The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) has opened a new call for Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) for small grants under its Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot program. This is the second LOI call under CEPF's Phase III investment in the region, and it runs through the Regional Implementation Team (RIT), made up of A Rocha Ghana and AJESH, who manage the process on CEPF's behalf.
CEPF is a team effort, supported by a lot of different organizations, like the French Development Agency, Conservation International, the European Union, and some private foundations. The Global Environment Facility, the governments of Canada and Japan, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Bank are also on board. The main idea behind CEPF is to get regular people and communities involved in protecting biodiversity, rather than just relying on governments and big institutions to do the work. This way, everyone can contribute to conservation efforts and make a difference.
The funding for these projects is limited to $50,000 per grant, and the soonest that selected projects can expect to receive their money is November 2026.
Who Can Apply
- Non-governmental organizations, community groups, universities, and small private enterprises are all eligible.
- Even other civil society organizations can apply too.
- But if you're an individual, you can't apply on your own - you need to team up with a civil society organization to put in an application. They can help you get everything together and submit it.
- To be eligible, the organization must have its own bank account and be legally allowed to receive charitable funds in its own country. This means it should be registered and recognized as a legitimate entity under national law.
- Government-owned enterprises or institutions can also apply, but they need to meet certain conditions. They must be able to operate independently, without being controlled by any government agency, and have the authority to receive private funding on their own.
- Additionally, they cannot claim sovereign immunity, which means they cannot use their government connection to avoid being held accountable.
- When applying, groups can team up together as a consortium. In this case, one group takes charge and their letter of intent should clearly explain what each partner will contribute to the project.
- There's a key thing to keep in mind: each organization is only allowed to send in one application for this.
Eligible Countries
There are eleven countries that are part of this group. These countries include Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and São Tomé and Príncipe. They are all connected by their geographical location and are working together to address certain issues.
It's worth noting that Sierra Leone is included on the list, and this has significant implications for the types of projects that organizations from this country can realistically put forward. There's a specific detail that's important to highlight upfront, as it will impact the scope of potential projects - we'll dive into that further down.
Eligible Activities: Only Three Investment Priorities Qualify
This funding opportunity is more focused than a typical biodiversity fund. It's limited to projects that fall under three specific areas of investment, which are part of the larger Guinean Forests Ecosystem Profile developed by CEPF.
Their first goal is to protect and manage areas that are really important for biodiversity, known as Key Biodiversity Areas or KBAs for short. They are talking about 33 special places that need their help. To do this, they need to support projects that focus on these areas and the corridors that connect them. This can include things like making sure these areas are legally protected, coming up with plans to manage them, and working directly with the people who use these resources and the communities that live nearby.
A project doesn't have to be right inside one of these special areas to be considered, as long as it's helping to keep the ecosystem healthy and connected. For example, if a project is just outside a KBA but helps to maintain the flow of water or the migration of animals, that's okay. The key is that it has to be linked to one of their 33 priority KBAs.
Strategic Direction 2, Investment Priority 2.1 covers work that fills critical knowledge gaps on threatened species and ecosystems. This includes field surveys, research into the socioeconomic drivers behind conservation threats, and the kind of data compilation and communication work that helps site managers and policymakers make better decisions.
Strategic Direction 2, Investment Priority 2.2 covers direct conservation action for threatened species and ecosystems: threat assessments, species action plans, partnerships with protected area authorities and local communities, on-the-ground interventions, and knowledge-sharing between stakeholders.
A key exclusion to keep in mind is that any projects that focus only on threatened tree species are not going to be eligible for funding under this particular program. However, it's not all bad news for those interested in working with tree species. CEPF is actually planning to launch a separate, larger grants call that will be specifically geared towards tree species, and that's expected to happen later in the year.
Grant funds also cannot be used to purchase land, alter physical cultural or heritage sites, relocate people, or capitalize trust funds. All projects need to align with CEPF's social and environmental safeguard policies.
Budget and Timeline
- Grant size: up to US$50,000 per project
- Opening date: Wednesday, 22 July 2026
- The deadline for submissions is Monday, August 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM GMT.
- The review period will last around seven weeks, starting from the date when the deadline closes.
- Earliest possible award: November 2026
How to Apply
To apply, you need to use the official template from CEPF, which you can find on the RIT's page. You can write your application in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. When you're ready, send it to the special email address, cepf.gfwa.applications@arocha.org. Remember, this is the only email address that will work. Don't try sending it anywhere else, or it won't be accepted.
When you send in a letter of interest, you should get a confirmation that it was received. Then, a committee will look over your application to make sure it meets the requirements. They'll check if you're eligible and if your project fits with what they're looking for. After that, everyone who applied will hear back, no matter what the decision is.
When a Letter of Intent is given the green light, the next move is to team up with the Regional Implementation Team to iron out the details of a comprehensive budget, work plan, and log frame.
After that, it's time to put pen to paper and sign a grant agreement. This agreement is a formal contract between the applicant's organization and A Rocha Ghana, which is acting as the lead organization for this particular hotspot.
It's worth noting that all grants are paid out in US dollars, and the grant agreement itself is always written in English, regardless of the language used to submit the initial Letter of Intent.
General questions about the process go to cepf.gfwa.info@arocha.org.
What Strengthens an Application
- The call document names five criteria that get preference in review:
- How closely the project matches the specific investment priorities covered by this call
- How likely the project is to actually achieve its stated conservation objectives
- Whether it builds on past initiatives or complements ongoing work, rather than starting from zero
Value for money
Whether the applying organization has the institutional capacity and track record to carry out the work
CEPF is explicit that it welcomes both past grantees and organizations that have never received CEPF funding before, so lack of prior grant history isn't automatically a disadvantage.
Two cross-cutting priorities also factor into evaluation, even though they're not framed as hard eligibility rules the way the KBA restriction is:
When it comes to conservation projects, considering gender is crucial. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Regional Implementation Team (RIT) want to make sure that projects are designed with gender in mind from the start, not just added as an afterthought. To help with this, applicants can use CEPF's Gender Toolkit and Gender Fact Sheet, which are available in many languages. These resources can help shape the proposal and ensure that gender considerations are built into how conservation impact is achieved.
Social sustainability, equity, and inclusion. CEPF frames long-term conservation impact as dependent on inclusive, locally grounded approaches. Applicants are encouraged to design with equity and community ownership in mind, and to consult CEPF's Social Sustainability Policy and Guidelines.
Who This Guide Is Useful For
This isn't a scholarship or an individual grant, so it's not something a person applies for on their own. It's most relevant to:
- Sierra Leonean NGOs, community-based organizations, and CSOs working on biodiversity, species conservation, or environmental research
- Universities or research institutions with an interest in the priority species listed in Annex 2
- Consortium partners looking to combine efforts, since applications can be submitted jointly
- Policy-facing organizations that support or advise civil society groups on international conservation funding
- Anyone tracking regional conservation funding trends across the Guinean Forests hotspot, even without applying directly
- For Sierra Leone, the best way to get funding under Investment Priority 1.1 is to focus on a specific species or ecosystem. This could be a project that falls under Investment Priority 2.1 or 2.2, and it should be based on real data or actual conservation work.
- The project should also involve one or more of the species listed in Annex 2. It's all about finding a project that fits the right criteria and has a strong foundation in conservation.
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