The Small Grants Programme of the Trust Fund for the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples was established to promote, support and implement the objectives of the Decade. The small grants programme gave priority to projects concerning the main areas of the Second Decade: culture, education, health, human rights, the environment and social and economic development. The Advisory Group for the Trust Fund for the Second Decade consisted of members of the Permanent Forum’s Bureau.

The Fund was mainly used for providing small grants to projects that indigenous organizations or organizations working for indigenous peoples applied for funding with a budget for up to US$ 10,000 covering one year’s expenses.

From 2006 to 2014, the Trust Fund awarded grants to a total of 151 projects with a predominance of projects in Asia, Africa and Central and East Europe and Caucasus. Due to limited resources, the Trust Fund had, however, only been able to grant funds to 151 out of a total of 4110 project proposals submitted .

The projects funded have mostly covered the area of human rights (38%) and social and economic development (23%), with 32% focusing specifically on women and 31% on youth – a continually increasing trend. Also, of the funded projects, 57% provided an important opportunity for indigenous peoples to engage directly in dialogue with States.

The projects have mainly been implemented with a local focus (76%), with a majority in the rural areas (66%).