Village Enterprise Fund gets $100,000 in grant from Arcus Foundation

Microfinance Focus, Nov. 27, 2009: Village Enterprise Fund(VEF), a micro-enterprise organization, has received a two-year, $100,000 grant from the Arcus Foundation, a Kalamazoo, Michigan-based foundation that is the largest global funder of great apes conservation.
The grant will be used to fund an innovative, integrated development/conservation program in the communities surrounding Uganda’s Budongo Forest, a key conservation area in East Africa. The Budongo Forest, part of the Albertine Rift, is home to a wealth of plant and animal life, including more than 600 chimpanzees.

Founded in 2000 by President Jon L. Stryker, the Arcus foundation through its Great Apes Program, focuses on the survival of great apes in their natural habitats through conservation compatible with economic development and effective partnerships between local organizations. It also promotes survival of the great apes in sanctuaries that offer high quality care, safety and freedom from invasive research and other forms of exploitation.
The Budongo Project uses an integrated approach to promote the conservation of critical chimpanzee habitat and alleviate the poverty in the local communities. The VEF development model of training, seed capital, and mentoring is particularly well suited to addressing these combined goals.
Working with the Jane Goodall Institute and several other local partners, the Budongo Project empowers local communities to start sustainable, diversified small businesses in a way that supports long-term conservation goals.
In funding the Budongo Project, for the first time Arcus is approaching conservation from the micro-enterprise side. “Most of the challenges to conservation are tied to the consumption of natural resources. Finding ways to integrate economic development goals with conservation goals is necessary to combat the drivers of habitat loss and the decline of ape populations,” said Annette Lanjouw, senior director, Great Apes Program, Arcus Foundation.
The two-year Arcus grant, combined with grants from the Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation and from Project Redwood, will support roughly 50 combined conservation/business training sessions, seed capital, and mentoring for more than 500 new, sustainable businesses in 25-30 communities surrounding Budongo Forest with a goal of improving livelihoods and reducing illegal activity.

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