The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP) has received core funds under the GEF-8 to support Ghana to implement its priority programmes. Accordingly, the GEF-SGP announces the 2026 "Call for Proposals" to award grants to a maximum of US$30,000 to Civil Society Organizations and Community-Based Groups for the most innovative initiatives in the following GEF Strategic Initiative Areas: 

1. Community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species

2. Sustainable agriculture, fisheries and food security

3. Low-carbon energy access co-benefits

4. Local to global coalitions for chemicals and waste management

5. Catalyzing sustainable urban solutions through CSO-Government-Private Sector Policy and Planning Dialogue Platforms

The priority geographic areas are communities along the Black Volta Basin, particularly in the Wa-West district (Upper West Region), Banda district (Bono region), Bole, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba districts and the Central Gonja Municipal (Savannah Region). 

The objective of this call for proposals is to support community-driven initiatives along the Black Volta Basin to address environmental challenges while promoting sustainable development and social inclusion. In addition, the GEF-SGP will provide strategic services to civil society and community organizations by enhancing their institutional, technical and financial capacities; develop platforms and networks; and expand partnerships and resource mobilization for scaling up.

The call is opened to local non-governmental or non-profit organizations operating in Ghana with valid Registrar General’s Department and Social Welfare certificates; or Community Groups/ Community-Based Organizations, and/or Social Enterprise Organizations recognized by the relevant District Assemblies and Environmental Protection Authority of Ghana. For more details on the eligibility, kindly refer to the Proposal Guidelines.

Interested organizations are required to submit their proposals using the Proposal Template within the advertisement period, from Monday 23 February 2026 to Thursday 5 March 2026 at 5pm GMT. Any application submitted after this deadline would not be considered.  Applications should be submitted electronically to helpdesk.gh@undp.org and would be processed as and when they are received, and successful applicants would be notified after review on a first come, first served basis.

A virtual proposal workshop will be held to provide more details on the proposal. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday 2 February 2026 at 2pm GMT on Teams. Join via: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3685093223253?p=AjuECkwiKUHOIjECHJ

The full details on the eligibility criteria, preferred bio-geographic areas, Country Programme Strategy, and guidelines for applications are attached to this call. For any further information, please send request to akosua.bireduaa.aninakwa@undp.org