Objectives: The Coca-Cola Foundation is Coca-Cola’s philanthropic arm. It was founded in 1984 as an American Charitable Organisation. Its main goal is to support the implementation of projects that improve health in communities. The Foundation invests mainly in community projects and has 4 priority areas: water, fitness, recycling, and education. Additional funding is available for organisations working on HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual education projects in Africa and Latin America.
Areas of Funding: In general, the Foundation supports initiatives tailored to communities’ needs and that support a vibrant and sustainable social and economic environment.
The Foundation has 4 main priority areas:
1) Water Stewardship. Projects developed in this area must implement activities to increase the access to clean water and sanitation, to provide watershed protection, to utilize water for production, to educate people and to raise awareness on how to maximise water resources and how to make a sustainable use of water.
2) Healthy and Active Lifestyle. Projects developed in this area must implement activities to increase the number of people engaging with physical activities and exercise. Projects could be educational, they could teach about the benefits of a healthy diet and active lifestyle, they could also motivate people to correct their habits and encourage behavioural/lifestyle changes.
3) Community recycling. Projects developed in this area must implement activities to increase communities’ recycling awareness or they could promote research and experimentations in the field of recycling.
4) Education. Projects developed in this area must propose strategies to prevent school dropout, they could also facilitate the access to schooling facilities, encourage young people to study, or promote other educational initiatives.
Geographic Focus: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Pacific.
Programs or Prizes: The Coca-Cola Foundation awards 2 types of grant:
1) International Grant is given to develop community projects addressing at least one of the priority areas of the Foundation. This Grant is given to charities working in one of the geographic areas where the Foundation is active. Application could be found here.
2) International Sponsorship Application is open to current high school seniors attending school in the USA. The Grant is given to outstanding individuals on the basis of their academic merits. For more information visit this link.
How to Apply Information: Grants are awarded throughout the year without specific deadlines. To be considered for one of the grants, it is necessary to submit your ideas through the online application system. The applicant needs to be a registered charity organisation to access the funding. There is no maximum amount for budget application (in US Dollars). Applications are processed within 60 days. Selected candidates will be asked to produce further documents or to expand on the submitted ideas to draft a complete project proposal and compete for one of the awards. Applicants will be asked to create a profile for their organisation before uploading their final applications.
It is also worth considering that the Foundation has 19 regional branches, which help promoting the goals of the Foundation as a whole and offer further support to local communities. A complete list with all the regional branches could be fund here.
It is important to contact your local branch to ask for support in applying for one of the grants offered and also to understand whether Coca-Cola is implementing other projects in your area that you can join or support.
