Who We Are

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) is a nimble and transformative U.S. government agency that invests in community-led development across Latin America and the Caribbean. We directly engage local leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs in underserved areas to create more prosperous, peaceful, and democratic communities.

Congress created the IAF with a simple mandate: trust local communities. Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, community-led groups have their own ideas about the best ways to improve their situation. So, why not provide small grants and technical support to help them implement their own plans? After 50 years of promoting development from the ground up, we look ahead knowing that local organizations will continue paving the way for more prosperous, inclusive, and peaceful communities. We look forward to helping them soar for years to come.

We accept grant proposals 365 days a year.
We invest in community-led development projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. We partner with local organizations that identify innovative, yet viable solutions to local development challenges-particularly in disadvantaged or excluded communities.

We do not suggest projects or identify problems ourselves. Instead we respond to project proposals sent to us by community-led organizations.

We decide which projects to fund based on merit, not sector. Our grantee partners promote more prosperous, peaceful, and democratic communities across a wide range of sectors.

We invite your organization to apply for a grant from us. To ensure we consider your application, please read through the following steps.

Step 1. Check if your organization can apply

We only support community-led projects submitted by local and grassroots organizations that are based in independent countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

You will need to show that your organization has a history of working together as a group and is capable of effectively using grants funds.

We are currently unable to fund organizations located in:

-Cuba
-Venezuela
-Because Puerto Rico is part of the United States, we also do not fund projects there.

We do NOT fund proposals submitted or directed by:

-Government entities (including municipal governments and public universities)
-Individuals
-For-profit organizations
-Organizations outside the country in which the project is located
-Groups that do not contribute financial or in-kind resources to the proposed activities

Step 2. Check if your project qualifies for funding

Currently, we fund requests for amounts between US $25,000 and $400,000.

Step 3. Fill out the application

You can apply for a grant in Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, or Haitian Creole at any time throughout the year. There is no cost to apply and no application deadline.

Your organization can submit multiple proposals. However, we rarely fund more than one project at a time by the same organization.

Step 4. Send in your application

Please send completed applications via email to proposals@iaf.gov. Include your country’s name in the subject line.

We review proposals as we receive them. We only consider the proposals that follow all of the guidelines on this page and that include all parts of the application.

Step 5. Wait as we review your proposal

Immediately
You will automatically receive a response from proposals@iaf.gov after you send in your proposal. If you do not receive this response, check your spam folder. If you still cannot find the response, email proposals@iaf.gov again for confirmation.

Get support to apply this project click on: Submit Form