1:  Does the Terra Viva Grants Directory provide grants?

No, the Terra Viva Grants Directory does not make grants or assist with fund raising.  We develop and manage information about grants.  We are unable to offer grants or any other form of financial assistance.  

2:   How does the Terra Viva Grants Directory define a “grant”?

The Terra Viva Grants Directory avoids a narrow definition because there are important contextual factors to consider.

• In its most frequent form, a grant is a non-reimbursable gift of money by a giver (donor) to a receiver (recipient).   The recipient has no obligation to return the money to the donor.   Most of the grants in the Terra Viva Grants Directory are of this form. 

• A grant can also be a gift in the form of goods or services.   The Terra Viva Grants Directory includes a few grant makers which provide goods and services rather than money.  For example, some grant makers donate equipment, while others contribute free services (e.g., technical assistance).  Depending on our interpretation of the situation, we may regard these as grants.  However, they are not a large component in the Terra Viva Grants Directory. 

• Unlike grants, loans are reimbursable -- they have to be paid back, usually with interest.  But a loan on generous conditions in some ways is like a grant because the lender offers concessions to the borrower.  However, the Terra Viva Grants Directory does not define concessionary loans as grants.  This is especially relevant for how we profile the development banks.

3:   Does the Terra Viva Grants Directory provide complete coverage of international grants for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources? 

We specialize in international grant makers that focus their funding on projects and research in agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources.  We also work hard to find all other grant makers which have smaller or limited programmatic areas in these sectors, and which operate internationally.

• Due to repeated systematic searching, we believe that we are not overlooking the principal grant makers of interest for the Terra Viva Grants Directory.  However, we are certain to be missing some of the smaller and newer ones.

• Year by year, the coverage of organizations in the Terra Viva Grants Directory is growing stronger.   Please help us by recommending additional grant makers which we should include. 

4:   Why doesn’t the Terra Viva Grants Directory focus more on fellowships, scholarships, and professional exchanges at the international level? 

We confirm the high worldwide demand for this information.  However, the quantity and diversity of information in this area is much larger than our capacity to obtain, review, and summarize it.  We are too small to be able to provide adequate coverage in this area.

• Sometimes we include mention of fellowships, scholarships, and professional exchanges -- but almost always in a special context.
  

• Individuals in search of fellowships, scholarships, and professional exchanges should turn their attention to different websites, since there are many available.  

5:   Why doesn’t the Terra Viva Grants Directory include information about business tenders and consultants’ contracts?

The Terra Viva Grants Directory focuses exclusively on grants.  We do not have the capacity to track tenders and consultancy contracts. 

• Updated information on tenders and contracts is generated by the bilateral aid agencies, development banks, the European Commission, and some of the UN agencies.  This information is usually available on their websites.

• Consultants and businesses can also research several fee-based alert services which keep up with requests for tenders and consultancies.

6:   A huge amount of development aid is for victims of natural disasters, usually in the form of grants.   Does the Terra Viva Grants Directory capture this?

Not entirely.  These are grants for emergency relief. They are delivered mainly through organizations focused on humanitarian and social objectives.  This departs from the central orientation of the Terra Viva Grants Directory.  However, we include grant makers which fund activities related to the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters (i.e., before they happen).

 

7:   What other topics are not included in the Terra Viva Grants Directory?

We have to draw a line regarding “in” and “out” of grants coverage, and this becomes a matter of judgment. 

• We no not include international population studies and demographics, even though many opinion makers consider this area to be relevant through considerations of population pressure on finite resources. 

• We omit grants in human nutrition, even though they are indirectly related to agriculture.  Similarly, we do not include grants which support emergency food supply.  Emergency feeding is humanitarian relief more than agricultural development. 

 

8:   How can users be assured that the information provided in the Terra Viva Grants Directory is objective?

We have every reason to be fair in our treatment of organizations profiled in this website.  We are independent of all of them.  Moreover, we have no political, religious, or philosophical agendas to promote.  

 

9:  Does the Terra Viva Grants Directory endorse the organizations and programs featured on its website?

No, we do not.   We select grant makers on the basis of their relevance.  We do not make judgments regarding their motivations, program effectiveness, and other aspects of their organizational behavior and performance.

 

10:  What are the guidelines about intellectual property in the Terra Viva Grants Directory?

Under the Berne Convention recognized by 159 countries, all information on this website (including text, art, and other content) is the property of Terra Viva Grants.

• Our information is fully protected by international copyright laws.  Content from the Terra Viva Grants Directory may not be copied in whole or in part.  Content may not be used by any other person, entity, or enterprise without written permission from the Terra Viva Grants Directory.

• To obtain permission, send us a description of the content you want to use -- and how you will use it – to terravivagrants@gmail.com.  We will reply promptly.

 

11:  Does the Terra Viva Grants Directory protect the privacy of information that it gets from individuals and organizations?  

Yes.  When you contact us, your rights to privacy are assured. Information of any kind that you provide to us will not be abused, distributed, or sold.     

 

12:  How do you ensure that the Terra Viva Grants Directory is accessible to potential grant applicants who lack good internet connectivity, and who do not have updated computer systems?  

We designed our website with these users in mind.  

• Our website uses universal fonts, standard colors, and a majority of small files.   

• We have adopted a standard on screen resolution that is accessible for 99% of the world’s internet users. 

 

13:  Why is some of the information about grant makers several years old?

The Terra Viva Grants Directory reviews the profile of each listed grant maker at least once per year.  However, we rely on information that grant makers provide in their annual reports, tax returns, and websites.

• When grant makers are slow to produce information for public audiences, it has consequence for the timeliness of what we can include in the Terra Viva Grants Directory.

• For grant makers whose information is clearly out of date, we make a special effort to learn why, and to pursue corrective measures – usually by directly contacting the organization. 

 

14:   Does the Terra Viva Grants Directory help write and edit grant proposals, and recommend where to submit them?

No, we do not engage in consulting or grant writing.  Moreover, we do not comment on grant proposals sent to us via email or postal mail.