How to Apply for a Grant

With a view to helping Brazil play a greater role in addressing the challenges of climate change, the iCS provides financial support for projects and initiatives of public interest.
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iCS’s Work Through Grants

Aiming to strengthen Brazil’s response to climate challenges, the iCS provides financial support through grants to foster projects aligned with its Programmatic Strategy that can drive systemic, structural, and long-term change. While respecting the autonomy of its grantees, the iCS works to promote coordination and complementarity among partner projects so that they can collectively achieve more significant results.

Eligible Recipients
Although most grants are awarded to civil society organizations (CSOs), the iCS also supports projects developed by public or private universities and research centers, grassroots movements, and community groups, including those without formal legal status (CNPJ/corporate tax ID). In exceptional cases, the iCS may provide funding to for-profit organizations, such as specialized consulting firms, when they carry out projects that serve the public interest, in particular research initiatives.

Geographic Scope
The iCS supports projects across all regions in Brazil, ranging from local and subnational initiatives to national and international efforts. Funding is available only to Brazilian organizations and Brazilian branches of international organizations. All supported projects must deliver benefits to Brazil.

Additional Forms of Support
In addition to funding, the iCS seeks to provide its grantees with different types of non-financial support, including technical assistance for networking and partnership development. In particular, the iCS encourages and supports grantees in connecting and interacting with organizations from different sectors, including government institutions and private-sector stakeholders.

The goal is to act strategically so that the portfolio of projects may contribute to systemic change by addressing structural, long-term issues. To this end, while respecting the autonomy of its grantees, the iCS encourages them to align their work with that of others, thus enabling them to achieve more significant results collectively. Hence the importance of shared elements across the various supported projects, whether centered on a specific theme or focused on a particular territory.

How the iCS Receives Proposals

The iCS may directly approach an organization to express its interest and invite it to submit a proposal aligned with the Programmatic Strategy. Additionally, an organization already supported by the iCS may submit a new project for consideration. This is the most common route, accounting for most of the grants awarded. The iCS has a proactive and strategic approach, seeking to identify organizations that actively engage in its core areas. This process of seeking out projects—or cocreating them with interested organizations—supports the complementarity and diversity of actions needed to ensure more effective responses to the urgent climate crisis.

Since 2025, the iCS has issued several calls for proposals each year to support projects in specific areas. Each call has its own rules and procedures, including regarding the profile of organizations eligible to apply.

More information in the Calls for Proposals section.

Such proposals originate from an initial interest shown by the applicant, which completes a publicly available form on the iCS website. This form is known as a letter of intent (LOI) and can be filled out on this link. This link should not be used to submit a proposal under an open call for proposals (such calls have a specific link).
In a few cases, an iCS funder may have already preselected one or more organizations that they wish to support, and then asks the iCS to provide the funds. Generally, in such instances, it is up to the iCS to ensure the quality of the proposal and monitor project implementation throughout the grant period, as well as to ensure compliance with legal and tax requirements.

How to Apply for a Grant

The iCS is open to receiving proposals throughout the year. In order to check whether a project is eligible for support, applicants should fill out the letter of intent (LOI) form available on https://ics.fluxx.io/user_sessions/new (this step does not apply to calls for proposals, which require a specific form).

The purpose of the LOI is to allow the programmatic team to assess the overall scope of the proposal, its alignment with the Programmatic Strategy, and the funding required for implementation. Applicants must also indicate which programmatic area their proposal relates to. In short, the LOI aims to prevent applicants from doing unnecessary work.

If the assessment is positive, the iCS team will send an email asking the applicant to get in touch to schedule a conversation. Following this conversation, if interest in the project remains, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Proposal Approval Cycle

Please note: The diagram above is a simplification of the process, which includes other steps not listed here. The process may be ended at any stage if the iCS decides it is unable to provide the requested support.
Most LOIs do not reach the negotiation stage.
The times mentioned above represent a standard estimate and may vary depending on the specific details of each proposal, such as cases involving greater complexity, specific requirements, or additional demands. At each stage, applicants will be informed of the deadline for submitting the information required on Fluxx.

Submission of a Full Proposal

1- The process of reviewing and approving a full proposal is lengthy and consists of several stages. Therefore, proposals should be submitted four to six months prior to the desired start date.

2- A proposing organization whose letter of intent (LOI) has been accepted will be given a username and password to access our grant management system: Fluxx.

3- Upon gaining access to Fluxx, the proposing organization will have 35 days to submit the following:

  • Narrative proposal explaining the project, the intended results, and whether there are other project funders, among other details;
  • Spreadsheet detailing activities, deliverables, intended results, timeline, and an analysis of risks and team diversity for project implementation;
  • Spreadsheet with the detailed budget.
  • Organization General Information Form (IGSO): key aspects regarding the organization’s structure, governance, and financial management;
  • CNPJ: Proof of registration and registration status issued by the Federal Revenue Service;
  • Bank details: any bank document showing the bank code, branch number, account number, and account holder’s name;
  • Legal documentation: Bylaws, minutes of legal representative’s election, and list of directors and board members;
  • Organization’s annual budget for the current year or the year when the project shall begin;
  • Recent financial statements, preferably audited: income statement, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity, and balance sheet;
  • Logo: current version in PNG (color and transparent), EPS, and AI formats.

Please note:
For proposals submitted by an informal group or movement (lacking a CNPJ/corporate tax ID), some of the aforementioned documents will refer to the financial organization that will receive and manage the funds.

Proposals submitted by universities or public research institutions may also designate a financial organization to receive and manage the funds. Ideally, the financial organization should be an institution that already has a formal agreement with the proposing organization to manage their funds. For example, in the case of universities, the ideal arrangement is for this to be done by the university foundation.

Full proposal review process

The documents shall be thoroughly reviewed by the iCS team, including experts from the program, evaluation, grant management, and compliance areas. Multiple amendments to the proposal may be requested, as well as supplementary documents and information.

The iCS team can also help to refine a proposal. In particular, the evaluation and grant management teams are available weekly to provide guidance to applicant organizations during dedicated Q&A sessions, to be booked/scheduled via a specific link shared with candidates.

Once an applicant is invited by the iCS to submit a full proposal, the decision to approve (or not approve) the proposal always involves an assessment by iCS leaders and may also require a review by the Program Committee or the Board.
The approval process depends on the grant amount, as detailed below:

Approval levels for grant requests by amount

Criteria for Evaluating Grant Requests

All proposals received are reviewed by the iCS team based on a set of criteria, including:
  • Alignment with the iCS mission, Programmatic Strategy, and values;
  • Relevance of the theme;
  • Capacity to address the root causes of problems and propose appropriate solutions;
  • Alignment with the portfolio of previously supported projects, seeking complementarity rather than redundancy;
  • Alignment between expected deliverables and desired outcomes;
  • Clarity regarding how the project will be evaluated, including targets and indicators;
  • Project-related risks and organization’s capacity to manage them;
  • Reasonableness of the budget in relation to the planned activities and desired outcomes;
  • iCS’s budget availability to support the project in question.
  • Capacity to execute the proposal, assessed based on its past work, team experience, partnerships with other institutions, etc.;
  • Reputation;
  • Adherence to the iCS’s integrity and compliance criteria, including aspects related to governance, legal and regulatory compliance, institutional integrity, prevention of fraud and corruption, prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), conflicts of interest, as well as other legal, reputational, and institutional risks that could impact the partnership;
  • Economic, financial, and legal status;
  • Diversity of organization’s funding sources and its level of dependence on a single funder;
  • iCS’s prior experience interacting with the proposing organization.

In addition to the technical and programmatic analysis, all proposals undergo a due diligence process, conducted in a manner commensurate with the nature, size, and risk level of the organization and the proposal. This assessment seeks to verify, among other aspects:

  • Legal and registration status of the organization, including, where applicable, verification of relevant certificates and records;
  • Governance structure, management, and internal controls;
  • Administrative, operational, and financial capacity of the organization;
  • Institutional reputation and track record;
  • Existence of lawsuits, sanctions, investigations, news reports, or other relevant matters that could impact the partnership;
  • Mechanisms to prevent fraud, corruption, money laundering, and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT);
  • Potential conflicts of interest;
  • Compliance with applicable laws and the integrity principles adopted by the iCS;
  • Other integrity, reputational, and compliance aspects deemed relevant to the analysis of the project and the organization.

Please note:
Any proposals received in response to a call for proposals must also meet said call’s specific criteria.

While the Grant is in Effect

  • The first grant installment shall be paid within 10 days after the contract has been signed.
  • All grantees must submit one or more narrative and financial reports to the iCS, using templates available in the grant management system. The reporting frequency is determined on a case-by-case basis and specified in the contract. Generally, reports are due every six to nine months.
  • Typically, grants are paid in multiple installments. The payment of the second and subsequent installments is contingent upon the approval of interim reports and confirmation that at least 70 percent of the previous installment amount has been spent.
  • If an interim report is not approved, the grant may be terminated without the payment of subsequent installments.
  • The iCS team can provide guidance on report preparation. In particular, the evaluation and grant management teams are available weekly to advise grantees during dedicated Q&A sessions, to be booked/scheduled via a specific link.
  • All grantees must maintain close contact with the iCS by providing updates on project progress, making themselves available for meetings (in-person or remote) with the iCS team, inviting iCS members to key project events, sharing major deliverables with the iCS, etc. The iCS encourages grantees to be proactive in maintaining a close relationship with the team.
  • It is important to notify the iCS team of any unforeseen events or issues that may arise during project implementation. The iCS wants to learn together with its grantees, and the teams are always available to help find solutions.
  • If significant changes to the project scope or budget are required, or if the grant term needs to be extended, a formal request must be submitted by completing a specific form on the grant management system. Such changes require the approval of at least two iCS representatives.
  • A grant will come to an end following the submission and approval of the final narrative and financial reports.
  • If there is any remaining balance at the end of the grant term, the grantee may be instructed to return the funds to the iCS.
  • Upon the conclusion of a grant, the iCS is under no obligation to provide a new grant to the same institution, whether for a different project or to continue the previous one. Should both parties be interested in a new grant, a new full proposal must be submitted, including updated documents, and a full proposal evaluation process must be completed.

How the iCS evaluates supported projects

Evaluation is an essential part of the iCS’s work. It is key to learning and improving operations, and essential for gathering evidence of what is being achieved through ICS support, as well as for the sake of accountability to funders.

Key concepts of our vertical logic include:

Outcomes (systemic change)
Indirect changes in the climate context—such as in policies, practices, actions, or the interactions of one or more social actors—or material changes influenced by the contributions of the iCS or its grantees.
Outputs (direct results)
Direct effects that highlight the relevance of the delivery. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative.
Deliverables
Direct consequence of the grant activities, in the form of a tangible product (publication, material), or something intangible (training, forum, campaign, technical assistance), generally ready at the end of the grant period.

The grants portfolio is evaluated based on preestablished indicators and the ongoing observation of outputs and outcomes. On one hand, we envision the transformations we wish to see in the world and determine which indicators will show whether we are moving closer to our goals. We systematically collect data on these indicators, often in collaboration with our grantees.

On the other hand, we examine the relevant changes that have occurred and assess whether the iCS and/or its grantees contributed significantly to them. This evaluative work is inspired by an evaluation methodology known as Outcome Harvesting.

We operate based on the concept of contribution, acknowledging that no significant structural change occurs solely due to the merit of a supported project—meaning that we do not claim exclusive credit for the outcome—but recognizing that we, alongside other actors, contribute to making such transformations happen.

In this way, we capture a wide range of effects that bring us closer to our mission and vision, while also identifying gaps and areas for improvement.

Furthermore, each grant is individually analyzed by the iCS evaluation team. During the proposal submission process, we agree with the prospective grantee on the indicators to be used to evaluate the project, including indicators for deliverables and outputs. The evaluation team also reviews reports to verify whether the grantee actually delivered what was promised and whether the expected results were achieved—or are closer to materialization—while examining the evidence provided to support these assessments. We also evaluate the grantee’s overall capacity to respond to new demands and changing contexts throughout the project’s implementation stage.

The key deliverables produced by the iCS and its grantees, as well as the main results achieved through our contribution, are published in our annual reports, on our website, in our newsletter, and on social media.