Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme

Grants

About the PRSGF

The Pastor Rice Small Grants Fund (PRSGF) is a community-oriented small grant facility, established by the Non-Timber Forest Products - Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) to continue the legacy and in memory of Reverend Delbert Arthur Rice, who was one of the founding Board of Trustees of the organization. Pastor Rice was an American missionary who first arrived in the mountainous Brgy. Imugan, Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, Northern Luzon, Philippines in the mid-1960s and stayed to live there with the Ikalahan indigenous community until his demise in 2014. He was an anthropologist, electrical engineer, educator and environmentalist. He was a champion for the Ikalahan tribe, and of sustainable upland ecosystems, which also laid the foundation for community-based forest management in the Philippines. He was also an awardee of Frédéric Ozanam for community service in 2014.

PRSGF, formerly Micro Grant Facility (MGF), has supported various community initiatives in South and Southeast Asia since 2007 through support from various donors such as Broederlijk Delen, Both ENDS/Rich Forests, Ecosystem Alliance, International Union for the Conservation of Nature - National Committee of The Netherlands (IUCN-NL), and the Samdhana Institute. The fund is being managed by NTFP-EP Asia through its Secretariat office in Manila.

In 2016-2020, PRSGF received funding from the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA). Under this portfolio, PRSGF has awarded around 170 grants to more than 100 women’s groups and women-led initiatives that strengthened the capabilities and unified grassroots groups to lobby and advocate for women’s rights and environmental justice agenda.

At present, PRSGF continues to receive support from GAGGA, as well as other partner organizations supporting the sustainable, community-based work of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in forested landscapes in Asia.