based academic institution, think tank, or independent consultant who has evaluated the organization. Only applications with references will be considered from non-UK organizations. Applicants must be charities and must not be currently applying under multiple programmes simultaneously or with multiple proposals. The foundation will not consider applications for the promotion of religious or political causes or general appeals or circulars. Previously funded organizations must contact the foundation before submitting a new application.

How it's scored

Applications are reviewed in stages. The foundation aims to undertake a first review of all new applications within 2-3 months of submission. If an application cannot be taken forward from the first review, applicants are notified. If an application can be reviewed in more detail, the foundation contacts the applicant to discuss further. The evaluation process typically takes around 6 months from submission to grant decision. Applications are assessed against how clearly they meet the funding priorities of the programme, the quality of proposed outcomes and evaluation plans, evidence of previous successful outcomes and sustained impact, and the strength of the project justification based on statistics, data, or research.

Key requirements

• ✓UK charity applicants must partner with local organizations in the developing world
• ✓Non-UK organizations must provide suitable references in the UK
• ✓Projects must focus on management and conservation of tropical rainforests
• ✓Project duration up to three years

Funder contact

The notice names a programme contact you can speak to before applying.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Forestry funding supports afforestation, reforestation, sustainable forest management and avoided deforestation. Money flows from climate finance, nature programmes, results-based payments and corporate buyers of forest carbon. Calls typically require land tenure clarity, community engagement and a credible plan to monitor tree survival over time.