Guatemala Program Grantmaking Guidelines

In 1999, the Moriah Fund established a new program in Guatemala that seeks to promote the rights and leadership of indigenous people, strengthen the protection of human rights, and support the development of civil society.

Goals

Specifically, The Moriah Fund’s Guatemala Program seeks to:

• Promote the human rights, civic participation and leadership of indigenous people;
• Enhance the wellbeing of women, particularly indigenous women, and facilitate their participation and leadership in Guatemalan society;
• Support implementation of rural development strategies that improve the livelihoods of rural and indigenous communities while also conserving and managing natural resources and biodiversity in a sustainable manner; and
• Advance the cause of human rights and social justice.

Strategy

In pursuit of the above goals, Moriah’s grantmaking focuses on the following areas:

Strengthening Guatemala's national institutions and policies, by supporting programs that:

• Strengthen the organizational and advocacy capacity of national-level NGOs through training, technical assistance and institutional support;
• Encourage citizen participation in the design and development of national policies; and
• Link local actions and concerns to national policy initiatives.

Building capacity and civil society at the local level, by supporting community-based initiatives that:

• Build the organizational/institutional capacity of community-based organizations that are involved in regional and national development processes; and
• Promote local leadership development and community organization, mobilization and participation, with an emphasis on those programs that have the potential for regional or national impact.

Promoting a US and multilateral policy toward Guatemala that fosters human rights and socio-economic justice, by supporting projects that:

• Enhance the monitoring and advocacy capacity of US NGOs seeking to improve US and multilateral policies towards Guatemala; and
• Strengthen the advocacy capacity of Guatemalan NGOs seeking to improve U.S. and multilateral policies towards Guatemala.

In all of our efforts, Moriah seeks to promote social change, build organizational capacity, strengthen leadership, foster and strengthen the participation of stakeholders, and help link local concern and action to national policy change. We will give priority to proposals that integrate two or more of the goals of the Guatemala Program, as well as those that benefit the populations and communities that have been most affected by Guatemala’s decades of internal conflict.

Limitations

The Guatemala Program does not provide grants for microcredit, education, or healthcare provision, and in general does not fund service delivery projects in any field that do not contain strong elements of community organization, leadership development and advocacy. In addition, the Guatemala Program does not provide support for video productions, scholarships or grants to individuals, capital campaigns, the arts, or medical research.