INSTITUTIONAL
GRANTS PROGRAM
The Foundation’s Institutional Grants program seeks to support changes to policy and practice that improve the lives of Latin Americans. The Foundation’s funding encompasses two program areas in which research, innovation, scaling of proven models, and exchange of ideas have the potential to make significant, positive impact.
If you are interested in learning about our current and past grantees, visit our grants database to learn more.
OUR PROGRAM AREAS
Updated September 2026
Background
Over the past three decades, the Tinker Foundation has supported Latin American organizations working to advance the rule of law as a foundational element of democratic societies. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, Tinker provided funding to seminal efforts promoting judicial reform across the region. In the 2000s, we supported organizations across the Americas expanding access to pro bono legal services.
Today, through the Democratic Governance program area we work to strengthen justice systems and access to justice: building blocks of inclusive development. Drawing on our legacy of work on justice and rule of law, we support organizations consolidating independent, reliable, equitable, and transparent justice systems through which all people can defend their rights. This includes institutional improvements, capacity-building, digital innovation, and legal empowerment.
Funding Priorities
We will consider proposals focused at the national or sub-national level, including those with comparative or regional components. Projects may relate to what could be called the “unfinished work of judicial reform,” i.e., the challenges and opportunities involved with implementing and operating within more recently adopted structures and frameworks.
Our key areas of interest include:
Tinker will consider a range of project types and methodologies that match our overall grant-making parameters and capacity. These may include research and policy analysis, experimentation with new models and scale-up of proven approaches, and exchange of knowledge across countries and contexts. The foundation particularly focuses on approaches that seek systems-level change and / or that can drive improvements in access to justice at a meaningful scale.
Areas We Do Not Support
We recognize that there are many aspects of democratic governance beyond our core focus on justice systems and access to justice. Valuable areas of work that fall outside our program priorities (when not directly linked to the justice sector) include:
Tinker does not fund standalone litigation efforts.
Given the competitiveness of our application processes, we discourage applicants from presenting projects related to the areas above, as they are unlikely to be successful.
Updated September 2026
Background
Over the past decade, the Foundation has supported programs that improve educational access and quality throughout Latin America.
While Latin America has made important gains in educational access, the region continues to see significant challenges and unrealized opportunities. In recent years, impacts on schooling and learning continuity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural hazards, and social disruptions have disproportionately affected populations that already faced barriers to learning. The Tinker Foundation is committed to addressing the persistent learning gaps that have widened in recent years, and supporting strategies that lead to more effective, inclusive, and resilient educational systems in the region.
Funding Priorities
Tinker welcomes promising projects from across the region thatpromote foundational learning recovery and acceleration, with a specific focus on literacy and numeracy in early primary school.
Through the Education program area, we will provide grants to civil society organizations in Latin America aiming to achieve these objectives by partnering with school systems, educational leaders, and families. Some examples of interventions to be prioritized include:
We welcome projects at different stages of implementation, ranging from experiments and pilots of new models, to impact evaluations for promising projects, and strategies for scaling proven interventions.
Applications to the Education program for this cycle should reflect the following elements. Please refer to Tinker’s general grantmaking guidelines for all other considerations.
Areas We Do Not Support
While we recognize their importance and value, the following areas of education and learning fall outside our focus on foundational learning include and we do not fund in these areas:
As noted above, Tinker prioritizes the early primary education level and thus does not provide support for projects related to middle and high school education, higher education, or adult education. Tinker does not fund projects in private (non-state) schools, after school centers, individual schools, or in a small number of schools without a clear path to scale.
Given the competitiveness of our application process, we discourage applicants from presenting projects related to these areas, as they are unlikely to be successful.
2027 INSTITUTIONAL
Grant Cycle
The Tinker Foundation’s Institutional Grants program provides project funding to organizations working to improve the lives of Latin Americans, with an emphasis on support for organizations in the region.
If you would like to apply for funding, visit our application page to learn more.
2027 Cycle
Opens January 6
Democratic Governance and Education
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For additional information, please reach out to:
Democratic Governance
Education