FCA Partners

At Focus Central America our partners are a critical voice in our community because they most deeply understand and represent the needs, values, and opportunities of the region.

How do we find our grantee partners?

Our program officers based in the region, lead the process of finding, evaluating and recommending new partners to our leadership team.

What do we look for in our grantee partners?

We look for partners committed in improving the quality of life of people in their communities, who are able to visualize the specific needs, and have clear strategies on how they will contribute to the solutions.

We support organizations that offer innovative and systemic solutions to uplift vulnerable communities. We are especially excited to work with organizations that are born and managed by local leaders, and we seek to elevate the role of women and people from indigenous and afro-descendant communities.

More specifically, we are looking for organization:

• Without access to many other funding sources. We typically fund organizations with budgets under $500,000 USD.
• Based and managed in the communities in which they serve.
• Registered as non-profit organizations or social enterprises, but note that they do not need to have a 501(c)3 or fiscal sponsor.
• For whom small unrestricted funds can make a big difference The average first-year grant is typically between $5,000 and $15,000 USD.
• Only based in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua* and Panama will be considered for a grant where we are actively growing our network.

* At this time, only Nicaraguan organizations with the means to receive money in the United States will be considered.

Here you will find FCA’s areas of focus, these country priorities are managed by the program officer taking into account the country context (this is not an exclusive list).

What is the selection process?

We have designed a process that places most of the responsibility on our team so that nonprofits do not have to invest a lot of time seeking funds. Please note that the process can take several months between the initial contact and the final decision.