The US Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) has announced an open call for Requests for Pre-proposals (RFPs) under its initiative, “Forest Investment Zones: Co-creating Innovation and Learning at the Regional Level.” This initiative will serve as a signature programmatic focus of the Endowment’s investments. “Forest Investment Zones” is envisioned as a four-year initiative that will initially be rolled-out in three geographic areas around the U.S. Diane Snyder, Vice President-Community Development for the Endowment, said, “We believe that Forest Investment Zones stands to create inspiration, innovation and positive change that will spill-over to forested areas across the nation.” The concept highlights the Endowment’s commitment to work in concert with the environmental needs of the forest while addressing the economic needs of the communities in and around them.

The initiative will depend upon existing regional organizations to implement the work with a broad array of their community partners. The Endowment hopes to make Forest Investment Zones “learning laboratories” that will serve to share learning widely. “As a new foundation this will be one of our major funding initiatives. We anticipate that each of the initial selected partners will have the potential of as much as $2.15 million in Endowment funding over the four-year implementation horizon,” said Endowment President Carlton Owen. The RFP is open until September 19, 2008. Regional intermediaries, defined as high-capacity organizations or networks of organizations that commonly work together at the regional level to support sustainable forestry and/or community development in forest-reliant communities, who wish to submit pre-proposals for consideration should do so by visiting the Endowment’s website “Grants and Initiatives” tab at www.usendowment.org .

Successful partners will be identified before year-end. The US Endowment for Forestry & Communities, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation established in late 2006, at the request of the governments of the USA and Canada in accordance with the terms of the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) between the two countries. The Endowment is one of three entities designated to share in a one-time infusion of funds to support “meritorious initiatives” in the US. It has been endowed with $200 million. The Endowment’s mission is to work collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities.