Seattle International Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Seattle International Foundation supports development, human rights and justice in Central America and Mexico through grantmaking, leadership development and other strategic programs.
IP TAKE: The Seattle International Foundation (SIF) shifted the focus of its global development grantmaking in 2018 to focus entirely on Central America and Mexico. Through grants and other strategic engagements, SIF works to protect human rights, promote democracy and end impunity in the region. Grants support grassroots movements and independent journalism toward these ends. This funder does not generally accept applications but runs conferences, convenings and other events, which provide opportunities to meet and become involved with the work of this foundation.
PROFILE: Bill and Paula Clapp, co-founders of the Seattle International Foundation (SIF), have a long history of global development work. In 1994, the couple co-founded Global Partnerships, a nonprofit impact organization concerned with alleviating global poverty and empowering women in developing countries. The Clapps eventually parlayed their years of experience in global development work in 2008 to establish the Seattle International Foundation, whose mission is “champion good governance and equity in Central America through rule of law and a robust civil society.”
SIF names three focus areas: Good Governance and Rule of Law, Equity, Migration and Displacement and Strengthening Civil Society. Its engagement and grantmaking, however, are further organized into six programs that address specific issues concerning Central America and Mexico.
Grants for Global Development, Human Rights, Immigrants, Indigenous Rights and Democracy
SIF runs programs and initiatives that support overlapping issues of development, human rights and democracy in Central America and Mexico.
The Central America and Mexico Youth Fund was established in 2014 to “provides flexible funding, support and technical and political accompaniment to youth-led initiatives, collectives and organizations.” The fund prioritizes organizations working in the areas of social justice, reproductive health and rights and “collective care,” a term the foundation uses to describe a holistic approach to wellness that emphasizes “mental health, psychosocial support and holistic safety.”
Grantee partners of the program include GoJoven Honduras, El Salvador’s Colectiva Akelarre and Costa Rica’s Akoben Colectiva Afrofeminista.
The Centroamérica Adelante leadership development program is run in collaboration with the Institute of International Education and Cristosal, a U.S.-based human rights education organization. This program does not make grants but runs ten-month leadership training programs for “key players in civil society” in Central America and Mexico. Trainings focus on the development of skills and social capital, as well as the facilitation of cross-sector collaborations to “make a positive impact on the lives of those affected by the causes of migration.”
The Central America Donors Forum describes itself as a “multi-sectoral networking and learning space to advance philanthropy and development efforts in Central America.” The forum convenes an annual conference that “brings together the international philanthropic community with hundreds of civil society, corporate and government leaders in Central America.”
Through its Central America in Washington, D.C. initiative, the foundation promotes and connects priority issues to U.S. policy makers. The initiative does not make grants per se but provides “strategic analysis, research and policy recommendations that further justice and the rule of law, equity, democracy, and prosperity in the region.”
The Anti-Impunity Fund is “a thought-leader, advocate, convener, and funder of the fight against impunity in Central America.” Created in 2020, this fund provides monetary and strategic support to “civil society organizations and social movements” that work to “hold individuals, groups, or state actors accountable for misdeeds.”
Grants for Journalism
The Seattle International Foundation’s Independent Journalism Fund works to support independent media and journalists in Central America in order to “research and report on the realities of the region, give voice to the people, and promote democracy.” The fund aims to protect the safety of journalists, defend alternative media sources, scale media innovation, and build the capacity of independent journalism through technical training and ethics education.
Grantee partners of this program include Agencia Ocote of Guatemala, the Latin American Center for Journalistic Research in Costa Rica, Confidencial Nicaragua and Honduras’s Contracorriente.
Important Grant Details:
Because it gives internationally, it is difficult to ascertain a range of grant sizes for this funder.
Grantmaking and engagement is mainly limited to organizations working in Central America and Mexico.
Many of this funder’s grantees are grassroots groups or independent media organizations.
This funder works collaboratively with its grantees, providing technical and strategic support.
SIF engages in research, analysis and advocacy in its areas of primary focus. It also runs leadership development programs and convenes meetings and conferences where leaders, donors and others can network, learn and collaborate on shared goals regarding development, human rights and social justice in Central America and Mexico.
SIF accepts proposals by invitation only but occasionally requests proposals for specific causes on its grants page.
General inquiries may be submitted to the foundation’s staff via email at info@seaif.org.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only.)
LINKS:
