VA
Vale da Gema Headwaters Consortium
Portugal
Nonprofit, Community GroupThe Vale da Gema Headwaters Consortium is a growing alliance of more than ten land stewards within the top 2,000 hectares of the 14,000-hectare Ribeira da Gema Basin, united by a shared conviction: regeneration works, and it works even better together. We include Tamera, Cooperativa Integral da Terra, Amieras, Escola da Esperança, and a widening circle of neighboring landowners. Our goal is simple — heal the watershed from the headwaters down. Water retention earthworks, reforestation, cooperative farming, community education, and now: a coordinated funding effort to make all of it resilient and sustainable. We want to bring at least ten more landowners into this work in the coming years. That means we need funding — and a dedicated team to pursue it.
Project story
We already know what works. The headwaters of the Vale da Gema are already showing what happens when neighbors coordinate — swales built across property lines, shared water infrastructure, children learning ecology on restored land, marathons bringing thousands of people through the watershed. The projects exist. The people are in place. The land is ready.
What we don't have is a funding team. Right now, every land steward in the consortium writes their own grant applications late at night, after the earthwork is done. We chase funding we hear about by chance. We miss opportunities we never knew existed. This is not how you scale a regional regeneration movement. We need to get serious about funding — and that means hiring people whose full time job is finding, writing, and winning the resources to make this work resilient and sustainable.
This proposal is for the creation of a Funding Coordination Team — a small, dedicated group of people who wake up every day thinking about one thing: how do we fund the healing of this watershed, together.
What we'll do, over 18 months:
Hire a part-time Funding Coordinator to manage the team, maintain relationships with funders, represent the consortium in funding spaces, and keep the overall strategy moving
Hire one or two part-time Grant Writers and Funding Specialists to research opportunities, write proposals, prepare project updates, and manage applications across platforms like MaEarth, EU funding programs, ReFi initiatives, and private foundations
Hire a part-time Administrative Assistant to handle logistics, scheduling, reporting, and keeping the consortium's documentation and deadlines organized
Map the full public and private funding landscape available to the consortium — EU rural development funds, regenerative finance (ReFi) mechanisms, angel and impact investors, philanthropic grants, and crowdfunding platforms
Write and submit a steady pipeline of proposals — targeting at minimum one new submission per month — while keeping existing project pages on MaEarth and other platforms updated
Coordinate between consortium members so that applications are complementary, not competing, and that each land steward gets the right funding matched to their work
In two years, the Funding Coordination Team will have established itself as the financial backbone of the consortium — a self-sustaining unit that brings in more money than it costs, with a track record of successful applications, strong funder relationships, and a clear pipeline of opportunities that ensures the headwaters work continues, expands, and inspires.
Funding Goals (all values in €)
First €30,000 — Hire the Funding Coordinator (part-time) and Administrative Assistant (part-time), set up basic tools and workspace
Next €45,000 — Hire one full-time Grant Writer and Funding Specialist, fund travel to meet funders and attend relevant events
Next €25,000 — Expand to a second part-time Funding Specialist, increase coordinator hours, and invest in training and capacity building
All above €100,000 — Full team at steady state for a second year, with the goal of being self-funded through successful grants by year two
Budget (estimated)
Funding Coordinator (part-time, 20 hrs/week)
Salary — ~€18,000/year (€27,000 over 18 months)
Travel and networking — €3,000
Grant Writer & Funding Specialist (full-time)
Salary — ~€28,000/year (€42,000 over 18 months)
Platform fees, submission costs, and research tools — €2,000
Administrative Assistant (part-time, 15 hrs/week)
Salary — ~€12,000/year (€18,000 over 18 months)
Office supplies, software, and communication tools — €1,500
Additional Funding Specialist (part-time, scaled with funding success)
Salary — ~€16,000/year (prorated based on start date)
Training and professional development for the full team — €3,000
Operational Reserve
Shared workspace and meeting space contributions — €2,000
Legal and accounting services — €2,500
More Reading
Project updates
Team
Vale da Gema Headwaters: Building the Funding Engine
Portugal
Technology, Community, ResilienceVA
Vale da Gema Headwaters Consortium
Portugal
Nonprofit, Community GroupThe Vale da Gema Headwaters Consortium is a growing alliance of more than ten land stewards within the top 2,000 hectares of the 14,000-hectare Ribeira da Gema Basin, united by a shared conviction: regeneration works, and it works even better together. We include Tamera, Cooperativa Integral da Terra, Amieras, Escola da Esperança, and a widening circle of neighboring landowners. Our goal is simple — heal the watershed from the headwaters down. Water retention earthworks, reforestation, cooperative farming, community education, and now: a coordinated funding effort to make all of it resilient and sustainable. We want to bring at least ten more landowners into this work in the coming years. That means we need funding — and a dedicated team to pursue it.
Project story
We already know what works. The headwaters of the Vale da Gema are already showing what happens when neighbors coordinate — swales built across property lines, shared water infrastructure, children learning ecology on restored land, marathons bringing thousands of people through the watershed. The projects exist. The people are in place. The land is ready.
What we don't have is a funding team. Right now, every land steward in the consortium writes their own grant applications late at night, after the earthwork is done. We chase funding we hear about by chance. We miss opportunities we never knew existed. This is not how you scale a regional regeneration movement. We need to get serious about funding — and that means hiring people whose full time job is finding, writing, and winning the resources to make this work resilient and sustainable.
This proposal is for the creation of a Funding Coordination Team — a small, dedicated group of people who wake up every day thinking about one thing: how do we fund the healing of this watershed, together.
What we'll do, over 18 months:
Hire a part-time Funding Coordinator to manage the team, maintain relationships with funders, represent the consortium in funding spaces, and keep the overall strategy moving
Hire one or two part-time Grant Writers and Funding Specialists to research opportunities, write proposals, prepare project updates, and manage applications across platforms like MaEarth, EU funding programs, ReFi initiatives, and private foundations
Hire a part-time Administrative Assistant to handle logistics, scheduling, reporting, and keeping the consortium's documentation and deadlines organized
Map the full public and private funding landscape available to the consortium — EU rural development funds, regenerative finance (ReFi) mechanisms, angel and impact investors, philanthropic grants, and crowdfunding platforms
Write and submit a steady pipeline of proposals — targeting at minimum one new submission per month — while keeping existing project pages on MaEarth and other platforms updated
Coordinate between consortium members so that applications are complementary, not competing, and that each land steward gets the right funding matched to their work
In two years, the Funding Coordination Team will have established itself as the financial backbone of the consortium — a self-sustaining unit that brings in more money than it costs, with a track record of successful applications, strong funder relationships, and a clear pipeline of opportunities that ensures the headwaters work continues, expands, and inspires.
Funding Goals (all values in €)
First €30,000 — Hire the Funding Coordinator (part-time) and Administrative Assistant (part-time), set up basic tools and workspace
Next €45,000 — Hire one full-time Grant Writer and Funding Specialist, fund travel to meet funders and attend relevant events
Next €25,000 — Expand to a second part-time Funding Specialist, increase coordinator hours, and invest in training and capacity building
All above €100,000 — Full team at steady state for a second year, with the goal of being self-funded through successful grants by year two
Budget (estimated)
Funding Coordinator (part-time, 20 hrs/week)
Salary — ~€18,000/year (€27,000 over 18 months)
Travel and networking — €3,000
Grant Writer & Funding Specialist (full-time)
Salary — ~€28,000/year (€42,000 over 18 months)
Platform fees, submission costs, and research tools — €2,000
Administrative Assistant (part-time, 15 hrs/week)
Salary — ~€12,000/year (€18,000 over 18 months)
Office supplies, software, and communication tools — €1,500
Additional Funding Specialist (part-time, scaled with funding success)
Salary — ~€16,000/year (prorated based on start date)
Training and professional development for the full team — €3,000
Operational Reserve
Shared workspace and meeting space contributions — €2,000
Legal and accounting services — €2,500
More Reading
Project updates
Team
Location
Portugal