Philipsburg-On Wednesday November 1 st and Thursday November 2nd R4CR hosted information sessions for local civil society organizations (CSOs) on how to secure a R4CR grant during the 7 th (and final) round of project financing.

Branded as “Resources for Community Resilience”, the R4CR program includes a grant scheme as funding mechanism for community and social rehabilitation initiatives on Sint Maarten as well as focusing on improving the capacity of local CSOs in reconstruction and resilience activities post hurricane Irma. Project activities by locally registered CSOs that are eligible for funding can cover subject areas such as neighborhood initiatives, sports, nature/environment, culture, poverty relief, day care centers/after school programs, youth employment, skills development, psycho-social support and preventing gender-based violence.

Financed by the Government of the Netherlands via the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, R4CR was designed to provide US$4 million in 7 rounds of grants (from July 2020 to December 2024) for social reconstruction projects post hurricane Irma. “We have disbursed or committed US$3.8 million to local projects and only have approximately $200,000 left in the pot” explained R4CR Team Leader Steve Duzanson during the information sessions. The official call for proposals opened on Friday November 3, 2023 and the deadline for submitting a project to R4CR is Sunday December 10 2023 (mid-night). The total available envelope for Round-7 is thus US$200,000 with a maximum budget of US$15,000 per project.

The expected starting date for Round-7 projects is February 1, 2024 and the projects must be completed by August 1, 2024.

Since the launch of R4CR in 2020 the program has supported 73 small scale projects, disbursed or committed approximately US$ 3.8 million to local CSOs, benefitted 8,500 persons and provided free training (in collaboration with 4C foundation/NPOwer) to strengthen the capacity of local organizations. The R4CR program is administered by the World Bank, implemented by the NRPB (National Recovery Program Bureau) and managed by VNGI (International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities) in close cooperation with 4C Foundation and other local partners.

For more information about the R4CR program, details on how to secure a grant or an overview of all current projects please visit www.r4cr.org or the Facebook page (R4CRSXM).