Natural resource management matters
At the IAF, we support community-led solutions that focus on strengthening resilience and improving environmental outcomes through sustainable natural resource management. Our work prioritizes a holistic approach to development. We respond to communities’ needs with financial support for projects that connect conservation with enterprise development, inclusion, food security and alternatives to migration, among other program areas.
Environmental challenges affect livelihoods around the world. In communities where we work, persistent drought and severe storms represent an urgent, tangible threat to individuals and families already facing economic disadvantage and other barriers. These communities often bear the brunt of environmental impact, making it even more difficult for residents to improve living conditions.
We know that degradation of natural resources in Latin America and the Caribbean directly undermines overall economic opportunity, governance and security of civil society. Working with local organizations puts us in a unique position to work directly with the people who feel these affects the most. It also shows us how small investments lead to big, life-changing improvements over time.
Talk about community-led development!
Recent News and Stories
Why are we so proud to celebrate our 50th? Just listen to our grantee partners…
To launch our series on 50 years of grassroots successes, we explore why our grantees consider us one of the best funders of international development, according to the Center for Effective Philanthropy survey on grantees’ perceptions of their funders.
In It for the Long Haul: Community Foundations and Resilience in the Face of Disaster
Two years ago today, Mexico was hit by earthquakes that resulted in the loss of more than 365 lives. The Inter-American Foundation and our partners stepped in to support community foundations and strengthen their local leadership.
The IAF in the Making
In a Guatemala City hotel in late 1968, Marian Czarnecki and Robert Culbertson talked late into the night about creating a new, independent agency for social and civic development in Latin America and the Caribbean.