In January 1996, the PACT Act, no. 15 of 1995 was passed. With it, came the formal establishment of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT). Guided by a mission to provide effective funding support to protected areas it awarded, at the time, small grants of up to USD $17,500. Steady growth enabled the PACT Grants portfolio and the organization itself to expand. In the twenty years since the Protected Areas Conservation Trust was established, the role of the Trust has expanded to include national implementing entity (NIE) status for the Adaptation Fund as well fiduciary services for such agencies as the World Bank, the Meso-American Reef Fund (MAR Fund), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation (BNCF).