Other Group

Tenure Facility

Website:

www.thetenurefacility.org

Headquarters:

Franzengaten 1B, 6th Floor

Location:

Stockholm, Sweeden

Type:

International grant and technical assistance organization

Founded:

2014

Executive Director:

Nonette Royo

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Tenure Facility is an international grant and technical assistance agency seeking to help indigenous people and locals gain tenure of land, fight global warming, and advance gender equity. It seeks to gain documentation and registration of land rights through funding projects, provides issue papers and research, and provides “learning exchanges.” Tenure Facility is largely funded through the Norwegian and Swedish governments, but has also received large grants from the Ford Foundation, Audacious Project, and Bezos Earth Fund.

Background

Tenure Facility was started in 2014 by the Rights and Resources Group (RRG) under the Rights and Resources Initiative, a global coalition of organizations to advance protection of forest, land, and resource rights of local and indigenous people. 1 Rights and Resources Group is a United States-registered nonprofit. 2

Work began on six pilot projects from 2014 to2017, and in 2016 Tenure Facility was formed as a separate legal entity from RRG. 3 In 2017, Tenure Facility was formally registered as a Swedish Collecting Foundation. 3

Activities and Collaboration

Tenure Facility claims to provide grants and technical assistance to indigenous populations and locals around the world to advance community land rights while sharing knowledge, innovations, and tools. 4 Tenure Facility focuses on gaining tenure of land, fighting global warming, reducing conflict, and advancing gender equity. 5 It provides expert assistance on land reforms, policies, and legislation in indigenous areas. 5 Tenure seeks funding to support documentation and registration of land rights. 6

Tenure Facility participates in conferences, conducts webinars, and contributes to reports. 7 Tenure Facility produces annual reports on its work, issue briefs, guidelines, factsheets, and research. 8 Tenure Facility also focuses on yearly learning exchanges to bring together regional participants, governments, and experts. 9

Tenure Facility works with indigenous populations in Belize, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Columbia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Panama, and Peru. 10

Finances

According to the Tenure Facility’s annual report, in 2021 the organization recorded $9.21 million in revenue and had $9.4 million in expenses. 11 The largest portion of Tenure Facility’s funding, 39 percent, derived from Norwegian Development Aid and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. 11 Tenure Facility stated that it aimed to spend at least $10 million a year for its first 10 years. 12

In 2021, through direct assistance and partner grants, there were 11 agreed upon projects totaling $17.6 million in approved grants. 11 Tenure Facility spent 55 percent of its money on project disbursements, 18 percent on project support, and 19 percent on administrative costs. 11

In 2021, Tenure Facility received $2.17 million from the Ford Foundation. 11 Tenure Facility also is sponsored by the left-leaning Oak Foundation, Sobrato Organization, the Christensen Fund, and the Audacious Project. 13 At the end of 2021, the Audacious Project pooled 11 donors to provide an additional $81 million in grants from 2022 to 2026. 11 In addition, the Bezos Earth Fund agreed to provide a four-year $30 million grant. 11

Leadership

Nonette Royo is an attorney that specializes in the environment, land rights, natural resources, and indigenous people. 14 Royo has been executive director at the Tenure Facility since 2017. 15 Previously, Royo was a board member at the Rights and Resources Initiative, executive director at Samdhana Institute, and board member and advisor at the Global Greengrants Fund. 15

References

  1. “Who We Are.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/about-us/who-we-are/; “Who We Are.” Rights and Resources Initiative. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://rightsandresources.org/who-we-are/.
  2.  “Institutional Information.” Rights and Resources Coalition. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://rightsandresources.org/institutional-information/; Rights and Resources Institute, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990), 2018.
  3. “Who We Are.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/about-us/who-we-are/.
  4. “How We Work.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 29, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/our-work/how-we-work/; “Living Forests. Thriving Communities.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 29, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org.
  5. “How We Work.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 29, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/our-work/how-we-work/.
  6. “Why A Financial Mechanism?” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/about-us/who-we-are/.
  7. “Events.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/learning/events/
  8. “Resources.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/learning/resources/
  9. “Learning Exchanges.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/learning/learning-exchanges/.
  10. “Countries.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 29, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/our-work/country-landing/.
  11. “Annual Report.” Tenure Facility. 2021. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://view.publitas.com/the-tenure-facility/tenurefacility_annual_report_2021_web-87/page/1.
  12.  “Results Highlights.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/impact/results-highlights/.
  13. “Donors.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/about-us/our-team/staff-and-partners/.
  14. [1] “Our Team and Donors.” Tenure Facility. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://thetenurefacility.org/about-us/our-team/staff-and-partners/.
  15. “Antionette (Nonette) Royo.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinette-nonette-royo-9a41154/?originalSubdomain=se.
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