A microgrant is a small sum of money distributed to an individual or organization, typically for hundreds or thousands of dollars, with the intent of enabling the recipient to develop or sustain an income-generating enterprise. Often they target individuals living on less than $1/day,
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
, for the purpose of creating a
sustainable
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
livelihood
A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential t ...
or
microenterprise
A micro-enterprise (or microenterprise) is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount (e.g. €2 million or PhP 3 million). The terms microenterprise and ...
.
Recipients of microgrants can also be organizations or
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
groups that are engaged in
charitable activities. se to seek out a loan, or do not qualify for a
microloan
:''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropay ...
or other form of
microcredit
:''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropayme ...
.
There are three primary types of microgrants; one is a small sum of money (~US$50-500) granted to an individual to start an income-generating project, another is a small grant (~$2,000-$10,000) to a community for an impact-oriented projects and a third is a small grant to an individual for any cause they see fit.
The term microgrant can also refer to a grant that is low in value.
Microgrants for income-generating projects
Unlike
microcredit
:''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropayme ...
s, microgrants do not need to be repaid. While
microfinance
Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...
and other financial services are intended to serve the poor, many of the poorest are either too risk-averse or unaware of such offers.
Microgrants for community-based projects
A microgrant serves as an opportunity for communities facing poverty to receive funding for impact-oriented projects, such as schools, health centers, farms and more. Microgrants for community projects provide a novel opportunity for people facing poverty to solve their own local problems with financing that need not be paid back.
Spark MicroGrants is known for pioneering this community-based approach to microgranting. Spark pairs capacity building facilitation with their microgrants to ensure communities receiving the grants are well positioned to take them on.
Microgrants for individual causes
A microgrant has also been coined to describe small amounts of funding awarded to individuals for their own use. The ROI Community deploys this type of microgrant.
References
Further reading
* Hayes, Ashton L. 2009. ''A Microgrant Supported Poppy Cultivation Renouncement Program for Afghanistan.'' Ft. Belvoir: and Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA; Defense Technical Information Center. .
* Fuller, Thomas P. 2021. ''Improving Global Worker Health and Safety through Collaborative Capacity Building Initiatives.'' Boca Raton: CRC Press. , {{oclc, 1259433309.
External links
Microgrants for Burmese refugee grassrootssparkmicrogrants.org
Microfinance