Call for Applications: Restoration Returns Grants Program
Section
Deadline Date
September 15, 2025
Donor Agency
G20 Global Land Initiative
Grant Size
$10,000 to $100,000
The Restoration Returns Grants Program is now open to support community-led ecosystem restoration initiatives that have a high return for people, their lands and livelihoods.
The Restoration Returns Award is part of G20 GLI’s strategy to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 and reduce land degradation by 50 per cent by 2040.
Land restoration means improving land cover or land productivity. It covers a wide range of actions, such as reforestation, afforestation, agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, waste management avoiding land contamination, clean-up of contaminated land, avoiding waterlogging, rewetting of peatlands and improving soil quality.
Funding Information
- The Initiative is increasing the amount allocated to each awardee to US$17,000 in response both to the innovation of the projects and the overwhelming demand for support for land restoration at the grassroots level.
Eligible Activities
- The funds may be used to expand the area of restoration, improve techniques, use new technology, provide technical assistance, build capacity or to document lessons learnt and communicate progress. Funds may also be used for a combination of the above.
Eligibility Criteria
- Restoration of ecosystems can take place in any landscape. Forests, grasslands, drylands, rangelands, croplands, peatlands, mangroves, soil, karst, tundra and wetlands.
- Restoration work can take place anywhere in the world. It is not limited to G20 member countries. Priority consideration will be given to submissions from civil society organizations, including Indigenous Peoples, from developing and least developed countries.
- Proposed, new and ongoing projects will be considered for support. However, preference will be given to ongoing operations.
- Organizations must have an annual budget of USD 25,000 or more to be eligible. The funds must be used to scale up and elevate planned or ongoing efforts. Stand-alone projects that depend on this grant will not be considered for support.
- Multi-year support may be considered based on demonstrated progress of implementation of the project and upon request.
